Lightning Talks

Public or Perish: Promoting Open Access in Tenure & Promotion, by Lana Mariko Wood InstantILL: Simplifying Content Delivery With or Without Subscriptions, by Tina Baich Positioning an Institutional Repository to Respond to Social Justice Issues, by Sarah Hick

RAMSTRONG: AN EMPLOYEE WELLNESS INITIATIVE

The RAMSTRONG project’s mission is to create a mobile website accessible online and through the VCU Mobile app that provides VCU employees with user-friendly, accessible resources to support their holistic well-being. The RAMSTRONG project seeks to meet three basic needs. First, while VCU and the Greater Richmond area offer a plethora of resources to promote health, information about these resources is not readily accessible, and especially not accessible from one website or mobile app. RAMSTRONG aims to provide an accessible means for employees to learn about and take advantage of these resources. Second, while a growing body of scientific literature indicates employer sponsored health promotion programs increase job satisfaction, productivity, and retention, these programs are only effective if they are utilized. RAMSTRONG aims to increase their utilization by promoting awareness of their availability. Third, our society invests a substantial sum of resources to the care of those suffering from injury and illness and less to promoting our health and well-being. The RAMSTRONG project is motivated by a vision of a society that invests significantly in the promotion of wellness so as to reduce the incidence of injury and illness and to increase the prevalence of personal and social satisfaction at work and in life. Our model for the RAMSTRONG app draws from the public health concept of the Wheel of Wellness, which specifies eight interrelated and interdependent dimensions of health: emotional, environmental, financial, social, spiritual, occupational, physical, and intellectual. When a person can demonstrate strength and well-being in each of these areas, they are more productive and receive greater satisfaction in life. Universities, including Princeton University, that have implemented similar website resources and the National Wellness Institute define wellness as “an active process through which people become aware of, and make choices toward, a more successful existence”. Our RAMSTRONG website and mobile app will provide employees with an efficient, friendly means for becoming aware of campus and community resources and making choices that actively contribute to individual and community well-being in each of the eight dimensions. It is our hope that with the implementation of this project, VCU employees will have the resources to take charge of their wellness in each dimension and become RAMSTRONG

A Case of Pediatric Melanoma: Treatment Considerations in Advanced Disease.

We document a 3-year-old healthy African American girl who developed malignant melanoma on her lower extremity. The clinical appearance offered little indication of the lesion’s severity (T4), and only the history of de novo presentation and disproportionate growth raised clinical suspicion. This case report highlights the subtle clinical findings of this condition and presents controversies related to surgical management of pediatric melanoma

Integrating Christian caring in nursing curriculum: One school’s experience

The link between caring and nursing has been evident since the days of Florence Nightingale. She referred to nursing as an act of charity or God\u27s work. Nursing within the Judea-Christian tradition was viewed as a mission, ministry or call from God to serve others. Those entering nursing fulfilled a commitment to God through service and care for others. Over time the focus in nursing shifted from the Christian perspective of being called to be a nurse to technical and physio­logical reasons for helping people. Virginia Henderson defined nursing as that service to an individual that helps him to attain or maintain a healthy state of mind or body.\u27\u27 In recent years the concept of caring has reemerged within nursing but from a different worldview. The theoretical basis for caring includes humanistic and Eastern philosophies.At the same time, the connection of caring in nursing with Christian beliefs has been diluted, ignored and often excluded. Change is the norm in the current dynamic health care envi­ronment. With change comes the challenge to redesign curricula to educate future nurses. As the curriculum of our school of nursing was reorganized, the faculty made a commitment to make our Christian heritage and values more explicit. We recognized the significance of working at a private, religiously affiliated university, where Christian educa­tion was a priority. Based on that commitment, we incorporated into the design of the nursing curriculum a Christian caring environment and Christian caring activities, which helped students to identify their personal beliefs and values, to recognize how Christian caring can be shown in nursing and to develop their own Christian caring philosophy

Educación para la diversidad afectivo-sexual desde la perspectiva de las familias homoparentales

Treball final de Grau en Mestre o Mestra d'Educació Infantil. Codi: MI1040. Curs acadèmic 2016-2017Este proyecto tiene como objetivos conocer la opinión de algunas familias homoparentales acerca del trabajo de la diversidad afectivo sexual en las escuelas, acercarnos al trato que reciben algunas familias homoparentales en lasaulas y descubrir qué mejoras educativas proponen las familias homoparentales para fomentar la inclusión del colectivo LGBT en el ámbito escolar. Para llevar a cabo este trabajo, en primer lugar, se ha realizado una primera aproximación a la materia a través de la búsqueda de autores y documentos que avalen la necesidad de trabajar este tipo de diversidad, cómo se trata este tema en el sistema educativo actual, así como la necesidad de introducir a las familias en las aulas. Después, para averiguar de primera mano la visión de las familias homoparentales acerca de este tema, se han realizado entrevistas a tres familia de diferentes edades, procedentes de diferentes lugares y con diferente grado de participación en asociaciones LGBT. Para llevar a término estas entrevistas, se ha utilizado una metodología cualitativa, basada en una entrevista semiestructurada y preguntas abiertas. Estas preguntas están separadas en temas, todos relacionados con los objetivos propuestos (sistema educativo, relación familiar, relación con la escuela,…). Para finalizar, a partir de las respuestas de las tres familias se ha realizado el análisis de datos. Este se ha llevado a cabo a través de la comparación y el contraste de las diferentes visiones de las familias. A raíz del análisis se han podido deducir las siguientes conclusiones: en las escuelas no se trabaja la diversidad afectivo-sexual o no se introduce en toda su complejidad, la educación para este tipo de diversidad podría solucionar el aumento de las agresiones homófobas, el colectivo LGTB continúa viviendo situaciones de desigualdad respecto a los heterosexuales y en el sistema educativo sigue vigente la heteronormatividad

Maize meal fortification is associated with improved vitamin A and iron status in adolescents and reduced childhood anaemia in a food aid-dependent refugee population

Abstract Objective To assess changes in the Fe and vitamin A status of the population of Nangweshi refugee camp associated with the introduction of maize meal fortification. Design Pre- and post-intervention study using a longitudinal cohort. Setting Nangweshi refugee camp, Zambia. Subjects Two hundred and twelve adolescents (10-19 years), 157 children (6-59 months) and 118 women (20-49 years) were selected at random by household survey in July 2003 and followed up after 12 months. Results Maize grain was milled and fortified in two custom-designed mills installed at a central location in the camp and a daily ration of 400 g per person was distributed twice monthly to households as part of the routine food aid ration. During the intervention period mean Hb increased in children (0·87 g/dl; P < 0·001) and adolescents (0·24 g/dl; P = 0·043) but did not increase in women. Anaemia decreased in children by 23·4 % (P < 0·001) but there was no significant change in adolescents or women. Serum transferrin receptor (log10-transformed) decreased by −0·082 μg/ml (P = 0·036) indicating an improvement in the Fe status of adolescents but there was no significant decrease in the prevalence of deficiency (−8·5 %; P = 0·079). In adolescents, serum retinol increased by 0·16 μmol/l (P < 0·001) and vitamin A deficiency decreased by 26·1 % (P < 0·001). Conclusions The introduction of fortified maize meal led to a decrease in anaemia in children and a decrease in vitamin A deficiency in adolescents. Centralised, camp-level milling and fortification of maize meal is a feasible and pertinent intervention in food aid operation

Comparativa de la situación de la mujer en la educación Española y Alemana

Treball Final de Grau en Mestre o Mestra d'Educació Infantil. Codi: MI1040. Curs acadèmic: 2016/2017Este trabajo tiene como objetivo principal conocer el papel de la mujer en la sociedad y cómo esto influye en la educación infantil, además de ofrecer una comparativa con otros países Europeos con una ideología conservadora similar a la de España, como pueden ser Alemania o Inglaterra, cuya religión mayoritaria no es el catolicismo. Para conseguir nuestro objetivo hemos realizado un trabajo basado en la recogida de información de diversas fuentes, entre ellas, libros, artículos de revista, materiales digitales. Esto nos ha ayudado a comprender que hay una gran diferencia de género entre los docentes de educación infantil a consecuencia de una larga tradición histórica que sigue perdurando hoy en día. Para comprender esto también se ha analizado el desarrollo histórico de la educación infantil a lo largo de la historia, centrándonos principalmente en dos países como hemos dicho anteriormente, España y Alemania. Finalmente se presentan una serie de conclusiones donde se reúnen todas las informaciones encontradas y la síntesis a la que nosotros llegamos tras realizar el siguiente trabajo

CAP/ACMG proficiency testing for biochemical genetics laboratories: a summary of performance

Testing for inborn errors of metabolism is performed by clinical laboratories worldwide, each utilizing laboratory-developed procedures. We sought to summarize performance in the College of American Pathologists’ (CAP) proficiency testing (PT) program and identify opportunities for improving laboratory quality. When evaluating PT data, we focused on a subset of laboratories that have participated in at least one survey since 2010

The clinically led worforcE and activity redesign (CLEAR) programme: a novel data-driven healthcare improvement methodology

Background: The NHS is facing substantial pressures to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Optimising workforce modelling is a fundamental component of the recovery plan. The Clinically Lead workforcE and Activity Redesign (CLEAR) programme is a unique methodology that trains clinicians to redesign services, building intrinsic capacity and capability, optimising patient care and minimising the need for costly external consultancy. This paper describes the CLEAR methodology and the evaluation of previous CLEAR projects, including the return on investment. Methods: CLEAR is a work-based learning programme that combines qualitative techniques with data analytics to build innovations and new models of care. It has four unique stages: (1) Clinical engagement- used to gather rich insights from stakeholders and clinicians. (2) Data interrogation- utilising clinical and workforce data for cohort analysis. (3) Innovation- using structured innovation methods to develop new models of care. (4) Recommendations- report writing, impact assessment and presentation of key findings to executive boards. A mixed-methods formative evaluation was carried out on completed projects, which included semi-structured interviews and surveys with CLEAR associates and stakeholders, and a health economic logic model that was developed to link the inputs, processes, outputs and the outcome of CLEAR as well as the potential impacts of the changes identified from the projects. Results: CLEAR provides a more cost-effective delivery of complex change programmes than the alternatives – resulting in a cost saving of £1.90 for every £1 spent independent of implementation success. Results suggest that CLEAR recommendations are more likely to be implemented compared to other complex healthcare interventions because of the levels of clinical engagement and have a potential return on investment of up to £14 over 5 years for every £1 invested. CLEAR appears to have a positive impact on staff retention and wellbeing, the cost of a CLEAR project is covered if one medical consultant remains in post for a year. Conclusions: The unique CLEAR methodology is a clinically effective and cost-effective complex healthcare innovation that optimises workforce and activity design, as well as improving staff retention. Embedding CLEAR methodology in the NHS could have substantial impact on patient care, staff well-being and service provision

Divergent effects of first-generation and second-generation antipsychotics on cortical thickness in first episode psychosis

BACKGROUND: Whether there are differential effects of first-generation antipsychotics (FGAs) and second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) on the brain is currently debated. Although some studies report that FGAs reduce grey matter more than SGAs, others do not, and research to date is limited by a focus on schizophrenia spectrum disorders. To address this limitation, this study investigated the effects of medication in patients being treated for first-episode schizophrenia or affective psychoses. METHOD: Cortical thickness was compared between 52 first-episode psychosis patients separated into diagnostic (i.e. schizophrenia or affective psychosis) and medication (i.e. FGA and SGA) subgroups. Patients in each group were also compared to age- and sex-matched healthy controls (n = 28). A whole-brain cortical thickness interaction analysis of medication and diagnosis was then performed. Correlations between cortical thickness with antipsychotic dose and psychotic symptoms were examined. RESULTS: The effects of medication and diagnosis did not interact, suggesting independent effects. Compared with controls, diagnostic differences were found in frontal, parietal and temporal regions. Decreased thickness in FGA-treated versus SGA-treated groups was found in a large frontoparietal region (p < 0.001, corrected). Comparisons with healthy controls revealed decreased cortical thickness in the FGA group whereas the SGA group showed increases in addition to decreases. In FGA-treated patients cortical thinning was associated with higher negative symptoms whereas increased cortical thickness in the SGA-treated group was associated with lower positive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that FGA and SGA treatments have divergent effects on cortical thickness during the first episode of psychosis that are independent from changes due to illness