Injury and disease in the young thoroughbred racehorse: associations with subsequent racing performance

There is limited research detailing the precise reason for foals failing to achieve different life-stages from birth to racing, even though almost 50% of foals do not reach flat race training in the UK (Wilsher et al., 2006). In order to increase the proportion of the Thoroughbred foal population that reach the racecourse, a better understanding of the reasons behind failure and associated risk factors is required. The aims of this project were to: • Identify veterinary reasons for foals failing to reach training and racing. • Identify juvenile veterinary problems associated with reduced race performance. Content analysis (Wordstat: Provalis Research, Canada), was used to extract information from a free-text dataset that included the histories of 1044 foals born within an international breeding operation between 2000 and 2004, inclusive. Chi-squared tests were used to identify associations between type of early career injury (prior to entering full training) and successful entry into training. Further analyses explored associations between the three most common juvenile veterinary problems and performance in racing. Career profiles were collected for the entire cohort using the Racing Post’s online dataset (www.racingpost.com). Information collected included; number of career starts, wins and places, prize money earned through winning a race, total prize money won, Official Ratings (OR’s) and Racing Post ratings. Two sampled t-tests and Mann Whitney tests were used to identify associations between juvenile veterinary problems and different measures of race performance. Šidák-Bonferonni corrections were used to adjust for multiple comparisons. Multiple linear regression models were used to account for potential confounding effects of other variables on performance (gender, year of birth and month of birth) and sire and dam were also included as a random effect in the model. Of the original cohort, 56.5% (590) of horses entered full training successfully, while still under the ownership of the breeding operation. Sixty-one (7%) horses died before reaching this stage. Of these, 38% (23/61) failed to reach weaning and 62% (38/61) died either before entering training or before being sold post-weaning. A total of 717 horses (69%) were identified as having had at least one veterinary problem during their early years. Two hundred and fifty-seven horses were identified with no veterinary problems and 70 horses included insufficient data to identify whether they had veterinary problems. The most common veterinary problem identified was musculoskeletal injury or disease (excluding fractures) (MSK), with 50% (522/1044) of horses being affected, followed by fractures, 214 (21%), and the respiratory system, 179 (17%). Other problems identified included gastrointestinal, neurological, ophthalmic, infection and reproductive ailments. One hundred and three horses (9.9%) sustained a fracture before reaching an age when they would have entered training. Of these, 64 (62%) did not enter training under ownership of the breeding operation; of these 46 (72%) were sold or gifted before entering training, 13 (20%) died before entering training and the remaining five (6%) were still in pre-training or went directly to stud. A total of 326 horses (31%) sustained an MSK before reaching training age. Of these, 141 (43%) did not enter training under ownership of the stud; of these 109 (77%) were sold or gifted before entering training, 21 (15%) died before entering training and 11 (8%) were still in pre training or went directly to stud. Ninety one horses (9%) were identified with a respiratory problem prior to reaching training age. Of these, 48 (53%) did not enter training under ownership of the breeding operation; of these 43 (90%) were sold or gifted, four (8%) died before reaching training age and one (2.1%) was still in pre training. Horses that sustained a fracture during their juvenile years were significantly less likely to enter training compared with the remainder of the cohort (p-value <0.001). Of the original 1044 horses 658 (63%) horses raced at least once. Maximum and mean OR’s were significantly reduced in horses that sustained a fracture prior to reaching training age (p-value <0.001). Gender was retained as being significantly associated with the outcome in multiple linear regression models (p-value <0.05) but adding sire and dam as a random effect did not significantly change any of the outcomes. These analyses demonstrate the importance of avoiding serious injury during the first two-years of life for Thoroughbred racehorses. Although this study has identified the major priorities which could contribute to loss in the Thoroughbred breeding industry, further work is needed to identify and initiate potential management techniques that may help to minimise the risk of injury in the early years of a Thoroughbred’s career

Hey good lookin'

Julia Yates, senior lecturer in organisational psychology at City, University of London and Tristram Hooley, senior consultant at The Careers & Enterprise Company, provide an insight into the impact of image in careers advice and graduate recruitmentN/

The Resilience And Socioeconomic Status Of Caregivers And School-Aged Children In The Context Of The COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged caregivers’ and school-aged children’s ability to adapt. Their adaptability may be due to their resilience, which socioeconomic status (SES) may impact. Methods: Surveys were administered to 22 caregivers and 27 school-aged children (7-10 years) living in Ontario to measure their resilience and SES in the context of COVID-19. Correlations were employed to explore relationships between: (1) caregiver and child resilience; and (2) resilience and SES. Results: Analyses found no significant relationship between caregiver and child resilience, nor resilience and SES in the context of COVID-19. Trends revealed caregivers with normal resilience had a higher average income than those of low resilience. Conclusion: While the resilience and SES of caregivers and children were not significantly related, the income of caregivers appears to relate to resilience levels. Future research should examine possible environmental factors that contribute to children’s and caregivers’ resilience through adversities

Summary of current knowledge of the size and spatial distribution of the horse population within Great Britain

&lt;b&gt;Background&lt;/b&gt; Robust demographic information is important to understanding the risk of introduction and spread of exotic diseases as well as the development of effective disease control strategies, but is often based on datasets collected for other purposes. Thus, it is important to validate, or at least cross-reference these datasets to other sources to assess whether they are being used appropriately. The aim of this study was to use horse location data collected from different contributing industry sectors ("Stakeholder horse data") to calibrate the spatial distribution of horses as indicated by owner locations registered in the National Equine Database (the NED).&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Results&lt;/b&gt; A conservative estimate for the accurately geo-located NED horse population within GB is approximately 840,000 horses. This is likely to be an underestimate because of the exclusion of horses due to age or location criteria. In both datasets, horse density was higher in England and Wales than in Scotland. The high density of horses located in urban areas as indicated in the NED is consistent with previous reports indicating that owner location cannot always be viewed as a direct substitute for horse location. Otherwise, at a regional resolution, there are few differences between the datasets. There are inevitable biases in the stakeholder data, and leisure horses that are unaffiliated to major stakeholders are not included in these data. Despite this, the similarity in distributions of these datasets is re-assuring, suggesting that there are few regional biases in the NED.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Conclusions&lt;/b&gt; Our analyses suggest that stakeholder data could be used to monitor possible changes in horse demographics. Given such changes in horse demographics and the advantages of stakeholder data (which include annual updates and accurate horse location), it may be appropriate to use these data for future disease modelling in conjunction with, if not in place of the NED

General practice palliative care: Patient and carer expectations, advance care plans and place of death-a systematic review

Background: With an increasing ageing population in most countries, the role of general practitioners (GPs) and general practice nurses (GPNs) in providing optimal end of life (EoL) care is increasingly important. Objective: To explore: (1) patient and carer expectations of the role of GPs and GPNs at EoL; (2) GPs’ and GPNs’ contribution to advance care planning (ACP) and (3) if primary care involvement allows people to die in the place of preference. Method: Systematic literature review. Data sources: Papers from 2000 to 2017 were sought from Medline, Psychinfo, Embase, Joanna Briggs Institute and Cochrane databases. Results: From 6209 journal articles, 51 papers were relevant. Patients and carers expect their GPs to be competent in all aspects of palliative care. They valued easy access to their GP, a multidisciplinary approach to care and well-coordinated and informed care. They also wanted their care team to communicate openly, honestly and empathically, particularly as the patient deteriorated. ACP and the involvement of GPs were important factors which contributed to patients being cared for and dying in their preferred place. There was no reference to GPNs in any paper identified. Conclusions: Patients and carers prefer a holistic approach to care. This review shows that GPs have an important role in ACP and that their involvement facilitates dying in the place of preference. Proactive identification of people approaching EoL is likely to improve all aspects of care, including planning and communicating about EoL. More work outlining the role of GPNs in end of life care is required

‘If you look the part you’ll get the job’: should career professionals help clients to enhance their career image?

This article presents a critical exploration of the role of career professionals in supporting people to reflect on and enhance their appearance, attractiveness and self-presentation (career image). The article is conceptual and based on a review of the broader literature on career success, appearance and attractiveness. It explores the evidence for a relationship between attractiveness and career, and the authors propose a conceptual framework in which career image is comprised of three elements (interpersonal skills, aesthetic presentation and beauty). The paper examines a possible role for career professionals in relation to this and then critically examines this role and concludes with the proposition of a research agenda in this area

Impacts of COVID-19 on the Coping Behaviours of Canadian Women Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence

Background: Strict public health measures central to slowing the spread of COVID-19 have, unintentionally, exacerbated risks for women experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) while impeding their usual coping strategies. The goal of this study was to understand how coping was influenced by COVID-19 for women who have experienced IPV and identify changes in coping strategies and gaps that need to be addressed to support coping. Methods: A qualitatively driven, sequential, cross-sectional design, where quantitative data informed and was embedded within qualitative data collection, was used to explore the experiences of IPV (CAS-R-SF scale) and coping (Brief-COPE scale) specific to IPV of 95 Canadian women. A subset of 19 women was invited to complete an interview exploring coping strategies identified within the survey to contextualize and validate these findings. Results: Survey data subjected to quantitative content analysis identified ten themes, all of which were explored in semi-structured interviews. Thematic interview findings included (1) influence of COVID-19 on coping, (2) coping during COVID-19, and (3) needed coping strategies. Conclusion: COVID-19 had important impacts on the experiences and coping strategies of women who experience IPV. To better support this population in pandemic circumstances, in-person services should be prioritized with an emphasis on accessible and empathetic care. Public health measures in response to COVID-19, and the eventuality of future pandemics, should aim to be gender- and violence-informed

General practice physicians\u27 and nurses\u27 self- reported multidisciplinary end-of-life care: A systematic review

Background: General practitioners (GPs) and general practice nurses (GPNs) face increasing demands to provide end-of-life care (EoLC) as the population ages. To enhance primary palliative care (PC), the care they provide needs to be understood to inform best practice models of care. Objective: To provide a comprehensive description of the self-reported role and performance of GPs and GPNs in (1) specific medical/nursing roles, (2) communication, (3) care co-ordination, (4) access and out-of-hours care, and (5) multidisciplinary care. Method: Systematic literature review. Data included papers (2000 to 2017) sought from Medline, Psychinfo, Embase, Joanna Briggs Institute and Cochrane databases. Results: From 6209 journal articles, 29 reviewed papers reported the GPs’ and GPNs’ role in EoLC or PC practice. GPs report a central role in symptom management, treatment withdrawal, non-malignant disease management and terminal sedation. Information provision included breaking bad news, prognosis and place of death. Psychosocial concerns were often addressed. Quality of communication depended on GP–patient relationships and GP skills. Challenges were unrealistic patient and family expectations, family conflict and lack of advance care planning. GPs often delayed endof-life discussions until 3 months before death. Home visits were common, but less so for urban, female and part-time GPs. GPs co-ordinated care with secondary care, but in some cases parallel care occurred. Trust in, and availability of, the GP was critical for shared care. There was minimal reference to GPNs’ roles. Conclusions: GPs play a critical role in palliative care. More work is required on the role of GPNs, case finding and models to promote shared care, home visits and out-of-hours services

An online survey of horse-owners in Great Britain

Background: Contingency planning for potential equine infectious disease outbreaks relies on accurate information on horse location and movements to estimate the risk of dissemination of disease(s). An online questionnaire was used to obtain unique information linking owner and horse location to characteristics of horse movements within and outwith Great Britain (GB).&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Results: This online survey yielded a strong response, providing more than four times the target number of respondents (1000 target respondents) living in all parts of GB. Key demographic findings of this study indicated that horses which were kept on livery yards and riding schools were likely to be found in urban environments, some distance away from the owner’s home and vaccinated against influenza and herpes virus. Survey respondents were likely to travel greater than 10 miles to attend activities such as eventing or endurance but were also likely to travel and return home within a single day (58.6%, 2063/3522). This may affect the geographical extent and speed of disease spread, if large numbers of people from disparate parts of the country are attending the same event and the disease agent is highly infectious or virulent. The greatest risk for disease introduction and spread may be represented by a small proportion of people who import or travel internationally with their horses. These respondents were likely to have foreign horse passports, which were not necessarily recorded in the National Equine Database (NED), making the location of these horses untraceable.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Conclusions: These results illustrate the difficulties which exist with national GB horse traceability despite the existence of the NED and the horse passport system. This study also demonstrates that an online approach could be adopted to obtain important demographic data on GB horse owners on a more routine and frequent basis to inform decisions or policy pertaining to equine disease control. This represents a reasonable alternative to collection of GB horse location and movement data given that the NED no longer exists and there is no immediate plan to replace it.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt