Relationship between Health Information Sharing Behavior Using Social Media and Breast Cancer Screening

Background: Despite established screening guidelines, breast cancer screening rates are below targeted goals. Pharmacists and other health care providers can promote breast cancer screening using tools such as social media. However, little is known about the use of social media among the breast cancer screening eligible population. Objective: To describe the health information sharing behavior using social media of the breast cancer screening eligible population, and to identify if sharing health information on social media was associated with breast cancer screening. Methods and materials: Data from the 2013 Health Information National Trends Survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics and bivariate logistic regression to evaluate the association between sharing health information on social media and receipt of a mammogram. Results: Women sharing health information via social media were significantly younger than those who did not. A significantly higher percentage of Hispanics (17.8%) and other races (27.0%) chose to share health information on social media compared to African Americans (8.6%) and Whites (12.9%). Mammogram rates did not differ based on social media health information sharing habits. Conclusion: Race and age differences were noted in health information sharing behavior. No association was found between health information sharing behavior and breast cancer screening. Conflict of Interest We declare no conflicts of interest or financial interests that the authors or members of their immediate families have in any product or service discussed in the manuscript, including grants (pending or received), employment, gifts, stock holdings or options, honoraria, consultancies, expert testimony, patents and royalties   Type: Original Researc

Relationship between Health Information Sharing Behavior Using Social Media and Breast Cancer Screening

Background: Despite established screening guidelines, breast cancer screening rates are below targeted goals. Pharmacists and other health care providers can promote breast cancer screening using tools such as social media. However, little is known about the use of social media among the breast cancer screening eligible population. Objective: To describe the health information sharing behavior using social media of the breast cancer screening eligible population, and to identify if sharing health information on social media was associated with breast cancer screening. Methods and materials: Data from the 2013 Health Information National Trends Survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics and bivariate logistic regression to evaluate the association between sharing health information on social media and receipt of a mammogram. Results: Women sharing health information via social media were significantly younger than those who did not. A significantly higher percentage of Hispanics (17.8%) and other races (27.0%) chose to share health information on social media compared to African Americans (8.6%) and Whites (12.9%). Mammogram rates did not differ based on social media health information sharing habits. Conclusion: Race and age differences were noted in health information sharing behavior. No association was found between health information sharing behavior and breast cancer screening. Conflict of Interest We declare no conflicts of interest or financial interests that the authors or members of their immediate families have in any product or service discussed in the manuscript, including grants (pending or received), employment, gifts, stock holdings or options, honoraria, consultancies, expert testimony, patents and royalties   Type: Original Researc

Cost-Effectiveness of a Hypothetical Gene Therapy for Alzheimer's Disease: A Markov Simulation Analysis

Background: Alzheimer’s disease is a prevalent neurodegenerative condition causing significant health and economic burden. With limited therapeutic options, clinical trials have been investigating Alzheimer’s disease treatment using more novel approaches, including gene therapy. However, there is limited evidence on the cost-effectiveness of such treatments. Objectives: This research aims to explore the cost-effectiveness of a hypothetical gene therapy for patients with Alzheimer’s disease at varying degrees of severity. Methods: A Markov model with a 20-year time horizon was constructed for simulated cohorts with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease, assigned to receive either standard of care or a one-time gene therapy administration. Varying costs of care due to disease severity and treatment efficacy were utilized to determine the effect of those variables at different willingness-to-pay thresholds.  Results: Under the initial assumption that the hypothetical gene therapy grants a 30% risk reduction in disease progression and entry into institutional care, the maximum cost-effective price for gene therapy is $141,126 per treatment using the threshold of$150,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY). By increasing the treatment effectiveness to 50%, cost-effective price nearly doubled at each willingness-to-pay threshold (e.g., $260,902 at the$150,000/QALY threshold). Conclusion: Despite being cost-effective at a very high price, the hypothetical gene therapy for AD would still need to be priced considerably lower than other approved gene therapies on the market. Thus, a comprehensive pharmacoeconomic assessment remains critical in pricing innovative therapy and determining coverage for patients in need

Intentional Application of the Taba Curriculum Model to Develop a Rural Pharmacy Practice Course

The changing profession of pharmacy demands student preparation in dynamic courses that address the evolving healthcare landscape. Identifying an evidence-based approach to develop such coursework and content, however, can be a considerable challenge for curriculum innovators. This manuscript explores how curriculum design models can be applied as a guide to promote purposeful development of new curriculum, with the goal of promoting students as APPE, practice, and career-ready practitioners. Authors specifically describe a case study example for the process of creating a novel rural health course using the Taba curriculum design model as a guide for selecting course content, objectives, teaching strategies, learning experiences, and evaluative measures. Through the incorporation of the Taba model, this manuscript presents an evidence-based approach to curriculum development which can be replicated across schools and colleges of pharmacy. The described approach to curriculum design, which integrates models to guide the creative process, is a systematic approach to developing curriculum with purpose. Additional opportunities exist for curriculum innovators across the academy to explore incorporation of curriculum design models to guide course development, as well as to drive curricular assessment strategies and further curriculum refinement.   Article Type: Idea Pape

Highly Conductive ZnO Grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition in Pure Ar

Ga-doped ZnO was deposited by pulsed laser deposition at 200 °C on SiO2/Si, Al2O3, or quartz in 10 mTorr of pure Ar. The as-grown, bulk resistivity at 300 K is 1.8×10−4 Ω cm, three-times lower than that of films deposited at 200 °C in 10 mTorr of O2 followed by an anneal at 400 °C in forming gas. Furthermore, depth uniformity of the electrical properties is much improved. Mobility analysis shows that this excellent resistivity is mostly due to an increase in donor concentration, rather than a decrease in acceptor concentration. Optical transmittance is approximately 90% in the visible and near-IR spectral regions

Investigation of Plasmon Resonance Tunneling through Subwavelength Hole Arrays in Highly Doped Conductive ZnO Films

Experimental results pertaining to plasmon resonance tunneling through a highly conductive zinc oxide (ZnO) layer with subwavelength hole-arrays is investigated in the mid-infrared regime. Gallium-doped ZnO layers are pulsed-laser deposited on a silicon wafer. The ZnO has metallic optical properties with a bulk plasma frequency of 214 THz, which is equivalent to a free space wavelength of 1.4 μm. Hole arrays with different periods and hole shapes are fabricated via a standard photolithography process. Resonant mode tunneling characteristics are experimentally studied for different incident angles and compared with surface plasmontheoretical calculations and finite-difference time-domain simulations. Transmission peaks, higher than the baseline predicted by diffraction theory, are observed in each of the samples at wavelengths that correspond to the excitation of surface plasmon modes

Highly conductive ZnO grown by pulsed laser deposition in pure Ar

Ga-doped ZnO was deposited by pulsed laser deposition at 200 °C on SiO2/Si, Al2O3, or quartz in 10 mTorr of pure Ar. The as-grown, bulk resistivity at 300 K is 1.8×10−4 Ω cm, three-times lower than that of films deposited at 200 °C in 10 mTorr of O2 followed by an anneal at 400 °C in forming gas. Furthermore, depth uniformity of the electrical properties is much improved. Mobility analysis shows that this excellent resistivity is mostly due to an increase in donor concentration, rather than a decrease in acceptor concentration. Optical transmittance is approximately 90% in the visible and near-IR spectral regions