What to Expect When You\u27re Expected: Uncovering the Role of Cultural Capital in College Success

Uncovering the Role of Cultural Capital in College Success Introduction First-generation college students are almost three times as likely to withdraw from school within three years of admission as students with parents who have a bachelor’s degree. Despite this, first-generation students make up about one-third of students enrolled in college (National Center for Education Statistics). To encourage the creation of fair and equal college experiences, there is a need to understand what first-generation college students require to be successful. Prior research has examined the general barriers to success that college students experience (e.g., Hansell, 1982; Sgan-Choen & Lowental, 1988), but we know very little about how parental expectations and prior academic experience shape student success. Methods and Results To investigate the role of parental expectations and academic experience, five first-year college-age women from a liberal arts institution in the northeast United States were interviewed. Through the creation of concept maps and memos, findings were examined, results were compared, and common themes were discovered associated with parental expectations and familiarity with the academic and social aspects of college life. Analysis of narratives of students whose parents are college-educated revealed a specific collection of behaviors that were employed by these students to succeed; while examination of narratives of first-generation college students uncovered the challenges that these students encountered navigating college without the cultural capital that is afforded by parents who have college educations. Specifically, students who had college-educated parents were encouraged to attend college. Many parents pushed their children to pursue paths similar to theirs, and even pressured children to the extent that attending college was presented as the only reasonable option after high school graduation. All students were pressured by their parents to prioritize location and distance of colleges, but for different reasons. Many parents identified acceptable distances for where their children could travel for their college educations based on family needs and previous experience. Parents who attended college saw value in attending college close to home for financial reasons, while parents who did not attend college encouraged their children to attend colleges close to home so that they could continue working and helping in the family home. Parents who attended college expected their children to contact them regularly, monitoring their children’s new-found independence. Parents who did not attend college did not emphasize the need for frequent contact with their children and seemed naïve about college students engaging in under-age drinking or skipping classes. Lastly, parents who attended college strongly encouraged their children to reach out and create relationships with their professors. In contrast, students whose parents did not attend college were not aware of the value of networking with professors and alumni. Conclusion These preliminary data suggest that the first-year college students’ experiences are shaped by their parents’ experience and familiarity with the academic and social aspects of college life. The findings from this study point to the need for counseling directed toward first-year students about behaviors that can foster achievement and confidence in college, and accessibility to skill toolkits that will equip first-generation college students to thrive in an environment with which their parents have had limited exposure. Additionally, this research could be used to create informational material for the parents of first-year college students. Through this study, attention was brought to the important role of cultural capital in parental expectations which foster constructive behaviors in first-year college women. Selected References Hansell, S. 1982. “Student, Parent, and School Effects on the Stress of College Application.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 23, 1, 38-51. National Center for Education Statistics, First-Generation Students, “College Access, Persistence, and Post Bachelor’s Outcomes,” https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/ pubsinfo.asp?pubid= 2018421. Sgan-Choen, H.D., & Lowental, U. 1988. “Sources of Stress among Israeli Dental Students.” The Journal of American College Health Association, 36, 6, 317-321

Prioritizing Health Care Strategies to Reduce Childhood Mortality

IMPORTANCE: Although child mortality trends have decreased worldwide, deaths among children younger than 5 years of age remain high and disproportionately circumscribed to sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia. Tailored and innovative approaches are needed to increase access, coverage, and quality of child health care services to reduce mortality, but an understanding of health system deficiencies that may have the greatest impact on mortality among children younger than 5 years is lacking. OBJECTIVE: To investigate which health care and public health improvements could have prevented the most stillbirths and deaths in children younger than 5 years using data from the Child Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS) network. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study used longitudinal, population-based, and mortality surveillance data collected by CHAMPS to understand preventable causes of death. Overall, 3390 eligible deaths across all 7 CHAMPS sites (Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and South Africa) between December 9, 2016, and December 31, 2021 (1190 stillbirths, 1340 neonatal deaths, 860 infant and child deaths), were included. Deaths were investigated using minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS), a postmortem approach using biopsy needles for sampling key organs and fluids. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: For each death, an expert multidisciplinary panel reviewed case data to determine the plausible pathway and causes of death. If the death was deemed preventable, the panel identified which of 10 predetermined health system gaps could have prevented the death. The health system improvements that could have prevented the most deaths were evaluated for each age group: stillbirths, neonatal deaths (aged <28 days), and infant and child deaths (aged 1 month to <5 years). RESULTS: Of 3390 deaths, 1505 (44.4%) were female and 1880 (55.5%) were male; sex was not recorded for 5 deaths. Of all deaths, 3045 (89.8%) occurred in a healthcare facility and 344 (11.9%) in the community. Overall, 2607 (76.9%) were deemed potentially preventable: 883 of 1190 stillbirths (74.2%), 1010 of 1340 neonatal deaths (75.4%), and 714 of 860 infant and child deaths (83.0%). Recommended measures to prevent deaths were improvements in antenatal and obstetric care (recommended for 588 of 1190 stillbirths [49.4%], 496 of 1340 neonatal deaths [37.0%]), clinical management and quality of care (stillbirths, 280 [23.5%]; neonates, 498 [37.2%]; infants and children, 393 of 860 [45.7%]), health-seeking behavior (infants and children, 237 [27.6%]), and health education (infants and children, 262 [30.5%]). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cross-sectional study, interventions prioritizing antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal care could have prevented the most deaths among children younger than 5 years because 75% of deaths among children younger than 5 were stillbirths and neonatal deaths. Measures to reduce mortality in this population should prioritize improving existing systems, such as better access to antenatal care, implementation of standardized clinical protocols, and public education campaigns

Executive dysfunction and cognitive impairment in a large community-based sample with Multiple Sclerosis from New Zealand: A descriptive study

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is one of the most common chronic diseases of the central nervous system, and in New Zealand an estimated 4000 people are currently affected. This study was conducted to examine executive functioning, memory and general ability in a community-based sample of 95 participants with MS. The sample included those with relapsing–remitting, secondary progressive, chronic progressive and benign MS with an average duration of illness of 11.8 years. Only 9% of the participants showed no indication of cognitive impairment with most exhibiting mild executive dysfunction across the range of shifting, inhibition, fluency and working memory categories. As this became more widespread, all other measures of cognitive ability and memory also showed evidence of deterioration, but in some, this may have been due to slowed information processing. Overall, there was a high degree of variability in the levels of performance and there was no ‘typical’ pattern of deficits associated with MS. Thus, a proportion of those living with MS may have to cope with noticeable and unpredictable cognitive decline in addition to their physical disabilities

Preparing carers of community-dwelling people with dementia for natural disasters: The Carer Ready Guide

Australia regularly experiences natural disasters such as floods, bush fires and cyclones. People with dementia are especially vulnerable and rely heavily on their carers and emergency services to keep them safe. There is a lack of resources that may assist those with dementia living at home to better prepare for and respond to natural disasters. This project aimed to develop an evidence-based guide that supports the disaster preparedness of this vulnerable population. Existing evidence/knowledge concerning the emergency preparedness of community-dwelling people with dementia was synthesized via a systematic literature review. Findings were incorporated into the draft guide which was reviewed by an expert panel of carers of people with dementia and emergency services workers (n=13) using a structured communication method. There was a high level of consensus on the content validity (relevance, likely effectiveness and appropriateness) of the draft guide. Suggestions for improved content, language and formatting of the guide were incorporated into the final version. An implementation plan outlining strategies to accomplish widespread awareness of the Carer Ready Guide and successfully adopt it into the community has been developed based on the awareness, agreement, adoption, adherence knowledge translation model

First cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection and secondary transmission in Kisumu, Kenya

We investigated the first 152 laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases (125 primary and 27 secondary) and their 248 close contacts in Kisumu County, Kenya. Conducted June 10-October 8, 2020, this study included interviews and sample collection at enrolment and 14-21 days later. Median age was 35 years (IQR 28-44); 69.0% reported COVID-19 related symptoms, most commonly cough (60.0%), headache (55.2%), fever (53.3%) and loss of taste or smell (43.8%). One in five were hospitalized, 34.4% &gt;25 years of age had at least one comorbidity, and all deaths had comorbidities. Adults ≥25 years with a comorbidity were 3.15 (95% CI 1.37-7.26) times more likely to have been hospitalized or died than participants without a comorbidity. Infectious comorbidities included HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria, but no current cases of influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, dengue fever, leptospirosis or chikungunya were identified. Thirteen (10.4%) of the 125 primary infections transmitted COVID-19 to 27 close contacts, 158 (63.7%) of whom resided or worked within the same household. Thirty-one percent (4 of 13) of those who transmitted COVID-19 to secondary cases were health care workers; no known secondary transmissions occurred between health care workers. This rapid assessment early in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic identified some context-specific characteristics which conflicted with the national line-listing of cases, and which have been substantiated in the year since. These included over two-thirds of cases reporting the development of symptoms during the two weeks after diagnosis, compared to the 7% of cases reported nationally; over half of cases reporting headaches, and nearly half of all cases reporting loss of taste and smell, none of which were reported at the time by the World Health Organization to be common symptoms. This study highlights the importance of rapid in-depth assessments of outbreaks in understanding the local epidemiology and response measures required