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We present findings from a focused review of National Science Foundation (NSF) Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) programs, along with interim findings from the Iona College "Development of Excellence in Science through Intervention, Resilience, and Enrichment (DESIRE)" S-STEM scholarship program. DESIRE supports academically talented chemistry and computer science majors with financial need. Data were gathered through focus groups of S-STEM students and surveys of S-STEM students and other students. Our findings suggest that S-STEM and similar programs can maximize chances for retention of diverse undergraduate STEM students by combining scholarships with five sets of strategies, aimed at 1) social support and social connections; 2) academic support, including academic/emotional support (e.g., peer support); 3) meeting the needs of students with work or family obligations; 4) research and professional field engagement opportunities; and 5) supporting new freshmen. more...

Background: A long research stream has shown that when knowledge is more structured it is more likely to be effective in practical application. Building on that research, the authors applied Integrative Proposition Analysis to visualize, integrate, and assess the quality and usefulness of knowledge gained from the NMAC (formerly National Minority AIDS Council) Strong Communities evaluation. Purpose: Demonstrate an innovative method to rigorously integrate and strengthen knowledge gained from evaluation and to encourage discussion of future directions for developing stronger theories for more effective evaluation and more effective action. Setting: Birmingham, Alabama. Intervention: A project to identify local strategies for community-based organizations and community health centers that serve African American and Latinx gay and bisexual men and transgender women to collaboratively meet HIV-related community needs. Research Design: The researchers applied Integrative Propositional Analysis to integrate and map concepts and causal connections emerging from the evaluation findings. The authors then analyzed the resulting map to identify topmentioned concepts, better understood concepts, reinforcing loops, and knowledge gaps. Data Collection and Analysis: Integrative Propositional Analysis applied to a literature review and stakeholder interview transcripts collected for the evaluation. Findings: Integrating literature and interview results helped to identify several actions where providers of HIV-related services could increase their impact on combating the HIV epidemic among the communities they serve. The authors also identified a reinforcing loop; this shows opportunity to improve two desired outcomes by increasing one. In addition, the authors identified blank spots on the map; these show where additional research could strengthen the quality and usefulness of the mapped knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Background: Preventative and treatment programs for people at risk of developing psychological problems after exposure to war trauma have mushroomed in the last decade. However, there is still much contention about evidence-based and culturally sensitive interventions for children. The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of the Teaching Recovery Techniques in improving the emotional and behavioral outcomes of war-affected children resettled in Australia. Methods and Findings: A cluster randomized controlled trial with pre-test, post-test, and 3-month follow-up design was employed. A total of 82 participants (aged 10-17 years) were randomized by school into the 8-week intervention (n = 45) or the waiting list (WL) control condition (n = 37). Study outcomes included symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, internalizing and externalizing problems, as well as psychosocial functioning. A medium intervention effect was found for depression symptoms. Participants in the intervention condition experienced a greater symptom reduction than participants in the WL control condition, F(1, 155) = 5.20, p = 0.024, partial η² = 0.07. This improvement was maintained at the 3-month follow-up, F(2, 122) = 7.24, p = 0.001, partial η² = 0.20. Conclusions: These findings suggest the potential benefit of the school and group-based intervention on depression symptoms but not on other outcomes, when compared to a waiting list control group. Trial Registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12611000 948998. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

A major barrier to building a strong workforce to meet the growing need for long-care is lack of affordable health benefits. This study projects impacts of funding health coverage for all long-term care workers in Minnesota. Under the most cost effective model plan design, enrollment in employer-sponsored coverage would increase 73% to 100% for individual coverage and 26% to 42% for family coverage. Total monthly costs would be $698/worker in the commercial market or $634/worker through a new dedicated risk pool. Based on our findings and past research, the authors present recommendations for structuring and implementing a long-term care worker health insurance initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Help-seeking pathways and barriers to accessing health care services were surveyed in 51 West African refugee women who had settled recently in Perth, Western Australia, and in 100 Australian women. Shame or fear of what family and friends might think, fear of being judged by the treatment provider, fear of hospitalization, and logistical difficulties were significant impediments to accessing health care services for the refugee women. Surprisingly, barriers often were greater for the more-educated refugee women and strengthened with years of residence in Australia. Strategies to help at-risk women overcome these barriers need to be implemented to ensure appropriate access to health care services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Ten bilingual West African peer educators conducted a 3-hour workshop on sexual health for small groups of West African refugees (N = 58) who recently had settled in Perth, Western Australia. There were significant increases in the participants' knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and HIV, how these infections are spread, and how to protect against infection. In addition, attitudes toward condom use became more positive. We conclude that the peer-education approach was successful in assisting a new and emerging community to work effectively on sexual health topics generally considered 'taboo' or too sensitive to discuss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

The effect of Rapid Induction Analgesia (RIA) on pain tolerance and ratings of mechanically induced pain in the pain-sensitized forearm was investigated in 58 undergraduates. Posthypnotic suggestions of relaxation and analgesia did not influence pain ratings or tolerance, but relaxation ratings increased after RIA. When suggestions for analgesia were made throughout pain testing, ratings of pain unpleasantness at the pain tolerance point decreased more in the RIA group than in the attention control group. However, RIA did not influence pain threshold or tolerance. It was concluded that RIA was more effective in reducing subjective reports of pain (particularly the affective component) than in altering pain tolerance, and that maintenance of hypnotic suggestions was more effective than posthypnotic suggestions of comfort and relaxation in alleviating the affective component of pain. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] more...

The current study involved conducting a pilot test of a culturally sensitive support group program developed to assist Iraqi women in the year following the birth of their baby (CSSG-B) in Perth, Western Australia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the social validity of the program. It was hypothesized that women involved in the program would find the program to be socially valid and culturally appropriate, and will also report lower levels of depressive symptomatology and higher levels of social support, following the group intervention. Participants were 12 Iraqi Arabic speaking women, who had a child less than 12 months of age. The program was based on Iraqi women's explanatory models (Kleinman, 1978; Di Ciano et al., 2010) of the birth and motherhood experience. Social validity ratings were obtained during the implementation of the program in order to assess the level of acceptability of the intervention. A one-group pre-test-post-test design was used to determine if depressive symptoms had decreased during the course of the intervention and social support had increased. Results indicated that Iraqi Arabic speaking women found the support group intervention acceptable and relevant and there was a significant decrease in scores on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) from pre-test to post-test. These results that the culturally sensitive group intervention was culturally acceptable and was associated with decreased levels of depressive symptomatology. more...

The Brisbane Inner South E-referral Project (BISEP) developed an application which allowed general practitioners, from their desktop, to successfully search for and book an available hospital outpatient appointment for patients with suspected cancer, send the referral electronically, and inform the patient of both the appointment and referral during the consultation. The hospital changed their outpatient department processes to allow such functionality for local GPs with patients with suspected cancer, working from a mutually agreed set of best practice referral criteria. A group of 19 GPs participated in an 11-week pilot implementation of the application, and were enthusiastic about continuing and expanding the approach. Patient satisfaction measures post intervention indicated that they perceived no major disadvantage in this form of outpatient department referral. more...