Influence of built environment and social capital on mental health of residents of assisted living communities in Louisville, KY.

Objectives: Prior research has shown social capital and built environment quality are associated with overall health status and the incidence of mental illness. This study explores the relationship between social capital, built environment, and quality of life specifically for assisted living residents, currently a gap in the literature. Method: A total of 76 assisted living residents were interviewed for the study using researcher-administered questionnaires. In addition, site audits were conducted to quantitatively evaluate the built environment surrounding 12 assisted living communities in the Louisville Metro region. Results: There was a moderate, positive correlation between social capital and mental health, r = .473, p \u3c .001. Built environment quality for the neighborhood immediately surrounding the assisted living community was not significantly correlated with quality of life for assisted living residents. Other population characteristics, including demographic characteristics, self-rated health status, and instrumental activities of daily living were not significantly predictive of mental health scores. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that social capital is associated with happiness and self-rated quality of life. Specifically, increased social capital is associated with increased mental well-being for older adults residing in assisted living communities, with social capital explaining about 20% of the variation in quality of life scores

Training to improve collaborative practice: a key component of strategy to reduce mental ill health in the offender population

Internationally there are unacceptably high numbers of people in contact with the criminal justice system (e.g. in police custody, in court, in prison) who have mental health issues (Fazel & Danesh, 2002). Addressing mental health in the offender population is essential to maintain public safety, improve the wellbeing of the offender and their family, reduce reoffending and the impact of this on the public purse. Poor interagency and interprofessional working have been highlighted as key factors that have severely compromised patient and public safety in the past: working at the interface of the mental health services and criminal justice systems has been shown to be particularly challenging with complex communication and information sharing strategies being required. A key aspect of improving joint working is the delivery of a continuous or integrated rehabilitation pathway characterized by early diagnosis, treatment, appropriate sentencing or diversion of people away from the criminal justice system and into mental health services (see Rogers and Ormston this volume). Integrated, effective partnership working is required between these two systems. Training and development to assist and support staff involved in this team working endeavour is essential. Within the mental health/criminal justice arena the Bradley Report (Bradley, 2009) in the UK calls for joint training between agencies. To date there is little that suggests the content or format this training should take. This chapter responds to this shortfall by exploring how the enhancement of collaborative practice between mental health services (MHS) and the Criminal Justice System (CJS) can be seen as one element of the armory necessary to combat the issues posed by mental illness in the offender population (Durcan, Saunders, Gadsbuy and Hazard, 2014). We explore why collaborative practice between different professionals and agencies is high on the agenda globally (World Health Organisation, 2010) and why professionals within the MHS and CJS need to be trained to be able to work collaboratively in the interest of reducing mental ill health in the offender population. Although training of this type is largely absent in this area, we explore potential approaches to training focusing on both a systems and interpersonal level of analysis, giving some of examples of interprofessional training used in the MHS and CJS context to illustrate these approaches. A triple phase model of collaborative practice training for professionals within the MHS and CJS is proposed

Restricted streptomycin use in apple orchards did not adversely alter the soil bacteria communities

Streptomycin has been authorized for restricted use in the prevention of the fire blight disease of pome fruit orchards in the EU and Switzerland. This study addresses the important topic of the influence of the use of streptomycin in agriculture on the total bacteria community within the soil ecosystem. Soil samples were taken from soils under apple trees, prior to streptomycin application and 2 weeks post streptomycin application or water application (untreated control). High throughput 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing was used to generate datasets from the soils under apple trees in apple orchards from three different locations in Switzerland. We hypothesized that the use of streptomycin would reduce the bacterial diversity within the soil samples and enhance a reduction in the variety of taxa present. Bacterial species such as Pseudomonas, Burkholderia, and Stenotrophomonas are intrinsically resistant to many antibiotics and as such it is of interest to investigate if the use of streptomycin provided a selective advantage for these bacteria in the soil ecosystem. The application of streptomycin did not influence the abundance and diversities of major bacteria taxa of the soils or the Pseudomonas, Burkholderia, and Stenotrophomonas species. We also discovered that apple orchards under the same management practices, did not harbor the same bacterial communities. The restricted application of streptomycin in the protection of apple orchards from the fire blight pathogen Erwinia amylovora under the guidelines in Switzerland did not alter either the bacterial diversity or abundance within these soil ecosystems

Developing a group intervention to manage fatigue in rheumatoid arthritis through modifying physical activity

© 2019 The Author(s). Background: Fatigue is a major symptom of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). There is some evidence that physical activity (PA) may be effective in reducing RA fatigue. However, few PA interventions have been designed to manage fatigue and there is limited evidence of end-user input into intervention development. The aim of this research was to co-design an intervention to support self-management of RA fatigue through modifying PA. Methods: A series of studies used mixed methodological approaches to co-design a fatigue management intervention focused on modifying PA based on UK Medical Research Council guidance, and informed by the Behaviour Change Wheel theoretical framework. Development was based on existing evidence, preferences of RA patients and rheumatology healthcare professionals, and practical issues regarding intervention format, content and implementation. Results: The resulting group-based intervention consists of seven sessions delivered by a physiotherapist over 12 weeks. Each session includes an education and discussion session followed by supervised PA chosen by the participant. The intervention is designed to support modification and maintenance of PA as a means of managing fatigue. This is underpinned by evidence-based behaviour change techniques that might support changes in PA behaviour. Intervention delivery is interactive and aims to enhance capability, opportunity and motivation for PA. Conclusion: This study outlines stages in the systematic development of a theory-based intervention designed through consultation with RA patients and healthcare professionals to reduce the impact of RA fatigue. The feasibility of future evaluation of the intervention should now be determined

GPR55 deficiency is associated with increased adiposity and impaired insulin signaling in peripheral metabolic tissues

This work was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Diabetes UK. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. This article includes supplemental data. Please visit http://www.fasebj.org to obtain this information.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The effects of a video intervention on posthospitalization pulmonary rehabilitation uptake

Rationale: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) after hospitalizations for exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) improves exercise capacity and health-related quality of life and reduces readmissions. However, posthospitalization PR uptake is low. To date, no trials of interventions to increase uptake have been conducted.Objectives: To study the effect of a codesigned education video as an adjunct to usual care on posthospitalization PR uptake.Methods: The present study was an assessor- and statistician-blinded randomized controlled trial with nested, qualitative interviews of participants in the intervention group. Participants hospitalized with COPD exacerbations were assigned 1:1 to receive either usual care (COPD discharge bundle including PR information leaflet) or usual care plus the codesigned education video delivered via a handheld tablet device at discharge. Randomization used minimization to balance age, sex, FEV1 % predicted, frailty, transport availability, and previous PR experience.Measurements and Main Results: The primary outcome was PR uptake within 28 days of hospital discharge. A total of 200 patients were recruited, and 196 were randomized (51% female, median FEV1% predicted, 36 [interquartile range, 27-48]). PR uptake was 41% and 34% in the usual care and intervention groups, respectively (P = 0.37), with no differences in secondary (PR referral and completion) or safety (readmissions and death) endpoints. A total of 6 of the 15 participants interviewed could not recall receiving the video.Conclusions: A codesigned education video delivered at hospital discharge did not improve posthospitalization PR uptake, referral, or completion

In Solidarity

This edition of Next Page is a departure from our usual question and answer format with a featured campus reader. Instead, we asked speakers who participated in the College’s recent Student Solidarity Rally (March 1, 2017) to recommend readings that might further our understanding of the topics on which they spoke

Effects of portion size on chronic energy intake

© 2007 Jeffery et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Promoting engagement in physical activity in early rheumatoid arthritis: A proof‐of‐concept intervention study

Objective(s): The aim of this study is to test the feasibility and acceptability of promoting engagement in physical activity in early rheumatoid arthritis (PEPA-RA) to inform a future trial.Design: A ‘proof of concept’ study was carried out.Setting: This study was conducted in community hospitals delivered by musculoskeletal primary care physiotherapists.Participants: Participants were 12 adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) diagnosed 6–24 months previously (nine females, three males; mean age 58 years, range 23–79).Intervention: The intervention consisted of five sessions, that is, four group sessions and one individual session facilitated by a physiotherapist over 12 weeks including patient education and support for behaviour change as well as supervised practical exercise.Main outcomes: The main outcomes were attendance, completion of outcome measures, adverse events, and participant and physiotherapist feedback views relating to the intervention.Results: Overall attendance was 85%, with sessions missed due to illness or RA flare. Outcome measure completion ranged from 83% to 100%. There were no clinically meaningful changes in pain or function at 12 weeks, but mean 6-min walk distance improved from 394 to 440m. No serious adverse events were reported, and participantswere generally positive about the intervention. Suggested minor modifications for the group sessions included venue accessibility and ensuring that physical activity time was protected. Several participants indicated that they would have liked to receive the intervention earlier following diagnosis.Conclusions: PEPA-RA and the outcomes appear feasible and acceptable. Overall, small beneficial effects were noted at 12 weeks for most outcomes. Challenges to recruitment resulted in a smaller than anticipated sample size, and the majority of participants were active at baseline indicating that future recruitment needs to targetless active individuals