How can you help athletes prevent and treat shin splints?

Encourage patients who are concerned about shin splints to decrease the intensity of their running; suggest rest and ice and foot orthoses, to treat the condition. Reducing running intensity probably reduces lower extremity soft tissue injuries (strength of recommendation [SOR]: B, low-quality randomized controlled trials [RCTs]), although doing stretching exercises doesn't

Profile of Ohio Adults with Low Environmental Literacy

Author Institution: Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, The Ohio State University ; Strategic Research Group ; School of Health Sciences, Ohio UniversityEnvironmental literacy is defined as an understanding of natural systems combined with how they interact with human social systems. An Ohio study measured adults' knowledge of ecological principles as the basis of understanding. A telephone survey of 504 Ohio adults measured their knowledge of ecological principles along with their demographics. Low literacy adults are significantly different from those who exhibit high literacy. The lowest literacy group was characterized as less educated, below the median household income, older, female, and minority. Low literacy adults are less likely to engage in outdoor activities, gain information from environmental groups, but are more likely to gain information from television. Low literacy adults are more likely than high literacy adults to use alternative transportation. In targeting environmental education programs to heads of households and Ohio voters, adults with low environmental literacy need to be approached differently than those with high literacy

Environmental Literacy of Ohio Adults

Author Institution: Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, The Ohio State University ; Strategic Research Group ; School of Health Sciences, Ohio UniversityEnvironmental literacy is defined as an understanding of natural systems combined with how they interact with human social systems. Past surveys have measured the pollution knowledge of adults. This study instead examined Ohio adult's knowledge of ecological principles as the basis of understanding. A telephone survey of 504 Ohio adults measured their knowledge of ecological principles. As a group, Ohio adults appear to understand four principles of ecology: biogeography, the earth as a biosphere, ecological energetics, and carrying capacity. Some additional attention should be paid to teaching Ohio adults about three principles of ecology: ecosystem succession, biotic interactions, and the importance of diversity. Most importantly, Ohio adults must learn more about the principle of materials cycling. Ohio adults showed poor understanding of the nitrogen, phosphorus, and hydrologic cycle and bioaccumulation

Occupational Therapy Students\u27 Perceptions of their own Notetaking

Purpose: Notetaking is a critical skill for higher-level thinking and information integration in graduate students, including occupational therapy students. Though there is a growing body of literature about notetaking modalities, strategies utilized, and self-perceptions of skills in college students, studies about occupational therapy (OT) students’ notetaking preferences have been absent from the literature. This study examines how OT students take notes and their perceptions of their notes. Method: This descriptive study of students in a Master of Occupational Therapy program (n=57) completed the Notetaking Abilities and Strategies of University Students (NASUS) questionnaire which captures the constructs of notetaking methods, reasons for taking notes, students’ opinions of their notes, satisfaction with notetaking and usefulness of notes, students’ desires to change their notetaking methods, and organization and review of notes after class. Results: Study found that students utilized both handwritten and digital forms of notetaking, as expected, and took notes in class primarily as a resource to study for assessments and complete assignments as well as to remember information. Overall, students had a moderate degree of confidence and satisfaction with the usefulness of their notes and expressed a desire to improve their notetaking. Conclusions: Understanding the notetaking preferences of OT students can facilitate OT programs’ ability to support these students’ learning

Novice Nurses’ Experiences With Palliative and End-of-Life Communication

Health care providers recognize that delivery of effective communication with family members of children with life-threatening illnesses is essential to palliative and end-of-life care (PC/EOL). Parents value the presence of nurses during PC/EOL of their dying child. It is vital that nurses, regardless of their years of work experience, are competent and feel comfortable engaging family members of dying children in PC/EOL discussions. This qualitative-descriptive study used focus groups to explore the PC/EOL communication perspectives of 14 novice pediatric oncology nurses (eg, with less than 1 year of experience). Audio-taped focus group discussions were reviewed to develop the following 6 theme categories: (a) Sacred Trust to Care for the Child and Family, (b) An Elephant in the Room, (c) Struggling with Emotional Unknowns, (d) Kaleidoscope of Death: Patterns and Complexity, (e) Training Wheels for Connectedness: Critical Mentors during PC/EOL of Children, and (f) Being Present with an Open Heart: Ways to Maintain Hope and Minimize Emotional Distress. To date, this is the first study to focus on PC/EOL communication perspectives of novice pediatric oncology nurses