A Comparative Study of Professional Student Stress Murphy, Robert J.; Gray, Sarah A.; Sterling, Gerald ...
Journal of dental education,
March 2009, 2009-Mar, 2009-03-00, 20090301, Letnik:
73, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
A study was conducted involving a group of 290 medical and dental students to directly compare perceived stress levels encountered during their education. A modified questionnaire based on Garbee et ...al.'s Dental Environmental Stress survey was provided to the students by either email or paper. The purpose of the investigation was to determine if the sources of stress reported by medical and dental students, both male and female, were due to common factors. A multivariate statistical analysis was also conducted to measure stress differences by year in school. Through factor analysis, the survey question responses were grouped into five causal categories: academic performance, faculty relations, patient and clinic responsibilities, personal life issues, and professional identity. The overall findings show that dental students had greater levels of stress than medical students in three of the five categories. The only category in which medical students demonstrated greater stress levels than dental students was in professional identity. Measures of comparative levels of stress between male and female students for either profession did not demonstrate any significant differences. Stress levels related to clinical work varied significantly between the type of professional student and his or her year in school.
Participatory Modeling (PM) is becoming increasingly common in environmental planning and conservation, due in part to advances in cyberinfrastructure as well as to greater recognition of the ...importance of engaging a diverse array of stakeholders in decision making. We provide lessons learned, based on over 200 years of the authors’ cumulative and diverse experience, about PM processes. These include successful and, perhaps more importantly, not-so-successful trials. Our collective interdisciplinary background has supported the development, testing, and evaluation of a rich range of collaborative modeling approaches. We share here what we have learned as a community of participatory modelers, within three categories of reflection: a) lessons learned about participatory modelers; b) lessons learned about the context of collaboration; and c) lessons learned about the PM process. First, successful PM teams encompass a variety of skills beyond modeling expertise. Skills include: effective relationship-building, openness to learn from local experts, awareness of personal motivations and biases, and ability to translate discussions into models and to assess success. Second, the context for collaboration necessitates a culturally appropriate process for knowledge generation and use, for involvement of community co-leads, and for understanding group power dynamics that might influence how people from different backgrounds interact. Finally, knowing when to use PM and when not to, managing expectations, and effectively and equitably addressing conflicts is essential. Managing the participation process in PM is as important as managing the model building process. We recommend that PM teams consider what skills are present within a team, while ensuring inclusive creative space for collaborative exploration and learning supported by simple yet relevant models. With a realistic view of what it entails, PM can be a powerful approach that builds collective knowledge and social capital, thus helping communities to take charge of their future and address complex social and environmental problems.
Systems thinking (ST) skills are often the foundation of sustainability science curricula. Though ST skill sets are used as a basic approach to reasoning about complex environmental problems, there ...are gaps in our understanding regarding the best ways to promote and assess ST learning in classrooms. Since ST learning provides Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) students’ important skills and awareness to participate in environmental problem-solving, addressing these gaps is an important STEM learning contribution. We have created guidelines for teaching and measuring ST skills derived from a hybrid of a literature review and through case study data collection. Our approach is based on semi-quantitative cognitive mapping techniques meant to support deep reasoning about the complexities of social–ecological issues. We begin by arguing that ST should be evaluated on a continuum of understanding rather than a binary of correct/incorrect or present/absent. We then suggest four fundamental dimensions of teaching and evaluating ST which include: (1) system structure, (2) system function, (3) identification of leverage points for change, and (4) trade-off analysis. Finally, we use a case study to show how these ideas can be assessed through cognitive maps to help students develop deep system understanding and the capacity to propose innovative solutions to sustainability problems.
Resting state functional connectivity (rs-fMRI) is impaired early in persons who subsequently develop Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia. This impairment may be leveraged to aid investigation of the ...pre-clinical phase of AD. We developed a model that predicts brain age from resting state (rs)-fMRI data, and assessed whether genetic determinants of AD, as well as beta-amyloid (Aβ) pathology, can accelerate brain aging. Using data from 1340 cognitively unimpaired participants between 18-94 years of age from multiple sites, we showed that topological properties of graphs constructed from rs-fMRI can predict chronological age across the lifespan. Application of our predictive model to the context of pre-clinical AD revealed that the pre-symptomatic phase of autosomal dominant AD includes acceleration of functional brain aging. This association was stronger in individuals having significant Aβ pathology.
Participatory modeling engages the implicit and explicit knowledge of stakeholders to create formalized and shared representations of reality and has evolved into a field of study as well as a ...practice. Participatory modeling researchers and practitioners who focus specifically on environmental resources met at the National Socio‐Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) in Annapolis, Maryland, over the course of 2 years to discuss the state of the field and future directions for participatory modeling. What follows is a description of 12 overarching groups of questions that could guide future inquiry.
Key Points
Reported are future directions in participatory modeling as decided by a group of experts
This paper discusses broad questions of practice, participation, and innovation that can be addressed by researchers from many fields
Abstract
Background
To protect healthcare workers (HCWs) from the consequences of disease due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), it is necessary to understand the risk ...factors that drive exposure and infection within hospitals. Insufficient consideration of key socioeconomic variables is a limitation of existing studies that can lead to bias and residual confounding of proposed risk factors for infection.
Methods
The Co-STARs study prospectively enrolled 3679 HCWs between April 2020 and September 2020. We used multivariate logistic regression to comprehensively characterize the demographic, occupational, socioeconomic, and environmental risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity.
Results
After adjusting for key confounders, relative household overcrowding (odds ratio OR, 1.4 95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.1–1.9; P = .006), Black, Black British, Caribbean, or African ethnicity (OR, 1.7 95% CI, 1.2–2.3; P = .003), increasing age (ages 50–60 years: OR, 1.8 95% CI, 1.3–2.4; P < .001), lack of access to sick pay (OR, 1.8 95% CI, 1.3–2.4; P < .001).
Conclusions
Socioeconomic and demographic factors outside the hospital were the main drivers of infection and exposure to SARS-CoV-2 during the first wave of the pandemic in an urban pediatric referral hospital. Overcrowding and out-of-hospital SARS-CoV-2 contact are less amenable to intervention. However, lack of access to sick pay among externally contracted staff is more easily rectifiable. Our findings suggest that providing easier access to sick pay would lead to a decrease in SARS-CoV-2 transmission and potentially that of other infectious diseases in hospital settings.
Clinical Trials Registration
NCT04380896.
This London-based prospective cohort study demonstrated an increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity in healthcare workers reporting difficulty accessing sick leave, living in overcrowded housing, and/or of Black ethnicity, highlighting the effect of structural and ethnic inequality during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Graphical Abstract
Graphical Abstract
This graphical abstract is also available at Tidbit: https://tidbitapp.io/tidbits/the-socio-economic-and-demographic-risk-factors-for-sars-cov-2-seropositivity-among-healthcare-workers-in-a-uk-hospital-a-prospective-cohort-study/update
Patient-centered goal setting is an important component of behavioral interventions for chronic pain. Limited data exist on the relationship between goal attainment during cognitive-behavioral based ...physical therapy (CBPT) and pain-related outcomes.
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between CBPT goal attainment and pain-related outcomes in a cohort of patients who completed a 6-week telephone-based CBPT intervention after lumbar spine surgery.
Secondary analysis from a randomized trial comparing postoperative CBPT and an education program. The primary results of the trial showed superiority of CBPT in an intervention completers only analysis.
This study included 108 participants (mean ± SD age = 63.5 ± 11.3 years, 54 50% female, 92 85% White) who completed the CBPT intervention were included.
Six and 12-month outcomes included physical function (PROMIS), pain interference (PROMIS), and back and leg pain intensity (Brief Pain Inventory).
At each session, CBPT participants used goal attainment scaling (GAS) to set goals and report goal attainment from the previous session. The number and type of goals and percentage of goals met were recorded. A GAS t-score for achievement of goals across all sessions was computed for each patient. Patients were grouped as high or low goal attainment based on a GAS t-score of 50, which indicates goals were met as expected. Outcome differences between groups at each follow-up time point were examined using linear regression analyses controlling for baseline outcome score. Alpha was set at the 0.05 level for statistical significance.
Participants set a median of 3 goals (range: 1 to 6) at each CBPT session. The most common goals were related to participating in a physical/recreational activity (36%), adopting a cognitive or behavioral strategy (28%), exercising (11%), or performing activities of daily living (11%). The least common goals related to social activities (2%). Forty-six (43%) participants met criteria for high goal attainment (mean % goals met = 87% compared to 64% in the low goal attainment group, p<0.001). Greater improvements in the high goal attainment group were observed in physical function at 6 (unstandardized beta = 4.2, p < 0.05) and 12 months (unstandardized beta = 3.5, p < 0.05) and back pain intensity at 12 months (unstandardized beta = -0.9 p < 0.05).
The attainment of personalized goals within a CBPT intervention was an important factor related to improvements in physical functioning after spine surgery. Implementing a structured process for setting personalized goals and tracking goal attainment may be an essential aspect of a biopsychosocial approach for addressing functional impairment following surgery.
This abstract does not discuss or include any applicable devices or drugs.
Background
Differences in absolute levels of individual biomarkers from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), amyloid PET, and MRI imaging between self‐reported Black and White individuals were reported. How ...the A/T/N network of AD biomarkers is biologically connected within a racialized group and whether it predicts cognition differentially between groups remain unknown.
Method
The Study of Race to Understand Alzheimer Biomarkers(SORTOUT‐AB) has centrally re‐processed the CSF samples and imaging scans collected at four AD Research Centers/studies: Washington University, University of Pennsylvania, Emory University, and the Harvard Aging Brain Study. A total of 286 Black and 2080 White participants had CSF biomarker data, 157 Black and 936 White participants provided PET amyloid biomarker data, 322 Black and 1530 White individuals had MRI structural data, and 67 Black and 492 White participants provided PET Tau biomarker data. Spearman correlations across biomarkers and cognition/memory were estimated within each race, then compared between groups, adjusting for age, sex, APOE e4 status, dementia status, and education.
Result
The absolute correlation between CSF Aß42 and the centiloid scale of PET amyloid mean cortical SUVR was significantly larger in White(r = ‐0.45) versus Black(r = ‐0.04) participants, similar to the absolute correlations between Aß42/40 ratio and each of below: PET amyloid centiloid(White r = ‐0.61, Black r = ‐0.12), CSF Tau(White r = ‐0.43, Black r = ‐0.25), and CSF pTau181(White r = ‐0.54, Black r = ‐0.33). Aß42 alone did not correlate with Tau or pTau181 in White individuals, but positively correlated with Tau(r = 0.15) and pTau181(r = 0.16) in Black participants. Significantly larger positive correlations were observed in Black versus White individuals between CSF Aß40 and pTau181(Black r = 0.68, White r = 0.55). PET amyloid centiloid, MRI hippocampal volume, and cortical thickness all predicted cognition, with no racial differences observed. However, cognition/memory was better predicted by Aß42/40 for White verses Black participants(Black r = 0.07, White r = 0.22), Tau(Black r = ‐0.06, White r = ‐0.20), and pTau181(Black r = ‐0.02, White r = ‐0.23).
Conclusion
Biological associations of CSF and imaging biomarkers differed between Black and White groups, suggesting that current A/T/N research framework of AD biomarkers may not apply across racialized groups. The prediction of CSF biomarkers to cognition also differed between groups. Use of biomarkers in studying AD and designing/analyzing AD clinical trials must appropriately address racial differences.
Background
Differences in absolute levels of individual biomarkers from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), amyloid PET, and MRI imaging between self‐reported Black and White individuals were reported. How ...the A/T/N network of AD biomarkers is biologically connected within a racialized group and whether it predicts cognition differentially between groups remain unknown.
Method
The Study of Race to Understand Alzheimer Biomarkers(SORTOUT‐AB) has centrally re‐processed the CSF samples and imaging scans collected at four AD Research Centers/studies: Washington University, University of Pennsylvania, Emory University, and the Harvard Aging Brain Study. A total of 286 Black and 2080 White participants had CSF biomarker data, 157 Black and 936 White participants provided PET amyloid biomarker data, 322 Black and 1530 White individuals had MRI structural data, and 67 Black and 492 White participants provided PET Tau biomarker data. Spearman correlations across biomarkers and cognition/memory were estimated within each race, then compared between groups, adjusting for age, sex, APOE ε4 status, dementia status, and education.
Results
The absolute correlation between CSF Aβ42 and the centiloid scale of PET amyloid mean cortical SUVR was significantly larger in White(r = ‐0.45) versus Black(r = ‐0.04) participants, similar to the absolute correlations between Aβ42/40 ratio and each of below: PET amyloid centiloid(White r = ‐0.61, Black r = ‐0.12), CSF Tau(White r = ‐0.43, Black r = ‐0.25), and CSF pTau181(White r = ‐0.54, Black r = ‐0.33). Aβ42 alone did not correlate with Tau or pTau181 in White individuals, but positively correlated with Tau(r = 0.15) and pTau181(r = 0.16) in Black participants. Significantly larger positive correlations were observed in Black versus White individuals between CSF Aβ40 and pTau181(Black r = 0.68, White r = 0.55). PET amyloid centiloid, MRI hippocampal volume, and cortical thickness all predicted cognition, with no racial differences observed. However, cognition/memory was better predicted by Aβ42/40 for White verses Black participants(Black r = 0.07, White r = 0.22), Tau(Black r = ‐0.06, White r = ‐0.20), and pTau181(Black r = ‐0.02, White r = ‐0.23).
Conclusion
Biological associations of CSF and imaging biomarkers differed between Black and White groups, suggesting that current A/T/N research framework of AD biomarkers may not apply across racialized groups. The prediction of CSF biomarkers to cognition also differed between groups. Use of biomarkers in studying AD and designing/analyzing AD clinical trials must appropriately address racial differences.
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