What integrated working practices support or hinder effective referral pathways from health to education services for blind and partially sighted babies and young children? (Sharing our experience, Practitioner-led research 2008-2009; PLR0809/026)

Evidence indicates that young children and parents benefit from receiving specialist visual impairment (VI) education service support from an early stage following identification of a child’s sight condition. Early referral is key to this. Although there are screening protocols for some very specific eye conditions, such as retinopathy of prematurity, there is no vision equivalent to Universal Newborn Hearing Screening with its related referral guidance. The aims of the research were to identify the pathways for referring blind and partially sighted babies and children from Health to Education; and explore models of effective practice in three VI services, i.e. one inner city authority in the east, one rural authority in the west, and a consortium from the south. The first stage of the research was a literature review in order to identify the pathways for referring blind and partially sighted babies and children from Health to Education. The second part of the study sought to address the second aim: to identify models of good practice in a small sample of local authorities and where there were delays in referring from Health to Education to understand the reasons for these delays. As a result of the study, it is recommended that key factors should be in place to support integrated working practices between Health and Education to facilitate effective referral procedures. These factors should include: • an embedded Early Support or a Team around the Child approach; • established multi-agency groups with a focus on visual impairment; • the appointment of a paediatric ophthalmologist to lead on children's issues; • attendance by VI service staff or ECLO at paediatric eye clinics; • incorporating hearing and vision services into LA sensory support services. These should be set out in written agreed protocols between LA education services and Health

Cable Television: Background and Overview of Rates and Other Issues for Congress

This report presents information on the history of federal regulation of the cable television industry and background information on cable rates and other cable industry issues

INCREASING HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS VACCINATION IN YOUNG ADULTS

Increasing Human Papillomavirus Vaccination in Young Adults Julie Jennings, RN, BSN, CCRN Specialty Area: Family Nurse Practitioner Committee Chair: Janet D. Pierce, Ph.D., APRN, CCRN, FAAN Committee Co-Chair: Diane Mahoney, DNP, FNP-BC, EHNP-BC Problem: The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a group of more than 150 viruses that are a causative agent in many types of cancers. This virus can be linked to cervical cancer, vulvar cancer, vaginal cancer, penile cancer, anal cancer, and throat cancer. There are currently three approved vaccines to prevent the spread of HPV that are known to be associated to these cancers. The number of young adults in the United States that receive HPV vaccine is low. One of the reasons identified for not receiving the HPV vaccine is a knowledge deficit related to the disease and the vaccine. Project Aim: The aim of this quality improvement project will be to increase the number of HPV vaccines given to young adults (ages 18-26) through an educational pamphlet related to HPV and the HPV vaccines. The Project Director assumes that providing an educational pamphlet to young adults before they see their health care provider will increase the number of HPV vaccines administered at in a clinic setting (ComCare). Project Method: This quality improvement project was conducted at ComCare in Salina, Kansas. An educational pamphlet about HPV and the HPV vaccine was constructed from the literature and input from four healthcare professionals, including three nurse practitioners and one physician. A five-question pre-survey concerning the HPV vaccine and patient demographics was provided to the 10 healthcare providers at ComCare. Providers were given one week to complete the surveys. The pamphlets were then made available to young adult patients at this clinic for a six-week period by being placed in the waiting room, as well as in patient care areas. After the six-weeks were completed, the providers were given a six-question post-survey to determine the effectiveness of the educational pamphlets. Results: Nine out of the 10 providers at ComCare completed the pre-survey and eight out of 10 providers completed the post-survey. The post surveys showed a slight increase in the number of patients who had received the vaccine as well as the number of patients who initiated the vaccine each week. At ComCare, 89% of providers indicated that an educational deficit was why patients refused the HPV vaccine. There were 62% of providers at ComCare thought that the pamphlets were beneficial in their care, related to HPV, for young men and women age 18 to 26 in their clinic. Conclusion: Pamphlets containing educational information on HPV and HPV vaccines in a clinic setting appears to be useful in increasing the number of HPV vaccines administered. Providers in the clinic setting identified the largest factor related to not vaccinating against HPV was an educational deficit. Further studies should be conducted in additional clinics to determine if educational pamphlets are beneficial in increasing the number of young adults that obtain the HPV vaccine

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: The perceptions of health professions educators

What are health professions educators doing during the COVID-19 pandemic? A search of articles in MedEdPublish on the topics of COVID-19 revealed 39 articles published in the first 3 months of the pandemic. Topics included curriculum adaptation, guidelines for using technology, assessment adaptation, impact on students, faculty and career development, and conference adaptation. There was significant overlap among articles, particularly those discussing teaching, learning, and assessment practices. Common themes were adaptation, innovation, remote delivery, flexibility in the face of a pandemic, and how to continue to educate and graduate competent health professionals. All articles were descriptive, and none included data describing efficacy, likely due to the short timeline since the pandemic’s inception. Additional study is necessary to produce evidence for the teaching and assessment adaptations described. Some changes are likely to persist longer-term and may outlast the pandemic itself

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List containing authoritative resources to assist in responding to a broad range of questions and concerns about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), P.L. 111-5. It includes links to the full text of the act, Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates, White House fact sheets, and federal, state, and municipal government websites are included, along with other useful information

Reduced chromosome cohesion measured by interkinetochore distance is associated with aneuploidy even in oocytes from young mice

It is becoming clear that reduced chromosome cohesion is an important factor in the rise of maternal age-related aneuploidy. This reduction in cohesion has been observed both in human and mouse oocytes, and it can be measured directly by an increase with respect to maternal age in interkinetochore (iKT) distance between a sister chromatid pair. We have observed variations in iKT distance even in oocytes from young mice and wondered if such differences may predispose those oocytes displaying the greatest iKT distances to be becoming aneuploid. Therefore, we used two methods, one pharmacological (Aurora kinase inhibitor) and one genetic (Fzr1 knockout), to raise aneuploidy rates in oocytes from young mice (age, 1-3 mo) and to examine if those oocytes that were aneuploid had greater iKT distances. We observed that for both Aurora kinase inhibition and Fzr1 knockout, iKT distances were significantly greater in those oocytes that became aneuploid compared to those that remained euploid. Based on these results, we propose that individual oocytes undergo loss in chromosomal cohesion at different rates and that the greater this loss, the greater the risk for becoming aneuploid.Supported by an NHMRC project grant (569202) to K.T.J., S.M., and E.A.M. J.E.H. is supported by an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellowship. I.G.-H. and S.M. are supported by grants BFU2007-67464, BFU2008-01808, Consolider CSD2007-00015, and Junta de Castilla y León Grupo de Excelencia GR 265.Peer Reviewe