Preschool growth and nutrition service - addressing common nutritional problems: a community based primary care led intervention

Childhood obesity has been prioritised by the World Health Organization in a recent report, which calls for a holistic multiagency approach to tackling and reducing future risks of obesity and its associated co-morbidities. This article examines a health service approach to improving recognition and management of pre-school nutritional problems as part of training health care professionals. It explores the practicalities of setting up a local pathway for managing cases in the community with appropriate specialist support. This model, developed for the management of weight faltering, has now been adapted to tackle childhood obesity

Adverse Childhood Experiences and the Risk of Drug Overdose in Adulthood

Background Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) encompass a variety of traumatic events that occur during one’s youth. ACEs may be physical, mental, emotional, or sexual in nature, and they are often associated with long-term negative consequences such as alcoholism, substance abuse, and criminal justice involvement. The global rise of the opioid epidemic has intensified the need to better understand and address factors associated with illicit substance use. The current study will investigate the relationship between exposure to ACEs, onset of drug use, and history of drug overdose. Methods This study will utilize an observational design in which participants will be asked to complete a self-report questionnaire. The sample will comprise of male and female individuals housed in a local suburban jail. The study aims to recruit 350 participants. The survey will collect data regarding childhood experiences, age at first drug use, history of drug use, and drug overdose. Gender, race, and age differences will be examined. Results The current study is part of an ongoing research project. Using descriptive and explanatory statistics, preliminary results will be presented. Conclusions While prior literature has explored the relationship between ACEs, morbidity, and mortality, the current study aims to explore whether ACEs are associated with onset of drug use and drug overdose. ACEs and substance abuse issues are prevalent amongst incarcerated people, and risk of overdose is particularly high in this population. Findings may lend insight into the need for trauma-informed interventions within the community and the criminal justice system.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1176/thumbnail.jp

Concept mapping: Is it a useful method when there is no \u27correct\u27 knowledge on the topic?

Concept mapping is a research method often used to assess participants\u27 knowledge of a topic. Our project studied how preservice teachers\u27 knowledge of challenging behaviour changes (or not) during their final professional teaching experience. We asked the participants to make a concept map before and after their final professional teaching experience because we anticipated it would (1) provide reflective space for the preservice teachers to think about \u27what\u27 they knew about challenging behaviour, without feeling like they were being \u27tested\u27 in an interview, and (2) illustrate knowledge change during their final professional teaching experience. However, our use of concept maps was not without trepidation because of the type of knowledge under investigation. Concept mapping to assess an individual\u27s knowledge can be epistemologically rigid because (regardless of the quantitative or qualitative analytic approach used) maps are typically assessed against a \u27correct\u27, \u27factual\u27 knowledge-base. We, on the contrary, were interested in participants\u27 knowledge of a contentious issue and our theoretical framework supported the existence of multiple knowledges. This case describes how we negotiated the boundaries of existing concept mapping methods to facilitate analysis of participants\u27 understandings of \u27messy\u27 knowledge and how this changed over time

2023 Final Report for Databases in the 2022 Traffic Records Improvement Plan: Facilitating the Development of Projects to Attain the Goals in the Implementation Plan for the 2022-26 Traffic Records Strategic Plan

During fiscal year 2023, with financial support (Grant #M3Da-2022-04) from the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety, the Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC)-continued its work with traffic database officials to facilitate successful attainment of the remaining goals from the 2017-21 Traffic Records Strategic Plan (TRSP), which goals are in the 2022-26 TRSP Transportation Records Improvement Plan (TRIP). For most databases, some new goals were developed; this required further refinement of some projects or strategies to improve database performance. Projects to complete the goals in the TRIP were continued and some completed for the following databases: CRASH, Citation/Adjudication, Injury Surveillance (KIPRC and EMS), Vehicle Registration, Roadway, and Driver Licensing

Effect of Socioeconomic Factors on Kentucky Truck Driver Crashes

Kentucky crash data for the 2015-2016 period reveal that per capita crash rates and increases in crash-related fatalities in the state outpaced the national average. To explain why the U.S. Southeast sees higher crash rates than other regions of the country, previous research has argued the region’s unique socioeconomic conditions provide a compelling explanation. Taking this observation as a starting point, this study uses an extensive crash dataset from Kentucky to examine the relationship between highway safety and socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Its focus is single- and two-unit crashes that involve commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) and automobiles. Using binary logistic regression and the quasi-induced exposure technique to analyze data on the socioeconomic and demographic attributes of the zip codes in which drivers reside, factors are identified which can serve as indicators of crash occurrence. Variables such as income, education level, poverty level, employment, age, gender, and rurality of the driver’s zip code influence the likelihood of a driver being at fault in a crash. Socioeconomic factors exert a similar influence on CMV and automobile crashes, irrespective of the number of vehicles involved. Research findings can be used to identify groups of drivers most likely to be involved in crashes and develop targeted and efficient safety programs