Assessing Loneliness and Other Types of Emotional Distress among Practicing Physicians

Introduction. Loneliness has been linked to clinician burnout and other types of emotional distress. Research assessing the prevalence of loneliness among physicians is growing. Little is known, however, about how loneliness relates to other types of emotional distress among practicing physicians. The objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence of loneliness, and to explore the relationship between loneliness, burnout, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation among active member physicians of the Medical Society of Sedgwick County (MSSC). Methods. The study involved a convenience sample of 197 practicing physicians who were active members of the MSSC. The 3-item University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale, the Abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory, and 2-item Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders Patient Health Questionnaire were used to measure prevalence of loneliness, manifestations of burnout, and symptoms of depression, respectively. Results. Using an email survey, 442 practicing physicians received an invitation to participate; 197 (44%) completed the survey. The prevalence of loneliness was 43%. Loneliness prevalence was associated positively with age (p = 0.017) and more likely in those who reported manifestations of burnout (p < 0.01) or screened positive for depression (p < 0.01). Depression (OR = 2.24; 95% CI, 0.97-5.19) and emotional exhaustion (OR = 1.05; 95% CI, 0.39-2.84) were significantly associated with loneliness, including when adjusted for participants’ sex, age, and duty hours. Conclusion. Loneliness is prevalent among active member physicians of the Medical Society of Sedgwick County. Given that loneliness is associated with burnout and other emotional distress, there is an important need to understand its implications better

Use of stereo camera systems for assessment of rockfish abundance in untrawlable areas and for recording pollock behavior during midwater trawls

We describe the application of two types of stereo camera systems in fisheries research, including the design, calibration, analysis techniques, and precision of the data obtained with these systems. The first is a stereo video system deployed by using a quick-responding winch with a live feed to provide species- and size- composition data adequate to produce acoustically based biomass estimates of rockfish. This system was tested on the eastern Bering Sea slope where rockfish were measured. Rockfish sizes were similar to those sampled with a bottom trawl and the relative error in multiple measurements of the same rockfish in multiple still-frame images was small. Measurement errors of up to 5.5% were found on a calibration target of known size. The second system consisted of a pair of still-image digital cameras mounted inside a midwater trawl. Processing of the stereo images allowed fish length, fish orientation in relation to the camera platform, and relative distance of the fish to the trawl netting to be determined. The video system was useful for surveying fish in Alaska, but it could also be used broadly in other situations where it is difficult to obtain species-composition or size-composition information. Likewise, the still-image system could be used for fisheries research to obtain data on size, position, and orientation of fish

More evidence of rational market values for home energy efficiency

The “cost versus value” survey by Remodeling indicates that realtor value estimates for window replacement can be substantially explained by the market value of energy efficiency, as estimated in “Evidence of Rational Market Values for Home Energy Efficiency,” which appeared in the October 1998 issue of The Appraisal Journal.Energy; Housing

Determining the Predictive Ability of Rural-Urban Migration for Health Indicators in China

Over one hundred million rural Chinese residents have migrated to urban areas within China for work. In cities, these workers often lack access to health insurance and licensed healthcare. Migrants are also more likely to work in dangerous jobs and to participate in high-risk behaviors. This paper analyzes two health indicators, blood pressure and grip strength, to determine if migrant status can predict health. This paper determines that migrant status is a significant predictor for blood pressure and grip strength, albeit in models with low predictive ability. However, the length of time since a person migrated is not a significant predictor of health indicators

The effect of Hukou registration policy on rural-to-urban migrants' health

Access to social services in China is connected to a system of household registration (Hukou system) determined by place of origin with difficult geographical transferability. As a consequence, a vast majority of rural-to-urban migrants do not have access to public health services in urban areas. This paper examines if restrictions on healthcare provisions?that are due to restrictions on migration and Hukou registration?are linked to poorer health for rural-to-urban migrants compared with non-migrant urban residents. We use data from two waves of the Longitudinal Survey on Rural Urban Migration in China that provide data on self-reported health and objectively measured health indicators ? blood pressure and grip strength. Results indicate that even after accounting for migrant?s characteristics that have known impacts on health, such as income, education, sex, marital status, and being underweight, the effect of the Hukou restriction policy is large, significantly negative, and acts as a key predictor of why rural-to-urban migrants? health deteriorates, especially during the early years since migration

Reentrant Supraventricular Tachycardia in a Pediatric Trauma Patient Masquerading as a Cardiac Contusion

Establishing the etiology of tachycardia in a trauma patient is often difficult. Pediatric trauma patients present an even tougher challenge. Cardiac contusion should be suspected when other more common traumatic injuries that produce hypoxia and blood loss are excluded. The diagnosis of cardiac contusion is notoriously difficult to make largely due to the controversy over the definition of the disease, and the lack of a true gold standard confirmatory test. Atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) is a common form of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) that can also present a diagnostic challenge to emergency physicians. While electrophysiologic studies are the gold standard for confirming the diagnosis, there are certain aspects of the history, electrocardiogram (ECG), and responses to cardiac maneuvers that strongly suggest the diagnosis. We present the case of a pediatric trauma patient that presented with new onset AVNRT masquerading as cardiac contusion

Exploring the movement dynamics of deception

Both the science and the everyday practice of detecting a lie rest on the same assumption: hidden cognitive states that the liar would like to remain hidden nevertheless influence observable behavior. This assumption has good evidence. The insights of professional interrogators, anecdotal evidence, and body language textbooks have all built up a sizeable catalog of non-verbal cues that have been claimed to distinguish deceptive and truthful behavior. Typically, these cues are discrete, individual behaviors—a hand touching a mouth, the rise of a brow—that distinguish lies from truths solely in terms of their frequency or duration. Research to date has failed to establish any of these non-verbal cues as a reliable marker of deception. Here we argue that perhaps this is because simple tallies of behavior can miss out on the rich but subtle organization of behavior as it unfolds over time. Research in cognitive science from a dynamical systems perspective has shown that behavior is structured across multiple timescales, with more or less regularity and structure. Using tools that are sensitive to these dynamics, we analyzed body motion data from an experiment that put participants in a realistic situation of choosing, or not, to lie to an experimenter. Our analyses indicate that when being deceptive, continuous fluctuations of movement in the upper face, and somewhat in the arms, are characterized by dynamical properties of less stability, but greater complexity. For the upper face, these distinctions are present despite no apparent differences in the overall amount of movement between deception and truth. We suggest that these unique dynamical signatures of motion are indicative of both the cognitive demands inherent to deception and the need to respond adaptively in a social context

Communicating the Value of Ergonomics to Management – Part 2: Ergonomics ROI Case Study Applications

More than ever, human factors engineers and ergonomists need to justify our practice’s value to management. How can we effectively communicate with management? How should we present a Return on Investment (ROI) that leadership will find useful that addresses company profits, cost savings, productivity, first time quality, and turnover? What else does management care about other than ROI? This second panel in a two panel series will specifically highlight case studies in which presenters give examples of situations in which ROI for ergonomics was investigated from a business value. The session will start with four case study lectures followed by a panel discussion led by the moderators. The audience will be encouraged to participate with their own questions and comments