Role of Physicians in Addressing Food Insecurity in Vermont Seniors

Introduction: This study investigated Vermont physicians’ awareness of - and engagement in – addressing food insecurity experienced by their elderly patients. This information is needed to better understand the role physicians play in solving this problem and to know how education and access to services could ensure that the needs of elders are met in a culturally sensitive manner. Many elders must choose between paying bills, buying medication or buying food. Some elders are unaware that they qualify for food assistance, or would feel stigmatized using it. Nationally, 56% of physicians reported that they were not knowledgeable about food insecurity. Food insecurity can be screened for by using Hunger Free Vermont’s Two Question Screen. Screening, followed by a multidisciplinary team approach with contributions from dietitians, geriatricians, social workers and psychologists may be the most effective way of assessing at-risk patients.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1214/thumbnail.jp

Local food hubs in deprived areas: an 'action pack' for community organisations

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If You Can, You Can

VCU distinguishes itself as being one of Virginia’s most diverse institutions of higher education. This project seeks to support and extend this wonderful attribute by encouraging a climate of equity and inclusiveness. If You Can, You Can creates a common platform and language in support of the university’s mission to address disparities concerning equality and inclusiveness, and provides a model that is useful in promoting all dimensions of diversity. In addition to developing this overarching model, Team Real Connections worked with the VCU Athletics department to implement a prototype program called “If you can play, you can play,” which promotes inclusivity for those in the LGBTQ community within athletics. That initiative is comprised of the following components: ● the production of a marketing video to introduce and promote the campaign ● the submission of the video to the national “You Can Play” project (http://youcanplayproject.org/) ● a survey assessing how VCU athletes perceive the current climate in athletics ● training sessions with athletic coaches and staff to promote awareness and advocacy for the LGBTQ community ● dissemination of posters, postcards, and wristbands to promote the campaign and publicize events ● programs in October (LGBTQ History Month) with speakers Pat Griffin and Hudson Taylor to bring further awareness to the importance of inclusivity ● promotion of the campaign and events at various athletic events The success of the prototype campaign demonstrates that If You Can, You Can has the potential to serve as a comprehensive platform for units around VCU who wish to promote inclusivity and equity along other dimensions of diversity. Ultimately, the team envisions a university-wide initiative that unites VCU in achieving its goal of becoming a premier urban research university where everyone is welcomed, supported, and valued

Bridges and Barriers: Factors Influencing a Culture of Assessment in Academic Libraries

Article "presents the results of a survey designed to understand what factors facilitate the development of a culture of assessment of student learning in academic libraries and what factors may hinder it. Unlike previous research in this area, which has focused on case studies and surveys with nonrepresentative samples, the authors conducted a systematic survey of academic libraries at four-year institutions in the United States and achieved a 42 percent response rate. The results suggest certain factors are highly associated with a culture of assessment and provide guidance to administrators and front-line librarians working to build such a culture."Ope

Perinatal deaths in Australia 1993–2012

Summary The loss of a baby who was either stillborn or died in the first weeks of life is a tragic event that affects around 3,000 families every year in Australia. Perinatal mortality is widely recognised as an important indicator of population health. While Australia is one of the safest places in the world to give birth, almost 1 in 100 pregnancies will end in a perinatal death. Perinatal deaths in Australia 1993–2012 represents the first comprehensive national report on perinatal mortality in Australia and includes a detailed analysis of data relating to stillbirths and neonatal deaths for the period 2011-2012 and an analysis of trends for 1993–2012. The aim of this report is to gain a better understanding of the causes of perinatal deaths at a population level and identify changes in perinatal mortality over time. Data used for this report come from information recorded in jurisdictional perinatal data collections and information collated by state and territory perinatal mortality review committees. For the 2 years 2011 and 2012, just over 6,000 babies died during the perinatal period: a rate of 9.9 deaths per 1,000 births. Approximately three-quarters of those deaths were stillbirths (4,485) with the remaining 1,580 deaths being neonatal deaths. The rate of perinatal mortality varied by the state or territory in which babies were born, with the highest perinatal mortality rate recorded in Victoria (12.2 deaths per 1,000 births) and the lowest in New South Wales (8.3 deaths per 1,000 births). The rates also varied considerably between different subgroups including those based on mothers\u27 level of remoteness, socioeconomic status, age, smoking status, body mass index (BMI) and Indigenous status. The perinatal mortality rate of babies born to mothers who identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander was almost double that of babies of non-Indigenous mothers (17.1 versus 9.6 deaths per 1,000 births). Similarly, the perinatal mortality rate was almost 50% higher among babies whose mothers smoked compared with those who did not smoke (13.3 versus 8.9 deaths per 1,000 births). The stillbirth rate for babies of teenage mothers and mothers older than 45 was more than double that for mothers aged 30–34 (13.9 and 17.1 versus 6.4 deaths per 1,000 births). Over the 20-year period 1993–2012, the overall perinatal mortality rate was stable at around 10 deaths per 1,000 live births. There was a decrease in the rate of neonatal death (3.2 to 2.4 deaths per 1,000 live births) and an increase in the stillbirth rate (6.4 to 7.2 deaths per 1,000 births). Although remaining high, the report shows a decrease of 20% in the perinatal mortality rate among babies of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers. During 2011 and 2012, congenital abnormality was the leading condition in the fetus classified by the PSANZ Perinatal Death Classification as the cause of stillbirths (26.3% of stillbirths) and neonatal deaths (33.1%). An additional PSANZ Neonatal Death Classification of extreme prematurity was the leading condition contributing to deaths in the neonatal period (33.5%). When examined by Indigenous status, however, the leading cause of perinatal death among babies of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers was spontaneous pre-term birth (26.8% of stillbirths and 48.0% of neonatal deaths). This report provides insight into the trends in perinatal mortality in Australia, and highlights variations in some of Australia\u27s most vulnerable and disadvantaged population subgroups. This indicates areas that warrant further investigation and attention by clinicians, researchers and health policy makers

Promoting VCU Community Solutions

This promotional project focuses on VCU Community Solutions — the new interdisciplinary initiative for education, research, and service. Since this initiative demonstrates the synergy that students, faculty, and community members can create by working together, the promotional video captures their perspectives. Through interviews and footage of community programs, the video shows how VCU Community Solutions engages university and community partners in addressing critical social issues — creating more imovative approaches by working together

Evaluating diabetes mobile applications for health literate designs and functionality, 2014

INTRODUCTION: The expansion of mobile health technologies, particularly for diabetes-related applications (apps), grew exponentially in the past decade. This study sought to examine the extent to which current mobile apps for diabetes have health literate features recommended by participants in an Institute of Medicine Roundtable and compare the health literate features by app cost (free or not). METHODS: We used diabetes-related keywords to identify diabetes-related apps for iOS devices. A random sample of 110 apps (24% of total number of apps identified) was selected for coding. The coding scheme was adapted from the discussion paper produced by participants in the Institute of Medicine Roundtable. RESULTS: Most diabetes apps in this sample addressed diabetes management and therapeutics, and paid apps were more likely than free apps to use plain language strategies, to label links clearly, and to have at least 1 feature (a “back” button) that helps with the organization. CONCLUSION: Paid apps were more likely than free apps to use strategies that should be more useful and engaging for people with low health literacy. Future work can investigate ways to make free diabetes mobile apps more user-friendly and accessible

Response to comment on "Human-specific gain of function in a developmental enhancer"

Duret and Galtier argue that human-specific sequence divergence and gain of function in the HACNS1 enhancer result from deleterious biased gene conversion (BGC) with no contribution from positive selection. We reinforce our previous conclusion by analyzing hypothesized BGC events genomewide and assessing the effect of recombination rates on human-accelerated conserved noncoding sequence ascertainment. We also provide evidence that AT → GC substitution bias can coexist with positive selection