The Money Value of Risk: Life Insurance and the Transformation of American Public Health, 1896-1930

This study examines the engagement of the life insurance industry with the emerging field of public health during the Progressive era. By conducting research, promoting hygiene, and providing the services of visiting nurses, firms such as Metropolitan Life and the Prudential transferred their ideologies and methodologies into the wider medical arena. Thus, the collaborations conducted during this period had significant ramifications for the future shape of American public health, which drew methods of risk assessment and a statistical approach to medicine from the alliance. This dissertation asks why the partnerships occurred. Public health and life insurance are not automatic allies, and their cooperation took place in a wider context of economic growth, social upheaval, and changing attitudes toward the management of risk. The study notes the power of life insurance firms as cultural institutions, which derived their commercial success from their ability to harness the social preoccupations of the buying public; the most profitable companies had a history of adjusting their sales rhetoric to anticipate, match, and manipulate public perceptions about which risks were salient and what the best ways to manage them might be. The passage of social insurance legislation in Europe provided a powerful example to reformers, whose structural approach to social betterment favored poverty prevention and legislative change. To prevent such measures from becoming law in the United States, insurance firms engaged in a strategy of political capitalism that included activities promoting public health. By positioning themselves as guardians of the nation's physical vitality (and, by extension, its prosperity), they protected the dominance of the private sector, strongly influenced the nascent field of public health, and created a point of significant methodological transmission to the medical arena

What is Good Programming and How Do You Know?: An Examination of the Assessment Criteria of Teens and Teen Librarians in Young Adult Programming.

This study describes interviews of adolescents between the ages of thirteen and nineteen attending teen programs at public libraries in southeastern North Carolina and of the teen librarians running those programs. The interviews were conducted to determine the different assessment criteria used by teens and teen librarians when assessing teen programs in public libraries. Subjects at six different teen programs at four public libraries were used to explore the similarities and differences in assessment of teen programs. In these North Carolina public libraries, teens and teen librarians use both similar and dissimilar criteria to measure program success.Master of Science in Library Scienc

Factors Impacting Adherence to a Multifactorial Fall Prevention Program - a Matter of Balance

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Falls among community dwelling older adults are a significant public health problem. “A Matter of Balance” (MOB) is a multifactorial fall prevention program that aims to improve participants’ self-efficacy and increase physical activity in order to reduce falls. Although there is some evidence supporting MOB’s effectiveness, no published studies to date have examined the program from the perspective of participants or long-term program adherence. As such, the purpose of this study was to examine self-reported outcomes associated with the MOB program in order to explore participants’ perspectives and program adherence. METHODS: This study utilized a mixed methods design that incorporated both survey and focus group interview data. Subjects included a convenience sample of 28 healthy community dwelling older adults who were enrolled in 4 separate MOB programs in the Twin Cities. Survey data were collected before the program and immediately after, 6-weeks, and 6-months post-program. Survey items addressed demographics, general health, falls management, exercise behavior, and number of falls. Focus groups were scheduled 3 to 5 months post-program and led by a principle investigator and student researchers. Semi-structured interview questions focused on participants’ experience of the MOB program, recommendations that were or were not implemented, and motivation for and barriers to change. RESULTS: 70.4% of the participants completed all 4 surveys. Statistically significant improvements were identified for 2 survey items including: “I can find a way to reduce falls” and “I can protect myself if I fall”. No significant change over time in exercise level or number of falls was identified. Ten subjects participated in 4 focus groups. Qualitatively, 7 themes emerged from the focus group data. These were: awareness, motivators for attendance, class learning environment, current adherence, facilitators and barriers to adherence, and recommendations for future programming. CONCLUSION: Overall, MOB’s effectiveness was evidenced by increased awareness, which may be related to improved falls management, self-efficacy and motivation. Post-program adherence to physical activity recommendations was facilitated when activities were incorporated into participants’ existing routines. Participants desired a follow-up program for continued social support and accountability but further research is needed to investigate the efficacy of this type of intervention

Dog and Owner Characteristics Predict Training Success

Teaching owners how to train their dogs is an important part of maintaining the health and safety of dogs and people. Yet we do not know what behavioral characteristics of dogs and their owners are relevant to dog training or if owner cognitive abilities play a role in training success. The aim of this study is to determine which characteristics of both dogs and owners predict success in completing the American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen training program. Before the first session of a dog training course, owners completed surveys evaluating the behavior and cognition of their dog and themselves. Additionally, we collected the dogs’ initial training levels via behavioral tasks. We then examined what factors predicted whether the dogs passed the Canine Good Citizen test after the class ended. In terms of dog characteristics, we found that, while dog age, sex and neuter status did not predict success, owner-rated levels of disobedience did predict completion of the program. In terms of owner characteristics, owners who scored higher on cognitive measures were more likely to have their dogs complete the program. Finally, dog–owner characteristics such as the time spent training predicted success. Thus, characteristics of the dogs, owners, and how they interact seem to predict training success. These findings suggest that there are some owner, dog, and dog–owner characteristics that can facilitate or hinder dog training

Re-Examining the Definition of Community Psychology Practice

Throughout the early and mid-2000s, Community Psychology practitioners worked with the Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA) Executive Committee (EC) to revisit relevant organizational goals and objectives.  These conversations resulted in the recognition of the need to more fully operationalize the “action” component of SCRA. Ultimately, a draft statement was brought to the first International Community Psychology Conference in Puerto Rico.  Through a highly participative process, a group of conference attendees emerged with a definition of community psychology practice:  The aim of community psychology practice is to strengthen the capacity of communities to meet the needs of constituents and help them to realize their dreams in order to promote well-being, social justice, economic equity and self-determination through systems, organizational and/or individual change. Since the definition was developed over a decade ago, much has changed. This special issue was conceived as a means for the field to consider the definition of Community Psychology practice in light of these and other advances in our thinking. The special issue editorial team invites the field to ponder proposed changes and new definitions of community psychology practice

Re-Examining the Definition of Community Psychology Practice

Throughout the early and mid-2000s, Community Psychology practitioners worked with the Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA) Executive Committee (EC) to revisit relevant organizational goals and objectives.  These conversations resulted in the recognition of the need to more fully operationalize the “action” component of SCRA. Ultimately, a draft statement was brought to the first International Community Psychology Conference in Puerto Rico.  Through a highly participative process, a group of conference attendees emerged with a definition of community psychology practice:  The aim of community psychology practice is to strengthen the capacity of communities to meet the needs of constituents and help them to realize their dreams in order to promote well-being, social justice, economic equity and self-determination through systems, organizational and/or individual change. Since the definition was developed over a decade ago, much has changed. This special issue was conceived as a means for the field to consider the definition of Community Psychology practice in light of these and other advances in our thinking. The special issue editorial team invites the field to ponder proposed changes and new definitions of community psychology practice

The Definition, Assessment, and Prevalence of (Human Assumed) Central Sensitisation in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain:A Systematic Review

Central sensitisation is assumed to be one of the underlying mechanisms for chronic low back pain. Because central sensitisation is not directly assessable in humans, the term ‘human assumed central sensitisation’ (HACS) is suggested. The objectives were to investigate what definitions for HACS have been used, to evaluate the methods to assess HACS, to assess the validity of those methods, and to estimate the prevalence of HACS. Database search resulted in 34 included studies. Forty different definition references were used to define HACS. This review uncovered twenty quantitative methods to assess HACS, including four questionnaires and sixteen quantitative sensory testing measures. The prevalence of HACS in patients with chronic low back pain was estimated in three studies. The current systematic review highlights that multiple definitions, assessment methods, and prevalence estimates are stated in the literature regarding HACS in patients with chronic low back pain. Most of the assessment methods of HACS are not validated but have been tested for reliability and repeatability. Given the lack of a gold standard to assess HACS, an initial grading system is proposed to standardize clinical and research assessments of HACS in patients with a chronic low back

What Do Studies of Insect Polyphenisms Tell Us about Nutritionally-Triggered Epigenomic Changes and Their Consequences?

Many insects are capable of remarkable changes in biology and form in response to their environment or diet. The most extreme example of these are polyphenisms, which are when two or more different phenotypes are produced from a single genotype in response to the environment. Polyphenisms provide a fascinating opportunity to study how the environment affects an animal’s genome, and how this produces changes in form. Here we review the current state of knowledge of the molecular basis of polyphenisms and what can be learnt from them to understand how nutrition may influence our own genomes

Not Another Boring Resident Didactic Conference

BackgroundThe Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requires that residency programs in emergency medicine plan at least 5 hours of didactic experiences per week. Instructional methods should include smallâ group techniques, problemâ based learning, or computerâ based instruction. Despite recommendations from the ACGME, many programsâ conference didactics continue to include primarily lectureâ based instruction.MethodsThe authors describe instructional methods that promote active learning and may be superior to traditional lectureâ based education.ResultsThese methods include varying instructional methods, caseâ based learning, teamâ based learning and the flipped classroom, audience response systems, simulation, â wars,â oral boards, escape rooms and scavenger hunts, expert panel discussions, debates, clinical pathologic cases, and leaderboards. The authors discuss how these methods can be implemented to make emergency medicine didactic conferences more varied and interactive for learners.ConclusionsWhile there is minimal research on the efficacy of these methods in graduate medical education, many have shown to improvement engagement of learners and to be effective in undergraduate medical education. Further research will be needed to determine if longâ term learning outcomes can be improved with these strategies.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154330/1/aet210367_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154330/2/aet210367.pd