The Sociological Practitioner in Organizational Health Promotion Programming

In this paper, the roles of the sociological practitioner will be investigated as they apply to the rapidly growing field of organizational health promotion. Health promotion programs include a combination of educational, organizational, and environmental activities designed to support health-conducive behavior within the work setting. Such programs usually include weight reduction programs, aerobic exercise classes, blood pressure monitoring and so on. Theoretically, the ideas of Mead and Becker are investigated as one approach to the understanding of health behaviors. Methodologically, the utilization of needs assessment and evaluation tools provide integral information for the development of a program specifically tailored to meet the needs of an organization. Finally, the clinical sociologist, as a practitioner, can work to design successful programmatic interventions for the worksite. The field of helath promotion provides a number of roles within which sociologists could find viable employment

On Reconstructing Trust: Time, Intention, and Forgiveness

The central focus of this paper is the mechanisms that ordinary people use in their everyday lives to manage relations that have included trust violations. Trust violations provide the impetus for strong emotional experiences. Many relationships recuperate from significant violations of trust, although in a changed form. Our data, gathered from ten in-depth interviews, indicated that on those occasions where individuals deemed the relationship worth salvaging, our respondents and their violators participated in a negotiation process that included the following components: the passing of time, an assessment of the seriousness of the violation and the intent of the other, the offering of an apology, and the rendering of forgiveness. Trust is an orientation to self, other, and relationship whose existence provides the framework for the possibility of intense emotional experiences such as love and hate. These experiences provide a motivating force and goal for the construction, maintenance, and destruction of interpersonal relationships which comprise the fabric of society

Organizational Identity, Health Identity, and Motivation: a Symbolic Interactionist Approach to the Understanding of Heath Behaviors in Work Settings

Identity is an important determinant of behavior. This paper proposed an identity model as one way of understanding those factors related to the perceived probability or willingness of a worker to participate in health promotion programming at the worksite. Part of a larger study on employee wellness, this study took place in the municipal complex of a small city in the southeastern United States. A stratified cross sectional sample of 150 employees was selected utilizing a systematic random sampling methodology. Structured interviews were conducted with 129 participants resulting in a response rate of 92% after adjusting for those people no longer employed by the city. In order to test the identity model developed by this author, descriptive analysis, simple multiple regression analysis and path analysis were utilized. The dependent variable, perceived willingness to participate in health promotion programming, was examined in relationship to commitment to one's health identity, commitment to one's organizational identity, tendency to comply with health initiatives, and the forms of supervisory power utilized to enact employee compliance. The descriptive analysis revealed that subjective health status is moderately and positively associated with commitment to one's health identity, that individuals can be strongly committed to a negative/destructive health identity, and that both the family and physician play important roles as health advice givers. The path analysis revealed that commitment to one's organizational identity, commitment to one's health identity, and tendency to comply with health initiatives are significantly and positively associated with willingness to participate in health promotion programming, accounting for 25% of the variance in the dependent variable. In contrast, the forms of supervisory power were not shown to be related to the dependent variable. In conclusion, the identity model appears to be a useful tool for the understanding of health attitudes and behaviors within a work setting

Biodegradable plastics in Mediterranean coastal environments feature contrasting microbial succession

Plastic pollution of the ocean is a top environmental concern. Biodegradable plastics present a potential “solution” in combating the accumulation of plastic pollution, and their production is currently increasing. While these polymers will contribute to the future plastic marine debris budget, very little is known still about the behavior of biodegradable plastics in different natural environments. In this study, we molecularly profiled entire microbial communities on laboratory confirmed biodegradable polybutylene sebacate-co-terephthalate (PBSeT) and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) films, and non-biodegradable conventional low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films that were incubated in situ in three different coastal environments in the Mediterranean Sea. Samples from a pelagic, benthic, and eulittoral habitat were taken at five timepoints during an incubation period of 22 months. We assessed the presence of potential biodegrading bacterial and fungal taxa and contrasted them against previously published in situ disintegration data of these polymers. Scanning electron microscopy imaging complemented our molecular data. Putative plastic degraders occurred in all environments, but there was no obvious “core” of shared plastic-specific microbes. While communities varied between polymers, the habitat predominantly selected for the underlying communities. Observed disintegration patterns did not necessarily match community patterns of putative plastic degraders

Does urethral competence affect urodynamic voiding parameters in women with prolapse?

Aims To (1) compare voiding parameters and (2) correlate symptoms and urodynamic findings in women with pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and varying degrees of urethral competence. Methods We compared three groups of women with stages II–IV POP. Groups 1 and 2 were symptomatically stress continent women participating in the Colpopexy and Urinary Reduction Efforts (CARE) trial; during prolapse reduction before sacrocolpopexy, Group 1 (n = 67) did not have and Group 2 (n = 84) had urodynamic stress incontinence (USI) during prolapse reduction. Group 3 participants (n = 74), recruited specifically for this study, had stress urinary incontinence (SUI) symptoms and planned sacrocolpopexy. Participants completed standardized uroflowmetry, pressure voiding studies, and validated symptom questionnaires. Results Subjects' median age was 61 years, median parity 3 and 87% had stage III or IV POP. Fourteen percent of women in Group 3 demonstrated USI without, and 70% with, prolapse reduction. Women in Groups 2 and 3 had more detrusor overactivity (DO) than Group 1 (17 and 24% vs. 6%, P  = 0.02) and detrusor overactivity incontinence (DOI) (15 and 8% vs. 0%, P  = 0.004). Based on the Blaivis–Groutz nomogram, 60% of all women were obstructed. Post-void residual volume (PVR), peak flow rate, detrusor pressure at peak flow, voiding mechanisms, voiding patterns, obstruction and urinary retention did not differ among groups. Women in Group 3 had higher irritative and obstructive symptom scores than Group 1 or 2; neither score differed by presence of DO nor obstruction, respectively. Conclusion Women with POP have significant rates of urodynamic obstruction and retention, independent of their continence status. Symptoms of obstruction and retention correlate poorly with urodynamic findings. Neurourol. Urodynam. 26:1030–1035, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/57365/1/20436_ftp.pd

Immunoelectron microscopic localization of HLA-DR antigen in control small intestine and colon and in inflammatory bowel disease

We have elucidated the distribution of I2 (HLA-DR) antigen in control and inflammatory bowel disease specimens, using immunoelectron microscopic methods. Control small intestinal epithelium and inflammatory bowel disease epithelium expressed I2 antigen, while control colonic epithelium did not. I2 expression by enterocytes was more frequent on the lateral and basal surface than on the microvillus surface. Two of three M cells in control ileum expressed I2 antigen. I2-positive intraepithelial lymphocytes were rarely detected in both control and disease specimens. I2-positive lamina propria lymphocytes were significantly increased in inflammatory bowel disease, while I2-positive lamina propria lymphocytes were virtually absent in control specimens. I2-positive mononuclear cells in the intestinal lamina propria were largely macrophages and monocytes in both control and inflammatory bowel disease specimens. I2-positive mononuclear cells resembling dendritic cells were not detected in control or disease specimens. Furthermore, there were no significant morphological differences in I2-positive or-negative macrophages and monocytes in control and disease specimens. The expression of I2 antigen on Schwann cells was detected more frequently in disease specimens than in control specimens. Capillary endothelia of both control and disease specimens expressed I2 antigen. We demonstrate that I2 expression is present on surface membranes of both immune and nonimmune cells of the intestine and colon and show that this expression is more prominent in inflammatory bowel disease than in control intestine and colon. Further studies are required to determine whether this finding is meaningful in terms of antigen presentation and whether this apparent “immune activation” is involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44398/1/10620_2005_Article_BF01299810.pd

Ciclosporin A Proof of Concept Study in Patients with Active, Progressive HTLV-1 Associated Myelopathy/Tropical Spastic Paraparesis

HTLV-1 is a retrovirus transmitted through body fluids that is commonly seen in the West Indies, South America and Southern Japan but rarely in the UK. Although most patients remain healthy carriers, HTLV-1 causes serious conditions such as adult T cell leukaemia/lymphoma (ATLL) and HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/Tropical Spastic Paraparesis (HAM/TSP). The infection which is life-long cannot be eradicated and treatments for the associated diseases are limited. We report the encouraging findings of the first UK Medical Research Council funded treatment study for patients with early and/or deteriorating HAM/TSP. Treatment with ciclosporin A, a drug commonly used to dampen the immune system in transplant patients, was investigated. Symptoms and signs of disease, particularly low back pain and muscle stiffness, improved by week 24 and in some patients this improvement persisted after the 48 weeks of treatment, at least to the end of the study at week 72. Most striking was the finding that the amount of HTLV-1 in the fluid around the spinal cord, called cerebrospinal fluid, was reduced during treatment. These findings justify the further study of ciclosporin A in patients with HAM/TSP

Unexpected Widespread Hypophosphatemia and Bone Disease Associated with Elemental Formula Use in Infants and Children

OBJECTIVE: Hypophosphatemia occurs with inadequate dietary intake, malabsorption, increased renal excretion, or shifts between intracellular and extracellular compartments. We noticed the common finding of amino-acid based elemental formula [EF] use in an unexpected number of cases of idiopathic hypophosphatemia occurring in infants and children evaluated for skeletal disease. We aimed to fully characterize the clinical profiles in these cases. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of children with unexplained hypophosphatemia was performed as cases accumulated from various centres in North America and Ireland. Data were analyzed to explore any relationships between feeding and biochemical or clinical features, effects of treatment, and to identify a potential mechanism. RESULTS: Fifty-one children were identified at 17 institutions with EF-associated hypophosphatemia. Most children had complex illnesses and had been solely fed Neocate® formula products for variable periods of time prior to presentation. Feeding methods varied. Hypophosphatemia was detected during evaluation of fractures or rickets. Increased alkaline phosphatase activity and appropriate renal conservation of phosphate were documented in nearly all cases. Skeletal radiographs demonstrated fractures, undermineralization, or rickets in 94% of the cases. Although the skeletal disease had often been attributed to underlying disease, most all improved with addition of supplemental phosphate or change to a different formula product. CONCLUSION: The observed biochemical profiles indicated a deficient dietary supply or severe malabsorption of phosphate, despite adequate formula composition. When transition to an alternate formula was possible, biochemical status improved shortly after introduction to the alternate formula, with eventual improvement of skeletal abnormalities. These observations strongly implicate that bioavailability of formula phosphorus may be impaired in certain clinical settings. The widespread nature of the findings lead us to strongly recommend careful monitoring of mineral metabolism in children fed EF. Transition to alternative formula use or implementation of phosphate supplementation should be performed cautiously with as severe hypocalcemia may develop