4429 research outputs found
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Research Ready: Developing Pain Management Materials and Study Protocols
Full text linkIntroduction: For a growing number of older adults, chronic health conditions and pain result in reduced quality of life (QoL) and significant health care costs (CDC, 2019; CDC, 2020). Due to the opioid epidemic, alternative interventions for managing pain are important (NIH, 2020). A St. Catherine University interprofessional research team conducted a study entitled, “Examining the impact of Far Infrared Technology in Addition to Pain Education on Quality of Life in Older Adults.”
Purpose: The aims of this project were three-fold: to create accessible pain education materials for older adults, provide training to occupational therapy (OT) fieldwork students, and oversee study implementation with 11 team members.
Approach: Education materials and training protocols were developed using evidence-based literature reviews and formative drafting processes. The effectiveness of the materials was evaluated using surveys that contained a mix of Likert scale scores and open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze ordinal data and level 1 & 2 coding were used for qualitative responses.
Outcomes: 15 out of 15 older adults would recommend the pain education materials to others, with 100% of survey responses to questions about the materials being “excellent” or “good”. OT Student’s perceived knowledge and confidence increased with statistical significance after practical experience administering assessments with study participants.
Implications: The pain education materials were effective, with frequently identified key learnings presented in both narrated and print form. Future research could incorporate a pre/posttest to capture change in respondent’s pain knowledge. Training followed by practical experience is an effective approach to increase OT student knowledge and confidence in administering assessments. Future research could add a baseline survey to capture student knowledge prior to receiving training.
Conclusion: Collaboration in research across disciplines with tiered mentorship involving faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students is mutually beneficial for conducting research
Implementing a Video Education Module in a School-Based Clinic
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this project was to implement standardized video education for parents of children seeking care at a school based clinic. The project created a process for utilizing video modules to enhance parental recognition of children’s mental health problems.
Methodology: A 2-step implementation of the video module first focused on gaining staff support for the module content then delivering the video module to parents of children presenting for clinic visits. An education module was created using a Google form on the Google Sites platform employing short educational videos about child and adolescent mental health recognition. During the appointment check in process parents were offered the opportunity to scan a QR code linked to the education module and a short post-module survey to evaluate knowledge and ease of use.
Results: Among the survey responses 44% (n=4) of the parents agreed that the videos increased their knowledge of child mental health, 100% (n=9) of parents agreed they understood how to access mental health resources for their children’s mental health needs. Additionally 100% (n=9) of parents agreed that the education video module was easy to use.
Implication for Practice: This project aided in improving parent knowledge of and access to mental health resources for school-aged children. The success of this module provides the foundation on which to build a library of video-based health education topics. Utilization of video-based patient education improves the delivery of health education in the primary care setting
The Influence of Yoga and Meditation on Intrinsic Motivation in Early Childhood Education
Full text linkThe objective of this action research was to see if daily voluntary yoga and meditation influence intrinsic motivation in a 3-6-year-old Montessori classroom. The time frame of this study was over six weeks in the beginning of the school year at an urban public Montessori school. The children who participated in the study were eighteen 3-6-year-old students. The experiment included using two apps, one for meditation and one for yoga, every morning for forty-five minutes. Children were welcomed to join when they were ready and leave when they felt refreshed. Some positive effects of our research were an increase in work productivity, emotions towards work and themselves, and an increase in children being focused on work. To expand this research in the future, we would track data for longer than a six-week period and track data prior to starting research to measure a baseline
Lrh1 can help Reprogram Sexual Cell Fate and is Required for Sertoli Cell Development and Spermatogenesis in the Mouse Testis
No full textThe mammalian nuclear hormone receptors LRH1 (NR5A2) and SF1 (NR5A1) are close paralogs that can bind the same DNA motif and play crucial roles in gonadal development and function. Lrh1 is essential for follicle development in the ovary and has been proposed to regulate steroidogenesis in the testis. Lrh1 expression in the testis is highly elevated by loss of the sex regulator Dmrt1, which triggers male-to-female transdifferentiation of Sertoli cells. While Sf1 has a well-defined and crucial role in testis development, no function for Lrh1 in the male gonad has been reported. Here we use conditional genetics to examine Lrh1 requirements both in gonadal cell fate reprogramming and in normal development of the three major cell lineages of the mouse testis. We find that loss of Lrh1 suppresses sexual transdifferentiation, confirming that Lrh1 can act as a key driver in reprogramming sexual cell fate. In otherwise wild-type testes, we find that Lrh1 is dispensable in Leydig cells but is required in Sertoli cells for their proliferation, for seminiferous tubule morphogenesis, for maintenance of the blood-testis barrier, for feedback regulation of androgen production, and for support of spermatogenesis. Expression profiling identified misexpressed genes likely underlying most aspects of the Sertoli cell phenotype. In the germ line we found that Lrh1 is required for maintenance of functional spermatogonia, and hence mutants progressively lose spermatogenesis. Reduced expression of the RNA binding factor Nxf2 likely contributes to the SSC defect. Unexpectedly, however, over time the Lrh1 mutant germ line recovered abundant spermatogenesis and fertility. This finding indicates that severe germ line depletion triggers a response allowing mutant spermatogonia to recover the ability to undergo complete spermatogenesis. Our results demonstrate that Lrh1, like Sf1, is an essential regulator of testis development and function but has a very distinct repertoire of functions
Interprofessional Education Workshop on Aging: Student Perceptions of Interprofessional Collaboration, Cultural Fluency, and Aging.
No full textInterprofessional education is vital to prepare students in healthcare-related fields for future practice to improve participation in teams and enhance client/patient outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of a half-day interprofessional education workshop on aging based on students’ self-rated confidence in working in interprofessional teams, with aging, and culturally diverse clients/patients. Students from eight healthcare-related disciplines at a private mid-western university attended an interprofessional workshop. Afterward, students completed a reflective survey to evaluate pre- and post-workshop perceptions about interprofessional collaboration and caring for aging and diverse clients/patients. Quantitative methods using paired sample t-tests revealed a statistically significant difference in students’ self-reported level of preparedness in the areas of interprofessional education, aging, and cultural fluency (P \u3c .001). In addition, qualitative methods were used to organize data into themes. Additional insights were gained to inform future workshops
Native American Age at Death in the USA
No full textThere are persistent disparities in mortality rates between Native Americans and other groups in the USA. Public-use mortality data severely limits the ability of researchers to examine contextual factors that might explain these disparities. Using restricted-use mortality microdata, we examine the relationship between geographic location, specific causes of death, and age at death. We show that Native American women, on average, die 13 years earlier than White women; Native American men, on average, die 12 years earlier than White men. These disparities are largest in the northern Great Plains and Rocky Mountain states. The disparity in age at death is in part due to Native Americans dying from diseases at younger ages than White Americans. Native American women and men die younger and more often from homicide in counties with persistently higher White male to female ratios. Native American men also die younger and more often from homicide when White male to female ratios increase within their county over time