Distance Learning and How Access to Education Can Be Improved

Throughout history, access to quality education has been an issue for many individuals. There are a variety of reasons which may have contributed to the accessibility issues including race, economic status, health conditions, and the general geographic region where a person lives. These barriers have historically prevented many people from receiving equal educational opportunities. With advances in technology, distance education is emerging as a formidable opponent and could potentially even the playing field in terms of educational access. In order to determine the viability of this method of delivering education, a historical evolution of distance learning (DL) was explored. This extensive literature review provided an introspective analysis of the types and components of distance learning. It also revealed the strengths and weaknesses, as well as the factors associated with considering distance learning as a means to increase the accessibility to education

Chief Executive Officers in United States Hospitals: A Reexamination of Workforce Demographics and Educational Issues

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports the “employment of medical and health services mangers is expected to grow by 22 percent from 2010-2020.”The BLS notes this is substantially faster than the national average for other occupations. Information from this report finds its way into popular media, news shows, and other information outlets which increases the number of prospective applicants to College and University Healthcare Management programs. In 2007, the authors conducted a survey of chief executive officers (CEO) in United States hospitals that sought to identify educational and demographic information of individuals holding top management positions in US Healthcare institutions. The survey was repeated in 2012, at the 5-year interval, to determine if CEO information had changed

A Mini-Study of Employee Turnover in US Hospitals

A mini-study was conducted to collect self-reported employee turnover rates in U.S. hospitals. The results indicate many hospitals are struggling with high employee turnover rates. Wide-spread variances in ratings were observed across hospitals which may be due to lack of consistency in how they each calculate their employee turnover. This makes benchmarking for the purposes of performance improvement challenging

Succession Planning: Trends Regarding the Perspectives of Chief Executive Officers in United States Hospitals

A study was conducted to revisit the perceptions of chief executive officers (CEOs) in United States (U.S.) hospitals regarding the origin of leadership and how they felt about internally developed successors versus externally recruited successors. Furthermore, the study sought to understand how this group of executives utilizes the succession planning process, what factors impact successor identification, what positions are applicable for succession planning activities, and who is ultimately held responsible for leadership continuity within the hospital industry. The results of this 2012 study were compared to a previous study conducted in 2007 to determine if the perceptions had changed over time

Association between Sexual Activity and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Initiation and Completion among College Students

HPV vaccination is most effective if received before initiation of sexual activity. Previous studies suggested that young adult women who were not sexually active were not interested in receiving the vaccine because they did not think it was necessary. Whether this misperception is still prevalent today-and also shared by men-is unknown. This study examined whether sexual activity was associated with HPV vaccine uptake (initiation and completion) among university students. A cross-sectional study was conducted between February and May 2021 among students (n = 951) at a public Midwestern University. Sexual activity was categorized as never or ever had oral and/or vaginal sex. Outcome variables were HPV vaccine initiation, defined as receipt of ≥1 dose, and completion, defined as receipt of ≥3 doses. Multivariable logistic regression models estimated the association between sexual activity and HPV vaccine uptake, adjusting for sociodemographic factors. Approximately 18% of students reported never engaging in sexual activity. Overall, 45.5% initiated the HPV vaccine, and 16.5% completed the vaccine series. After adjusting for covariates, compared to students that reported never engaging in sexual activity, those that had ever engaged in sexual activity were more likely to have initiated the vaccine series (aOR = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.34-3.17); however, no difference was observed for completion. HPV vaccination was low; sexually naïve students were less likely to initiate the HPV vaccine. Since sexually naïve students may benefit from receiving the HPV vaccination, targeted interventions should be implemented towards this population to help increase vaccination rates and prevent HPV-associated diseases

Evaluating Assessment and Effectiveness Data to Program Characteristics in Accredited Medical Dosimetry Programs in the United States

The purpose of this study is to analyze medical dosimetry programs in the United States with regard to their assessment data and specific program characteristics. I identified participating programs through the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT) program directory web page for medical dosimetry programs. Once I acquired the email addresses of each program director for all 18 programs, I emailed the program directors requesting their participation in the study. Six program directors responded to the email request and sent all the needed data for the study. The specific data evaluated in this study is assessment data for all four student learning objectives (SLO’s) identified by the JRCERT and program effectiveness data (i.e. certification pass rates, job placement rates for graduates, and attrition rates). I correlated the assessment data and program effectiveness data for each program to look for significance in comparison to the length of time a program received accreditation by the (JRCERT), length of each program academically, and the degree granted by each program. For the variables, I ran a Pearson Correlation and a linear regression, which also provides a significance value for the linear regression. The findings of the study illustrated no significance within the data when comparing it to the specific program characteristics. The study did illustrate some predictability within the linear regression, but did not illustrate any significant linear regression among the data points. This illustrates the dependent variables do not correlate with the independent variables, but are able to explain some of the variability in the dependent variable. Program accreditation is an important aspect for any medical dosimetry program and should be an integral part of the daily mechanisms. Educators need to continually look for ways to improve their assessment endeavors to help improve their programs and student success. Based on the findings of this study, research should continue on assessment data in the field of radiologic sciences and specifically in the field of medical dosimetry with larger population groups

College Students\u27 Awareness of the Link Between Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and HPV-Associated Cancers

We describe the level of awareness of the link between HPV and HPV-associated cancers and identify demographic and lifestyle factors associated with awareness. This was a cross-sectional study of college students (n = 862) at a public Midwestern university conducted between February and May 2021. The outcomes were student\u27s awareness-accessed by asking students if they knew whether HPV was causally link with anal, cervical, vaginal, oropharyngeal, vulvar, and penile cancers. Logistic regression models estimated the association between sociodemographic and sexual behavior and awareness of the link between HPV and HPV-associated cancers. Approximately 70% were aware that HPV causes cervical, 53% were aware HPV causes vaginal, 40% were aware HPV causes vulvar cancers, 39% were aware HPV causes oropharyngeal, 38% were aware HPV causes penile, and 34% were aware HPV causes anal cancers. In multivariable analyses, men were less likely to be aware that HPV causes vaginal (aOR = 0.42, 95% CI 0.30-0.59) or vulvar cancers (aOR = 0.54, 95% CI 0.38-0.77) compared to women. Compared with sexually naïve students, those who had have oral and vaginal sex were more likely to be aware that HPV causes anal (aOR = 1.98, 95% CI 1.17-3.34), penile (aOR = 1.82, 95% CI 1.11-2.97), vaginal (aOR = 1.81, 95% CI 1.14-2.88), or vulvar (aOR = 2.05, 95% CI 1.24-3.40) cancers. Awareness of the link between HPV and HPV-associated cancers was low, except cervical. This underscores the need for more tailored interventions to increase knowledge about HPV and its association with cancer. Increasing students\u27 levels of awareness may impact HPV vaccine uptake