Attitudes of Undergraduate Social Work Students Toward Interprofessional Health Care Practice and Interprofessional Health Care Education

In 2005, the Centre for Collaborative Health Professional Education at Memorial University in Canada commenced an inquiry into the interprofessional education (IPE) of social work students. In the 2005/2006 academic year, undergraduate social work students were introduced to an IPE program at Memorial University for the first time. This interdisciplinary initiative brought together students from pharmacy, nursing, medicine, and social work to develop and encourage interprofessional educational activities with the purpose of increasing collaborative patient-centered practice competencies of students and professionals (Sharpe & Curran, 2006). In the subsequent three academic years (2005/2006, 2006/2007, 2007/2008) Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) students explored a variety of IPE modules. This paper summarizes the available literature on the topic of IPE and reports on data collected from three cohorts of undergraduate social work students regarding their attitudes toward interdisciplinary team practice. Data collected are in relation to the Health and Wellbeing of Children module, one of the five module topics in which these students participated over the three-year period. It is proposed that by understanding student attitudes as they are evidenced at this early stage of professional development, valuable information will be provided to educators to inform best practices in the teaching and learning of interprofessional practice skills within the discipline of social work. Finally, the authors provide suggested directions for future research

Temporality of Risk Factors and the Gender Differential Related to Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) constitute life-long neurodevelopmental conditions. Globally, ASD risk for males remains 2 to 4 times greater than for females. Critical exposure mechanisms, their timing on ASD risk, and associations with the ASD gender differential remain elusive. The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between preconception, pregnancy, recalled lactation practice, and infant traits, on ASD risk and the gender differential of ASD. A recently published temporal framework was adapted to study effects of maternal smoking and vitamin use, and recalled lactation practice on offspring ASD diagnosis with adjustment for preconception health and infant breathing traits. A retrospective case-control analysis using 733 child data records from U.S. autism registry characterized child gender-stratified relationships of 9 study variables. Logistic regression results showed prior maternal smoking, male gender, and maternal recollection of lactation practices were associated with offspring ASD diagnosis. Exposure factors associated with ASD did not differ by child gender or maternal vitamin use. Infant respiratory distress at birth was a covariate and collinearly related to obstetric risks. Maternal smoking was antecedent to respiratory distress and lactation practice. Study limitations included incomplete responses without repeated measures for recalled lactation practice and maternal diet variables. The implications for positive social change include a better understanding of reproductive, preconception, and prenatal risk factors of ASD. The study results have implications for reproductive health, smoking cessation programs, family planning, and prenatal care for women of reproductive age

Science for gifted children in grade four.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

The Frank J. Manning Certificate in Gerontology Alumni Survey: 21 Years of Service to Elders

The Certificate Program in Gerontology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, a large urban university, was established in 1979 as part of an Administration on Aging (AoA) grant to develop and expand services to the elderly citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In 1984, a line item was added to the state budget by the legislature and governor establishing the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston and ensuring the continuation of training, research, and policy and advocacy work on behalf of and with Massachusetts’ elders (O’Brien, 1996). Upon Frank J. Manning’s death in 1986, the program was renamed the “Manning Certificate Program” in honor of Manning, a retired labor leader and an enthusiastic advocate of senior rights who was a charismatic and powerful leader of Massachusetts elders in the 1960s and 1970s. This report describes the measurable outcomes of that well-established program. Specifically, alumni representing classes since 1980 were surveyed to learn the extent of their involvement in employment, advocacy, and volunteer experiences in working with elders since completion of the Manning Certificate. Insights were also gained from other outcomes of their learning experiences in terms of their own aging and assistance with the aging of family members and friends. This study will help document the value of certificate-level training in Gerontology for its students and for the communities they serve

Global Use of the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index

Although the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index has been endorsed as a gauge of the quality of the nursing practice environment by several organizations in the United States promoting healthcare quality, there is no literature describing its use in different practice settings and countries

Amplification of TLO Mediator Subunit Genes Facilitate Filamentous Growth in Candida Spp

Funding: This work was funded by the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease (AI113390, LCM) and the National Institutes of General Medical Sciences (GM62483, LCM). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision topublish, or preparation of the manuscript.Non peer reviewedPublisher PD

HIV and People With Serious Mental Illness: The Public Sector’s Role in Reducing HIV Risk and Improving Care

Objective: The paper discusses issues related to the detection, prevention of transmission, and treatment of human immunodefiency virus (HIV) infection among persons with serious mental illness and suggests ways public mental health systems can address these issues. Methods: MEDLINE was searched from 1980 through 1998, and all pertinent references were reviewed. Results: Persons with severe mental illness are at greatly increased risk of HIV infection due to increased likelihood of high-risk sexual behaviors and injection drug use. The formidable barriers to detection and effective treatment of HIV that exist in this population can be attributed to the unique characteristics of this population, lack of knowledge and expertise among mental and physical health care providers, and fragmented mental and physical health care systems. Conclusions: In the last five years, treatments for HIV that are far more efficacious than earlier treatments have become available, making it more important for HIV infection be detected and treated among persons with serious mental illness. Public mental health systems need to implement active prevention policies and practices, educate both mental health and physical health care providers about key treatment issues, and develop effective linkages between mental and physical health care providers and systems

22q11.2 deletion syndrome

22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) is the most common chromosomal microdeletion disorder, estimated to result mainly from de novo non-homologous meiotic recombination events occurring in approximately 1 in every 1,000 fetuses. The first description in the English language of the constellation of findings now known to be due to this chromosomal difference was made in the 1960s in children with DiGeorge syndrome, who presented with the clinical triad of immunodeficiency, hypoparathyroidism and congenital heart disease. The syndrome is now known to have a heterogeneous presentation that includes multiple additional congenital anomalies and later-onset conditions, such as palatal, gastrointestinal and renal abnormalities, autoimmune disease, variable cognitive delays, behavioural phenotypes and psychiatric illness - all far extending the original description of DiGeorge syndrome. Management requires a multidisciplinary approach involving paediatrics, general medicine, surgery, psychiatry, psychology, interventional therapies (physical, occupational, speech, language and behavioural) and genetic counselling. Although common, lack of recognition of the condition and/or lack of familiarity with genetic testing methods, together with the wide variability of clinical presentation, delays diagnosis. Early diagnosis, preferably prenatally or neonatally, could improve outcomes, thus stressing the importance of universal screening. Equally important, 22q11.2DS has become a model for understanding rare and frequent congenital anomalies, medical conditions, psychiatric and developmental disorders, and may provide a platform to better understand these disorders while affording opportunities for translational strategies across the lifespan for both patients with 22q11.2DS and those with these associated features in the general population

Structural Social Work Lens: A View of Youth Engagement in the Social Policy Life of their Communities

Presented through a structural social work lens, this paper is a description and analysis of an action research project designed to explore factors that encourage or impede the engagement of youth in the social policy life of their communities. The project was conceptualized in a geographic region characterized by the erosion of community sustainability due to social economic disadvantage and out migration. The project aimed to strengthen communities by enhancing participation of youth in social policy development. It utilized a workshop designed and delivered by youth for youth and the development a Social Policy Action Plan (SPAP) to address a policy issue of concern in youth’s local community. Principles of structural social work, with particular attention to power sharing, unmasking the structures, collective consciousness, transformation of power/political and personal change, social action and community capacity building are applied as a lens to explore this project

Environmental Awareness, Economic Orientation, and Farming Practices: A Comparison of Organic and Conventional Farmers

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42397/1/267-21-5-747_21n5p747.pd