Interagency Collaboration and the Homeless Population: Barriers, Supports, and Willingness to Change

Homelessness is a growing clinical concern is social work and in any helping profession. As the number of homeless population grows, counties in Minnesota attempt to collaborate and problem solve possible solutions. Interagency collaborations is not unique to social work of to this population, yet many agonies collaborate with others on a large scale to formulate solutions to this epidemic. This study identifies 8 participants who were currently in an interagency collaboration for the homeless population. The focus was on the willingness of agencies to change to collaborate to benefit the homeless, barriers that arise, and supports or successes about collaborating. The outcome concluded that these individuals believe that everyone they know is willing to change. They agree that there are barriers that make serving this population a challenge. They identified that change is a good thing and most cautiously promoted the change. Finally, participants identified that it can be a challenge to measure what the collaboration is doing and if it is successful or not

Interagency Collaboration and the Homeless Population: Barriers, Supports, and Willingness to Change

Homelessness is a growing clinical concern is social work and in any helping profession. As the number of homeless population grows, counties in Minnesota attempt to collaborate and problem solve possible solutions. Interagency collaborations is not unique to social work of to this population, yet many agonies collaborate with others on a large scale to formulate solutions to this epidemic. This study identifies 8 participants who were currently in an interagency collaboration for the homeless population. The focus was on the willingness of agencies to change to collaborate to benefit the homeless, barriers that arise, and supports or successes about collaborating. The outcome concluded that these individuals believe that everyone they know is willing to change. They agree that there are barriers that make serving this population a challenge. They identified that change is a good thing and most cautiously promoted the change. Finally, participants identified that it can be a challenge to measure what the collaboration is doing and if it is successful or not

Determination of monocular and binocular field preferences and their relationships to eye dominancy

Determination of monocular and binocular field preferences and their relationships to eye dominanc

Advanced seasonal reproductive development in a male urban bird is reflected in earlier plasma luteinizing hormone rise but not energetic status

AbstractUrban animals inhabit an environment considerably different than do their non-urban conspecifics, and to persist urban animals must adjust to these novel environments. The timing of seasonal reproductive development (i.e., growth of gonads and secondary sex organs) is a fundamental determinant of the breeding period and is frequently advanced in urban bird populations. However, the underlying mechanism(s) by which birds adjust the timing of reproductive development to urban areas remain(s) largely unknown. Here, we compared the timing of vernal reproductive development in free-ranging urban and non-urban male Abert’s Towhees, Melozone aberti, in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, and tested the non-mutually exclusive hypotheses that earlier reproductive development is due to improved energetic status and/or earlier increase in endocrine activity of the reproductive system. We found that urban birds initiated testicular development earlier than non-urban birds, but this disparity was not associated with differences in body condition, fat stores, or innate immune performance. These results provide no support for the hypothesis that energetic constraints are responsible for delayed reproductive development of non-urban relative to urban male Abert’s Towhees. Urban birds did, however, increase their plasma luteinizing hormone, but not plasma testosterone, earlier than non-urban birds. These findings suggest that adjustment to urban areas by Abert’s Towhees involves increases in the endocrine activity of the anterior pituitary gland and/or hypothalamus earlier than non-urban towhees

The ecological and physiological bases of variation in the phenology of gonad growth in an urban and desert songbird.

AbstractBirds often adjust to urban areas by advancing the timing (phenology) of vernal gonad growth. However, the ecological and physiological bases of this adjustment are unclear. We tested whether the habitat-related disparity in gonad growth phenology of male Abert’s towhees, Melozone aberti, is due to greater food availability in urban areas of Phoenix, Arizona USA or, alternatively, a habitat-related difference in the phenology of key food types. To better understand the physiological mechanism underlying variation in gonad growth phenology, we compared the activity of the reproductive system at all levels of hypothalamo-pituitary–gonadal (HPG) axis. We found no habitat-associated difference in food availability (ground arthropod biomass), but, in contrast to the seasonal growth of leaves on desert trees, the leaf foliage of urban trees was already developed at the beginning of our study. Multiple estimates of energetic status did not significantly differ between the non-urban and urban towhees during three years that differed in the habitat-related disparity in gonad growth and winter precipitation levels. Thus, our results provide no support for the hypothesis that greater food abundance in urban areas of Phoenix drives the habitat-related disparity in gonad growth phenology in Abert’s towhees. By contrast, they suggest that differences in the predictability and magnitude of change in food availability between urban and desert areas of Phoenix contribute to the observed habitat-related disparity in gonad growth. Endocrine responsiveness of the gonads may contribute to this phenomenon as desert – but not urban – towhees had a marked plasma testosterone response to GnRH challenge

Increasing LARC Utilization through Standardized Contraception Education

Reducing unintended pregnancy is an important goal for any woman of childbearing age and optimizing contraceptive effectiveness should be a priority for healthcare providers serving this population. One subset of this population at increased need for optimization of contraceptive technologies is women presenting for abortion care. In most cases women presenting for abortion care have been on some method of contraception in the past, and either discontinued use due to side effects or lifestyle, or became pregnant while using contraception. The efficacy, safety, and convenience of long acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) methods have been widely recognized and LARC methods are recognized as first line contraceptives for almost all women of childbearing age. Unfortunately, many barriers such as access, cost, and misconceptions exist in the United States, which prevent optimal use of LARC methods. The purpose of this practice improvement project was to assess current knowledge of available contraceptives in women presenting for abortion care and to determine the efficacy of using a standardized LARC-centric contraceptive method education. Pre- and post-contraceptive education surveys were used to compare contraceptive method decision-making among women who received treatment as usual on the day of their abortion to women receiving a standardized contraceptive method overview. Contraceptive education resulted in increased understanding among patients presenting for abortion care, however, a significant difference between a routine contraceptive education session compared to a standardized contraception education script was not found. Although a statistically significant difference was not found, women who received standardized contraception education did choose LARC methods at a higher rate. In examining how to best educate women in preventing unintended pregnancy, every opportunity should be taken to enhance knowledge of available contraceptive methods before a woman is presenting for abortion. If unintended pregnancy has occurred and abortion is being chosen, education and support before, during, and after the procedure is necessary to ensure understanding