Engaging Without Exposing: Use of a Fictional Character to Facilitate Mental Health Talk in Focus Groups With Men Who Have Been Subject to the Criminal Justice System.

In an effort to encourage men with experience of being subject to the criminal justice system to contribute to focus group discussions on the sensitive topic of mental health, while also doing our utmost to protect them from discomfort or risk of exploitation, we used a novel technique involving the creation of a fictional character, supplemented by an audio-recorded vignette. We studied the role played by this technique in achieving our stated aims of "engaging without exposing." In this article, we report on the use of this technique in three focus groups, showing how in very different ways it shaped the interaction between participants and generated crucial insights into the lives and service needs of each group. We conclude that the technique may lend itself to being used in focus groups with other marginalized or seldom-heard populations

Geographical Distribution of Intestinal Schistosomiasis and Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis and Preventive Chemotherapy Strategies in Sierra Leone

The common intestinal roundworm, whipworm and hookworm (together known as soil-transmitted helminthes - STHs) together with schistosomes or bilharzia are responsible for extensive ill health, reduced life expectancy and death in sub-Saharan Africa. These diseases are transmitted in areas of poor water supply and sanitation. In order to implement an appropriate national control program, knowledge of the prevalence and geographical distribution of these diseases is required. A national survey was performed in Sierra Leone in 2008. Overall prevalence of intestinal schistosomiasis was 18.4% and that of STHs was 39.1%. Intestinal schistosomiasis was mainly prevalent in the northern and eastern regions while STH is widespread in the country. The results justify routine de-worming for pre-school children, school age children, women of childbearing age, and adults at high risk twice a year. The results also justify using anti-schistosomiasis drug (praziquantel) in school age children, all women of childbearing age, and adults at high risk annually or biennially depending upon the prevalence in the areas

Community-level epidemiology of soil-transmitted helminths in the context of school-based deworming: Baseline results of a cluster randomised trial on the coast of Kenya.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02397772

Does the time-of-day of exercise influence the total volume of exercise? A cross-sectional analysis of objectively monitored physical activity among active individuals

Background: To improve compliance and adherence to exercise, the concept of temporal consistency has been proposed. Before- and after-work are periods when most working adults may reasonably incorporate exercise into their schedule. However, it is unknown if there is an association between the time-of-day that exercise is performed and overall physical activity levels. Methods: Activity was assessed over 1 week in a sample of 69 active adults (n = 41 females; mean age = 34.9 [12.3] y). At the end of the study, participants completed an interviewer-assisted questionnaire detailing their motivation to exercise and their exercise time-of-day preferences. Results: Participants were classified as “temporally consistent” (n = 37) or “temporally inconsistent” (n = 32) exercisers based on their accelerometry data. The “temporally consistent” group was further analyzed to compare exercise volume between “morning-exercisers” (n = 16) and “evening-exercisers” (n = 21). “Morning-exercisers” performed a greater volume of exercise than “evening-exercisers” (419 [178] vs 330 [233] min by self-report; 368 [224] vs 325 [156] min actigraph-derived moderate to vigorous physical activity, respectively). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that active individuals use a mixture of temporal patterns to meet PA guidelines. Time-of-day of exercise should be reported in intervention studies so the relationship between exercise time-of-day, exercise behavior, and associated outcomes can be better understood.</p

Building Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Education and Cultural Mentoring Capacity

In 2012 General Practice Education and Training commissioned the University of Western Sydney, who subcontracted with Urbis, to conduct research aimed at developing the evidence base to support training in cultural competence for doctors working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This research is aimed to inform a proposed National Framework for Cultural Competence in Prevocational and Vocational General Practice Training. Letters of support for the research were provided by the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation and its affiliate organisations and ethics approval was received from the Human Research Ethics Committees of the University of Western Sydney, New South Wales Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council, Northern Territory Department of Health and the Menzies School of Health Research as well as the Central Australia Human Research Ethics Committee, Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia Aboriginal Health Research Ethics Committee and Western Australian Aboriginal Health Ethics Committee. The research was framed at all times by the research outcomes and research questions developed by General Practice Education and Training Cultural Educators and Cultural Mentors and reflected in the contract between General Practice Education and Training and the University of Western Sydney

Relational, Flexible, Everyday: Learning from Ethics in Dementia Research.

Engaging in participatory research in HCI raises numerous ethical complexities such as consent, researcher relationships, and participant compensation. Doing HCI work in the area of dementia amplifies these issues, and researchers in this area are modelling ethical stances to ensure researcher-participant relationships focus on meaningful engagement and care. This paper presents an insight into the kinds of ethical foci required when doing design research with people living with dementia and their carers. We interviewed 22 HCI researchers with experience working in dementia care contexts. Our qualitative analysis outlines subsequent lessons-learned, such as recognition of the participants, self-care, research impact, and subjectivity in ethical review boards. Furthermore, we found the complexity of navigating both "everyday" and more formal, institutional ethics in dementia research has implications beyond the context of working with people with dementia and outline key considerations for ethical practices in socially orientated HCI research