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An objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) has been recognised as a reliable but workload-intensive assessment method across health sciences studies. Though a variety of digital marking tools have been employed to improve marking and feedback provision for OSCEs, many of these require specialist software or maintenance. This pilot study examines the development and trialling of Microsoft Forms as a marking and feedback instrument for an OSCE within a Sport and Exercise Therapy module. This study aims to assess whether the use of a non-specialist digital tool, such as Microsoft Forms, might be able overcome limitations in current assessment procedures and ultimately provide a more effective method for marking and feedback provision for an OSCE. Results from OSCE examiners (N = 8) and students (N = 30) who participated in the pilot indicate that Microsoft Forms does have the potential to provide a more effective experience for examiners and ultimately improve upon feedback provision for students when compared with a paper-based marking tool. However, concerns around the form's ease-of-use may ultimately influence its adoption as a marking instrument above current paper-based methods.

Peer-assisted learning (PAL) is a long-standing educational concept in higher education (HE) and has been subjected to ongoing development and ultimate implementation into so-called 'high-risk' programmes. Substantial literature and evidence are available to confirm that PAL is an effective tool for unlocking active learning in medical education. This paper focusses on the effects of same-year/level PAL implementation on the academic performance of tutors and tutees in a health sciences' extended curriculum programme (ECP) at a University of Technology (UoT) in South Africa (SA). A retrospective, longitudinal and quantitative analysis of pre- and post-intervention results of three consecutive ECP student cohorts (2017-2019) was conducted to determine whether same-year/level PAL implementation enhanced academic performance. A total of 138 ECP students participated in this study and a statistically significant difference (p-value <0.05) was found with the overall comparison between the pre- and post-intervention results. Although not all ECP students benefited from this same-year/level PAL intervention, the findings of the study suggest that for the majority of ECP students, same-year/level PAL can be considered as an innovative educational intervention to improve academic success and preparedness for future studies.

The faculty at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) recognized the potential benefits for collaborative teaching and learning across disciplines. Research and development of an Interprofessional Case Learning Project (ICLP) laid the foundation for the creation and implementation of a problem-based learning course. This course, Interdisciplinary Perspectives of an Infectious Disease--Malaria, introduced innovative interdisciplinary pedagogy into the curriculum of the MCPHS School of Arts & Sciences. Designed by biologists, chemists, historians, and public health faculty, this course introduced senior pre-medicine majors to varied methods and theories as they worked in groups to solve problems related to the incidence, prevention, and treatment of an infectious disease. Students' deliverables included journal-quality research papers and posters presented at the MCPHS School of Arts & Sciences Undergraduate Research Conference.

Background: Mentorship is essential for education and career development in health-related fields, yet Sub-Saharan African universities often lack structured programs. To address this, the MedXMentor program was established at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) to provide structured mentorship to undergraduate health sciences students in Uganda. This paper outlines insights gained from implementing the MedXMentor hybrid mentorship program. Methods: Using a mixed-methods approach, the study employed the Kirkpatrick Model of Evaluation to assess mentees' reactions, learning, behavior, and goal achievement. Data were collected via Google Form surveys, feedback forms, mentoring logs, and session attendance records. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis provided a comprehensive understanding of the program's impact. Results: The program served 80 mentees, with 48 participating in one-on-one mentorship and 32 in group sessions. It enlisted 24 mentors, mainly from the medical field. Between April and September 2022, eight online group sessions were held, with an average attendance rate of 52%. These sessions focused on project planning, grant writing, and soft skills development, resulting in improved mentee comprehension and skill acquisition. Mentees reported an enhanced understanding of project planning, grant writing, communication, leadership, and teamwork. Their experiences were categorized into four themes: Mentor Engagement, Goal-Oriented Study, Skills and Professional Development, and High-Yield Mentor-Mentee Engagements. Conclusion and recommendations: Implementing the MedXMentor program proved effective in providing crucial mentorship and equipping students with vital academic and professional skills. The program highlighted its potential to bridge the mentorship gap in low-resource settings. By empowering future healthcare professionals in Africa, MedXMentor exemplifies how mentorship initiatives can drive significant advancements in healthcare education and practice.

Virtual Reality (VR) is a computer-generated environment with noteworthy didactic applications in different educational levels and areas of knowledge. The study of the perceptions of the agents involved about the use of VR in lectures is a fruitful line of research because it has implications in terms of the measures to be taken to improve the training and competence of professors in its use. In this paper, a quantitative, descriptive, and correlational research is carried out on the assessments of a sample of 1638 Latin American university professors on both (i) the didactic use of VR and (ii) the influence of the professors' area of knowledge on these assessments. For this purpose, a validated questionnaire was used, the responses to which were subjected to statistical analysis. As a result, it was found that the ratings of VR are very high, but professors believe that their digital skills for its use are insufficient. In addition, the professors' area of knowledge significantly influences their ratings, being higher in the areas of knowledge in which professors have a better self-concept of their digital skills. Furthermore, gender gaps have also been identified in the answers given, which behave differently according to the area of knowledge. Finally, some conclusions, implications, and recommendations are drawn from the results obtained.

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Background: Objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) is well‐established and designed to evaluate students' clinical competence and practical skills in a standardized and objective manner. While OSCEs are widespread in higher‐income countries, their implementation in low‐resource settings presents unique challenges that warrant further investigation. Aim: This study aims to evaluate the perception of the health sciences students and their educators regarding deploying OSCEs within the School of Health Sciences and Techniques of Sousse (SHSTS) in Tunisia and their efficacity in healthcare education compared to traditional practical examination methods. Methods: This cross‐sectional study was conducted in June 2022, focusing on final‐year Health Sciences students at the SHSTS in Tunisia. The study participants were students and their educators involved in the OSCEs from June 6th to June 11th, 2022. Anonymous paper‐based 5‐point Likert scale satisfaction surveys were distributed to the students and their educators, with a separate set of questions for each. Spearman, Mann–Whitney U and Krusakll–Wallis tests were utilized to test the differences in satisfaction with the OSCEs among the students and educators. The Wilcoxon Rank test was utilized to examine the differences in students' assessment scores in the OSCEs and the traditional practical examination methods. Results: The satisfaction scores were high among health sciences educators and above average for students, with means of 3.82 ± 1.29 and 3.15 ± 0.56, respectively. The bivariate and multivariate analyzes indicated a significant difference in the satisfaction between the students' specialities. Further, a significant difference in their assessment scores distribution in the practical examinations and OSCEs was also demonstrated, with better performance in the OSCEs. Conclusion: Our study provides evidence of the relatively high level of satisfaction with the OSCEs and better performance compared to the traditional practical examinations. These findings advocate for the efficacy of OSCEs in low‐income countries and the need to sustain them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engagement is an important component in the advancement of gene-drive vector control research programs as developers look to transition the technology from the laboratory to the field. As research advances and engagement surrounding this novel technology is put into practice, knowledge can be gained from practical experiences and applications in the field. A relationship-based model (RBM) provides a framework for end-user development of engagement programs and strategies. The model places end users at the center of the engagement decision-making processes rather than as recipients of predetermined strategies, methods, and definitions. Successful RBM application for healthcare delivery has previously been demonstrated, and the University of California Malaria Initiative (UCMI) has applied this model to its gene-drive program in the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe. The model emphasizes the importance of local leadership in the planning, development, and implementation of all phases of project engagement. The primary aim of this paper is to translate the model from paper to practice and provide a transparent description, using practical examples, of the UCMI program implementation of RBM at its field site. End-user development of the UCMI engagement program provides a unique approach to the development of ethical, transparent, and effective engagement strategies for malaria control programs. This paper may also serve as a reference and example for projects looking to establish an engagement program model that integrates end-user groups in the decision-making processes surrounding engagement.

The faculty at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) recognized the potential benefits for collaborative teaching and learning across disciplines. Research and development of an Interprofessional Case Learning Project (ICLP) laid the foundation for the creation and implementation of a problem-based learning course. This course, Interdisciplinary Perspectives of an Infectious Disease—Malaria, introduced innovative interdisciplinary pedagogy into the curriculum of the MCPHS School of Arts & Sciences. Designed by biologists, chemists, historians, and public health faculty, this course introduced senior pre-medicine majors to varied methods and theories as they worked in groups to solve problems related to the incidence, prevention, and treatment of an infectious disease. Students' deliverables included journal-quality research papers and posters presented at the MCPHS School of Arts & Sciences Undergraduate Research Conference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To develop diagnostic imaging approaches, this paper emphasizes the transformational potential of merging geophysics with health sciences. Diagnostic imaging technology improvements have transformed the health sciences by enabling earlier and more precise disease identification, individualized therapy, and improved patient care. This review article examines the connection between geophysics and diagnostic imaging in the field of health sciences. Geophysics, which is typically used to explore Earth's subsurface, has provided new uses of its methodology in the medical field, providing innovative solutions to pressing medical problems. The article examines the different geophysical techniques like electrical imaging, seismic imaging, and geophysics and their corresponding imaging techniques used in health sciences like tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound imaging, etc. The examination includes the description, similarities, differences, and challenges associated with these techniques and how modified geophysical techniques can be used in imaging methods in health sciences. Examining the progression of each method from geophysics to medical imaging and its contributions to illness diagnosis, treatment planning, and monitoring are highlighted. Also, the utilization of geophysical data analysis techniques like signal processing and inversion techniques in image processing in health sciences has been briefly explained, along with different mathematical and computational tools in geophysics and how they can be implemented for image processing in health sciences. The key findings include the development of machine learning and artificial intelligence in geophysics-driven medical imaging, demonstrating the revolutionary effects of data-driven methods on precision, speed, and predictive modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The StayWell at Home intervention, a 60-day text-messaging program based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) principles, was developed to help adults cope with the adverse effects of the global pandemic. Participants in StayWell at Home were found to show reduced depressive and anxiety symptoms after participation. However, it remains unclear whether the intervention improved mood and which intervention components were most effective at improving user mood during the pandemic. Thus, utilizing a micro-randomized trial (MRT) design, we examined two intervention components to inform the mechanisms of action that improve mood: 1) text messages delivering CBT-informed coping strategies (i.e., behavioral activation, other coping skills, or social support); 2) time at which messages were sent. Data from two independent trials of StayWell are included in this paper. The first trial included 303 adults aged 18 or older, and the second included 266 adults aged 18 or older. Participants were recruited via online platforms (e.g., Facebook ads) and partnerships with community-based agencies aiming to reach diverse populations, including low-income individuals and people of color. The results of this paper indicate that participating in the program improved and sustained self-reported mood ratings among participants. We did not find significant differences between the type of message delivered and mood ratings. On the other hand, the results from Phase 1 indicated that delivering any type of message in the 3 pm-6 pm time window improved mood significantly over sending a message in the 9 am-12 pm time window. The StayWell at Home program increases in mood ratings appeared more pronounced during the first two to three weeks of the intervention and were maintained for the remainder of the study period. The current paper provides evidence that low-burden text-message interventions may effectively address behavioral health concerns among diverse communities.

Objective: To determine the profile of medical and health sciences researchers belonging to the Carlos Monge Medrano group, qualified by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Tecnológica (CONCYTEC - National Council of Science, Technology and Technological Innovation) and registered in Registro Nacional Científico, Tecnológico y de Innovación Tecnológica (RENACYT - National Scientific, Technological and Technological Innovation Registry) in 2022. Materials and methods: A quantitative, descriptive and cross-sectional study. The CTI Vitae - Hojas de vida afines a la Ciencia y Tecnología (CTI Vitae - Résumés related to Science and Technology) data sheets of 706 researchers registered in Renacyt were reviewed during September 2022. Demographic characteristics, academic background, career and scientific output were collected in a data collection sheet, which was used to create a database. Results: Out of all researchers, 65.3 % were males, 80.0 % came from Peru, and 66.7 % were fluent in two or three languages, the most frequent being Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, Italian, German and Quechua. As for their academic background, the highest degree was a doctorate (71.2 %), the first reported program was not always strictly a health sciences program, 80.3 % pursued master's studies and 71.2 % pursued doctoral studies. In addition, 75.5 % indicated a university as their primary affiliation. Regarding their career, 38.2 % had more than 20 years of work experience, 84 % served as educator, 51.7 % had experience as research project evaluator or developer and 74.8 % received an award or distinction during their career. Moreover, 133 researchers had an h-index between 4 and 6. Furthermore, 94.5 % (667 researchers) drafted scientific papers, out of whom 41.4 % were the lead author in one to five articles and 65.9 % served as undergraduate and graduate thesis advisor. Conclusions: Medical and health sciences researchers are mostly males, are fluent in at least two languages including English, have a doctorate degree and have scientific output. Universities are the most frequent institution of affiliation reported by researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The profound impact of food on health necessitates advanced nutrition-oriented food recommendation services. Conventional methods often lack the crucial elements of personalization, explainability, and interactivity. While Large Language Models (LLMs) bring interpretability and explainability, their standalone use falls short of achieving true personalization. In this paper, we introduce ChatDiet, a novel LLM-powered framework designed specifically for personalized nutrition-oriented food recommendation chatbots. ChatDiet integrates personal and population models, complemented by an orchestrator, to seamlessly retrieve and process pertinent information. The personal model leverages causal discovery and inference techniques to assess personalized nutritional effects for a specific user, whereas the population model provides generalized information on food nutritional content. The orchestrator retrieves, synergizes and delivers the output of both models to the LLM, providing tailored food recommendations designed to support targeted health outcomes. The result is a dynamic delivery of personalized and explainable food recommendations, tailored to individual user preferences. Our evaluation of ChatDiet includes a compelling case study, where we establish a causal personal model to estimate individual nutrition effects. Our assessments, including a food recommendation test showcasing a 92% effectiveness rate, coupled with illustrative dialogue examples, underscore ChatDiet's strengths in explainability, personalization, and interactivity.

ObjectiveBlockchain has emerged as a potential data-sharing structure in healthcare because of its decentralization, immutability, and traceability. However, its use in the biomedical domain is yet to be investigated comprehensively, especially from the aspects of implementation and evaluation, by existing blockchain literature reviews. To address this, our review assesses blockchain applications implemented in practice and evaluated with quantitative metrics.Materials and methodsThis systematic review adapts the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework to review biomedical blockchain papers published by August 2023 from 3 databases. Blockchain application, implementation, and evaluation metrics were collected and summarized.ResultsFollowing screening, 11 articles were included in this review. Articles spanned a range of biomedical applications including COVID-19 medical data sharing, decentralized internet of things (IoT) data storage, clinical trial management, biomedical certificate storage, electronic health record (EHR) data sharing, and distributed predictive model generation. Only one article demonstrated blockchain deployment at a medical facility.DiscussionEthereum was the most common blockchain platform. All but one implementation was developed with private network permissions. Also, 8 articles contained storage speed metrics and 6 contained query speed metrics. However, inconsistencies in presented metrics and the small number of articles included limit technological comparisons with each other.ConclusionWhile blockchain demonstrates feasibility for adoption in healthcare, it is not as popular as currently existing technologies for biomedical data management. Addressing implementation and evaluation factors will better showcase blockchain's practical benefits, enabling blockchain to have a significant impact on the health sector.

Multilevel interventions (MLIs) are appropriate to reduce health disparities among Indigenous peoples because of their ability to address these communities' diverse histories, dynamics, cultures, politics, and environments. Intervention science has highlighted the importance of context-sensitive MLIs in Indigenous communities that can prioritize Indigenous and local knowledge systems and emphasize the collective versus the individual. This paradigm shift away from individual-level focus interventions to community-level focus interventions underscores the need for community engagement and diverse partnerships in MLI design, implementation, and evaluation. In this paper, we discuss three case studies addressing how Indigenous partners collaborated with researchers in each stage of the design, implementation, and evaluation of MLIs to reduce health disparities impacting their communities. We highlight the following: (1) collaborations with multiple, diverse tribal partners to carry out MLIs which require iterative, consistent conversations over time; (2) inclusion of qualitative and Indigenous research methods in MLIs as a way to honor Indigenous and local knowledge systems as well as a way to understand a health disparity phenomenon in a community; and (3) relationship building, maintenance, and mutual respect among MLI partners to reconcile past research abuses, prevent extractive research practices, decolonize research processes, and generate co-created knowledge between Indigenous and academic communities.

IntroductionBehavioral health emergencies (BHEs) are a common patient encounter for emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians and other first responders, in particular law enforcement (LE) officers. It is critical for EMS clinicians to have management strategies for BHEs, yet relatively little information exists on best practices. In 2016, the Los Angeles County EMS Agency's Commission initiated a comprehensive evaluation of the 9-1-1 response for BHEs and developed a plan for improving the quality of care and safety for patients and first responders.MethodsA Behavioral Health Initiative Committee was assembled with broad representation from EMS, LE, health agencies, and the public. Committee objectives included: 1) produce a process map of the BHE response from the time of a 9-1-1 call to patient arrival at transport destination, 2) identify and describe the different agencies that respond, 3) describe the critical decision points in the EMS and LE field responses, 4) acquire data that quantitatively and/or qualitatively describe the services available, and 5) recommend interventions for system performance improvement.ResultsThe committee generated comprehensive process maps for the prehospital response to BHEs, articulated principles for evaluation, and described key observations of the current system including: 9-1-1 dispatch criteria are variable and often defaults to a LE response, the LE response inadvertently criminalizes BHEs, EMS field treatment protocols for BHEs (and especially agitated patients) are limited, substance use disorder treatment lacks integration, destination options differ by transporting agency, and receiving facilities' capabilities to address BHEs are variable. Recommendations for performance improvement interventions and initial implementation steps included: standardize dispatch protocols, shift away from a LE primary response, augment EMS treatment protocols for BHEs and the management of agitation, develop alternate destination for EMS transport.ConclusionThis paper describes a comprehensive performance improvement initiative in LAC-EMSA's 9-1-1 response to BHEs. The initiative included a thorough current state analysis, followed by future state mapping and the implementation of interventions to reduce LE as the primary responder when an EMS response is often warranted, and to improve EMS protocols and access to resources for BHEs.

This paper defines a policy-relevant nationwide composite index to identify communities disproportionately impacted by environmental, energy, and climate injustices in the United States. We review existing vulnerability indicators and indices to assess the tradeoffs of different design parameters, including variable selection, geographic unit, dimensionality reduction, weighting, and aggregation methods. From this methodological review, we create the first nationwide, census tract-level index of cumulative burden that includes energy-relevant indicators alongside climate, social, environmental, and economic indicators, and is flexible to the inclusion of additional data sources. We provide a summary of the sources of inputs used to develop a definition for “disadvantaged communities” that can be used to prioritize energy investments. We discuss use-cases for this index including the implementation of the Justice40 Initiative, which calls for 40 % of certain federal clean energy benefits to flow to disadvantaged communities in the United States. We use our results to examine historic allocations of federal energy investments and show that communities that we identify as disadvantaged received about 37 % fewer funds per capita than non-disadvantaged communities.

ObjectiveThe Mexican government has pursued multiple initiatives to improve healthcare coverage and financial protection. Yet, out-of-pocket health spending and use of private sector providers in Mexico remains high. In this paper, we sought to describe the characteristics of public and private healthcare users, describe recent visit quality across provider types, and to assess whether perceiving the public healthcare sector as poor quality is associated with private health sector use.Methods and findingsWe analyzed the cross-sectional People's Voice Survey conducted from December 2022 to January 2023. We used Chi-square tests to compare contextual, individual, and need-for-care factors and ratings of most recent visits between users of public (social security and other public providers) and private sector providers (stand-alone private providers and providers adjacent to pharmacies). We used a multivariable Poisson regression model to assess associations between low ratings of public healthcare sources and the use of private care. Among the 811 respondents with a healthcare visit in the past year, 31.2% used private sources. Private healthcare users were more educated and had higher incomes than public healthcare users. Quality of most recent visit was rated more highly in private providers (70.2% rating the visit as excellent or very good for stand-alone private providers and 54.3% for pharmacy-adjacent doctors) compared to social security (41.6%) and other public providers (46.6%). Those who perceived public health institutions as low quality had a higher probability of seeking private healthcare.ConclusionUsers rated public care visits poorly relative to private care; at the population level, perceptions of poor quality care may drive private care use and hence out-of-pocket costs. Improving public healthcare quality is necessary to ensure universal health coverage.

BackgroundHIV or sexually transmitted infections remain a significant public health concern in the United States, with adolescents affected disproportionately. Adolescents engage in HIV/STI risk behaviors, including drug use and condomless sex, which increase the risk for HIV/STIs. At-risk adolescents, many of whom are racial minorities, experience HIV/STI disparities. Although at-risk adolescents are disproportionately affected by HIV/STI risk behaviors and infections and although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends routine HIV/STI testing for adolescents, relatively few adolescents report having ever been tested for HIV/STI. With expected increases in health clinic visits as a result of the Affordable Care Act combined with technological advances, health clinics and mobile health (mHealth), including apps, provide innovative contexts and tools to engage at-risk adolescents in HIV/STI prevention programs. Yet, there is a dearth of efficacious mHealth interventions in health clinics to prevent and reduce both condomless sex and drug use and increase HIV/STI testing for at-risk adolescents.ObjectiveTo address this gap in knowledge, we developed a theory-driven, culturally congruent mHealth intervention (hereon referred to as S4E [Storytelling 4 Empowerment]) that has demonstrated feasibility and acceptability in a clinical setting. The next step is to examine the preliminary efficacy of S4E on adolescent HIV/STI testing and risk behaviors. This goal will be accomplished by 2 aims: the first aim is to develop a cross-platform and universal version of S4E. The cross-platform and universal version of S4E will be compatible with both iOS and Android operating systems and multiple mobile devices, aimed at providing adolescents with ongoing access to the intervention once they leave the clinic, and the second aim is to evaluate the preliminary efficacy of S4E, relative to usual care control condition, in preventing or reducing drug use and condomless sex and increasing HIV/STI testing in a clinical sample of at-risk adolescents aged 14-21 years living in Southeast Michigan.MethodsIn this study, 100 adolescents recruited from a youth-centered community health clinic will be randomized via blocked randomization with random sequences of block sizes to one of the 2 conditions: S4E mHealth intervention or usual care. Theory-driven and culturally congruent, S4E is an mHealth adaptation of face-to-face storytelling for empowerment, which is registered with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices.ResultsThis paper describes the protocol of our study. The recruitment began on May 1, 2018. This study was registered on December 11, 2017, in ClinicalTrials.gov. All participants have been recruited. Data analysis will be complete by the end of March 2024, with study findings available by December 2024.ConclusionsThis study has the potential to improve public health by preventing HIV/STI and substance use disorders.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03368456; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03368456.International registered report identifier (irrid)DERR1-10.2196/47216.

Introduction: Scientific literacy has been the subject of studies for several decades, but there is much less interest in the social perception of science, traceability of key areas of scientific activity and social expectations regarding science. Proper recognition of such issues can significantly contribute to a better understanding of the causes of the crisis of trust in science and help to find an effective and socially acceptable solution to mitigate it. Our study was aimed at identifying and systematizing the public needs and expectations towards medical and health sciences, based on the example of the population of Katowice. Materials and methods: The study was carried out using a mixed, qualitative-quantitative methodology. Based on the conclusions of the in-depth interviews, a questionnaire was constructed to check the level of awareness of residents of Katowice obtaining the title of the European City of Science 2024 and the respondents' opinion on the development of medical and health sciences. 400 inhabitants of the city and/or people associated with it through their work or education took part in the questionnaire survey. Results: Only 7.8% of respondents had in-depth knowledge about the European City of Science 2024 project, with further 28.8% declaring some level of general knowledge of the issue. Study participants associated medical and health sciences with health promotion and clinical specialties (43% and 33,5% respectively). In terms of further development of medical and health sciences in Katowice study participants prioritized mainly development of research in chronic and lifestyle-related diseases (51%) and the need of development of prevention and health promotion (46.3%) as well as clinical medicine (32.8%). The inhabitants of the city recognize the resources of the city and the region in the field of medical sciences and health sciences as large and with high development potential. Conclusions: The events organized as part of the European City of Science 2024 should become a good opportunity to promote and disseminate knowledge about the achievements and development potential of the City and the Region in the field of medical and health sciences. Contributions to the literature: • There are relatively few sources relating to public perception of medical and health sciences, and in the case of Poland, this publication is probably the first study of this type. • Social support for the development of medical and health sciences depends on the extent to which these sciences can interact with the social environment and respond to its needs. • The low level of understanding of the scientific process and the social role of science is fertile ground for the spread of anti-scientific views, which are particularly manifest in the area of health. • Initiatives such as the European City of Science constitute an opportunity to build dialogue between the scientific community and the social environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health professionals and health professions educators (HPEs) worldwide were confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted standard practice and forced HPEs to develop creative, alternative modes of training and education. The ability of people to work successfully and efficiently in non-standard situations can be called adaptive expertise in which people quickly overcome changes in work requirements using their expert knowledge in novel ways. The objectives of the current study were to investigate how the adaptive expertise of a group of HPEs influenced perceived work performance in a non-standard situation and to see whether there were relationships between the level of adaptive expertise and academic ranking and work experience of HPEs. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional, single-site study was conducted using a self-reported study tool about adaptive expertise developed by Carbonell et al. (2016), and three questions were asked about participants' perceptions of work performance, amount of work done, and teaching quality. The sample consisted of HPEs from the University of Twente, Netherlands. Results: Among 123 eligible participants, 40 individuals completed the survey. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity indicated the adequacy of the sample size (KMO = 0.633, P < 0.0001). Participants were lecturers, senior lecturers, assistant professors, associate professors and full professors. The average adaptive expertise score of the sample was 4.18 ± 0.57 on a scale from 1 (low) to 5 (high). The domain and innovative skills are the principal distinct dimensions of adaptive expertise among HPEs. Professors showed higher adaptive expertise scores than the other ranks. Statistically significant correlations were found between scores of adaptive expertise and perceived work performance (r = 0.41, p < 0.05 and academic ranking (r = 0.42, p < 0.05). Adaptive expertise scores were not associated with work experience or HPEs' age. Conclusions: Our finding of a lack of relationships between self-reported level of adaptive expertise and experience and age but significant relationships with work performance and academic ranking of HPEs suggests that adaptive expertise is not auto-generated or acquired with seniority and experience but is a 'mastery' that should be developed deliberately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nationally, students fail anatomy and physiology courses at some of the highest rates compared with other undergraduate-level courses. Formative evaluation guides future learning by assessing the quality of student achievement while the student is still learning. Formative assessments were introduced in an undergraduate human anatomy course intended for students majoring in various allied health fields. In this research, the formative assessments were utilized throughout the course, leading to each of the five summative assessments. The results were analyzed using a partial correlation and regression to establish whether any relationships existed between the formative and summative assessments, and we looked for any significant impact on the summative test scores. The results suggest that at-risk students can be identified using formative assessment before the first summative assessment in the class, increasing the likelihood that these students will successfully complete the course. The implementation of formative assessments in college science courses should be considered a way to inform the instructors of student learning gaps and increase student success in the course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Students Training in Academia, Health, and Research (STAHR) Program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) strives to help students from low-income families that have experienced educational challenges due to poverty and prepare them to enter, persist, and graduate from a health sciences degree program at UMKC. Students in the program participated in fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM) sessions to ensure that all voices of the program were heard to improve program implementation, and student success, and contribute to an equitable educational environment. Methods: Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping sessions for the 2020–2021 cohort of students (n = 52) were conducted to assess the strengths and weaknesses in program implementation, especially through the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Students' maps were coded by a team of researchers and then confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis. Results: Statistical analyses reveal that mentorship, workshops, and social support helped students to work toward their goal of obtaining a professional health sciences degree, while a lack of time, remote learning, and outside stressors inhibited their opportunities for success. Conclusions: The findings from a multipronged analysis of mapping data demonstrate the value of this innovative approach to the field, especially when looking to incorporate student voices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Personalised learning, an educational approach that tailors teaching and learning to individual needs and preferences, has gained attention in recent years, particularly in higher education. Advances in educational technology have facilitated the implementation of personalised learning in various contexts. Despite its potential benefits, the literature on personalised learning in health sciences higher education remains scattered and heterogeneous. This scoping review aims to identify and map the current literature on personalised learning in health sciences higher education and its definition, implementation strategies, benefits, and limitations. Methods: A comprehensive search of electronic databases, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Educational Research Complete, and Journal Storage (JSTOR), will be conducted to identify relevant articles. The search will be limited to articles published in the English language between 2000 and 2023. The search strategy will be designed and adapted for each database using a combination of keywords and subject headings related to personalised learning and health sciences higher education. Eligibility criteria will be applied to screen and select articles. Data extraction and quality assessment will be performed, and thematic synthesis will be used to analyse the extracted data. Discussion: The results of the scoping review will present a comprehensive and coherent overview of the literature on personalised learning in health sciences higher education. Key themes and topics related to personalised learning, its definitions, models, implementation strategies, benefits, and limitations, will be identified. The geographical and temporal distribution of research on personalised learning in health sciences higher education will also be described. This scoping review will provide a structured synthesis of the available evidence on personalised learning in health sciences higher education, highlighting potential gaps and areas for future research. The findings will contribute to ongoing scholarly and policy debates on personalised learning in higher education, informing the development of best practices, guidelines, and future research agendas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, published in the Annals of African Surgery, discusses the importance of research in the field of surgery and the challenges faced by surgeons in Africa in conducting scientific research. The article proposes a six-way approach to coming up with a medical research idea, which includes using anatomical structures or regions, substances or medications, pathogenesis, clinical observations, clinical or surgical procedures, and miscellaneous methods as starting points for research ideas. The article emphasizes the need for structured techniques to help young researchers in the health sciences develop well-formulated research questions. [Extracted from the article]

There is a critical need to diversify health professionals to better serve the growing minority population in North America. Unfortunately, minority groups remain underrepresented in health professions. Despite recruitment efforts by government and academic institutions, fewer underrepresented minority (URM) students choose careers in healthcare. Identifying the key factors influencing URM students’ decisions to pursue health sciences programs could enhance diversity in these programs through targeted admissions strategies, ultimately leading to a more diverse future healthcare workforce. This scoping review was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews. Five electronic databases and gray literature were searched to identify North American papers published between 1942 and 2022. Identified studies focused on URM students’ perceptions of facilitators and barriers to matriculate into a health science degree. Twenty-one articles were analyzed. Following content analysis, the facilitators and barriers identified comprised personal, socio-cultural, institutional, and financial. The most frequent facilitators reported were scholarships, family support, and the presence of role models. Common barriers included high tuition fees, pre-admission criteria, lack of awareness about the health profession, availability of financial aid, and the admission process. The findings of this review will facilitate the development and implementation of customized, comprehensive strategies to recruit more URM students to health science programs in the future, thereby improving efforts toward creating a diverse healthcare workforce.

Continuing to improve services to students while studying on campus, lecturers and all elements at the university need information about triggers of environmental stress among medical and health sciences students. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore triggers of environmental stress among medical and health sciences students in the university through bibliometric analysis by analysing the network visualisation, overlay visualisation and density visualisation on the topic. Bibliometrics analysis was used in assessing related topics. The data sources were based on online searches via https://app.dimensions.ai/. Data was collected on 3 December 2023. The literature followed the Preferred Reporting Items for System-atic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flowchart. Data were analysed using VOSviewer and further analysed and reviewed by co-occurrence and co-authors. Four major themes of environmental stress were found in this study: 1) The internal situation in the university; 2) External situations outside of the university; 3) Comfort situation during the study; 4) Aca-demic process. Environmental stress factors related to internal situation in the academic situation were academic stress, air pollution, anxiety in the academic process, COVID-19, depression, fear, medical student, nursing student, physical activity, school regulation, smoking and uncertainty of study. From the visualisation and density visualisation, it can be seen that the academic process related to the duration of study was a trending theme discussed in several papers related to triggers of environmental stress among students in the university. All elements of the university especially policy makers should pay attention to this problem to reduce the risk of stress while students are studying.

Abstract Background Objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) is well‐established and designed to evaluate students' clinical competence and practical skills in a standardized and objective manner. While OSCEs are widespread in higher‐income countries, their implementation in low‐resource settings presents unique challenges that warrant further investigation. Aim This study aims to evaluate the perception of the health sciences students and their educators regarding deploying OSCEs within the School of Health Sciences and Techniques of Sousse (SHSTS) in Tunisia and their efficacity in healthcare education compared to traditional practical examination methods. Methods This cross‐sectional study was conducted in June 2022, focusing on final‐year Health Sciences students at the SHSTS in Tunisia. The study participants were students and their educators involved in the OSCEs from June 6th to June 11th, 2022. Anonymous paper‐based 5‐point Likert scale satisfaction surveys were distributed to the students and their educators, with a separate set of questions for each. Spearman, Mann–Whitney U and Krusakll–Wallis tests were utilized to test the differences in satisfaction with the OSCEs among the students and educators. The Wilcoxon Rank test was utilized to examine the differences in students' assessment scores in the OSCEs and the traditional practical examination methods. Results The satisfaction scores were high among health sciences educators and above average for students, with means of 3.82 ± 1.29 and 3.15 ± 0.56, respectively. The bivariate and multivariate analyzes indicated a significant difference in the satisfaction between the students' specialities. Further, a significant difference in their assessment scores distribution in the practical examinations and OSCEs was also demonstrated, with better performance in the OSCEs. Conclusion Our study provides evidence of the relatively high level of satisfaction with the OSCEs and better performance compared to the traditional practical examinations. These findings advocate for the efficacy of OSCEs in low‐income countries and the need to sustain them.

Strengths-based programs have emerged as asset-based approaches to professional development that promote positive student engagement and success. This paper shares the outcomes of a strengths-based professional development program provided to biomedical and health sciences graduate doctoral students within an academic health center. Program outcomes and changes in participants’ perceived confidence when identifying and applying their strengths in different contexts were evaluated through a mixed methods design that included a Likert-based survey and thematic analysis of qualitative responses. Findings strongly suggest that most participants lacked the self-confidence and/or self-awareness to recognize their own strengths prior to the program. Themes that emerged upon implementation of the program point to the following outcomes: participants gained an increased understanding of their strengths, confidence that the knowledge gained about their strengths would help them learn more effectively in laboratory settings, an increased belief that they possess natural talents and skills that make them good scientists and strong members of their research team, and confidence that applying their strengths will help them to overcome both personal and professional challenges. This program shows promise to strengthen graduate student self-awareness and self-confidence. Further studies are needed to understand and measure how asset-based programs such as this can impact graduate student resilience, science identity, and overall student success.

Summary: Automatically and accurately segmenting skin lesions can be challenging, due to factors such as low contrast and fuzzy boundaries. This paper proposes a hybrid encoder-decoder model (CTH-Net) based on convolutional neural network (CNN) and Transformer, capitalizing on the advantages of these approaches. We propose three modules for skin lesion segmentation and seamlessly connect them with carefully designed model architecture. Better segmentation performance is achieved by introducing SoftPool in the CNN branch and sandglass block in the bottleneck layer. Extensive experiments were conducted on four publicly accessible skin lesion datasets, ISIC 2016, ISIC 2017, ISIC 2018, and PH2 to confirm the efficacy and benefits of the proposed strategy. Experimental results show that the proposed CTH-Net provides better skin lesion segmentation performance in both quantitative and qualitative testing when compared with state-of-the-art approaches. We believe the CTH-Net design is inspiring and can be extended to other applications/frameworks.

Summary: The monitoring of treadmill walking energy expenditure (EE) plays an important role in health evaluations and management, particularly in older individuals and those with chronic diseases. However, universal and highly accurate prediction methods for walking EE are still lacking. In this paper, we propose an ensemble neural network (ENN) model that predicts the treadmill walking EE of younger and older adults and stroke survivors with high precision based on easy-to-obtain features. Compared with previous studies, the proposed model reduced the estimation error by 13.95% and 66.20% for stroke survivors and younger adults, respectively. Furthermore, a contactless monitoring system was developed based on Kinect, mm-wave radar, and ENN algorithms, and the treadmill walking EE was monitored in real time. This ENN model and monitoring system can be combined with smart devices and treadmill, making them suitable for evaluating, monitoring, and tracking changes in health during exercise and in rehabilitation environments.

Summary: Quaternary ammonium compounds exhibit diverse applications as antibiotics, as surfactants, in paper industries, in sewage treatment, and in aquaculture. Here, we present a protocol for synthesizing a library of bioactive quaternary ammonium betaine derivatives under blue LED in water. We describe steps for preparing diazo compounds, synthesizing glycine betaine derivatives, and isolating pure final compounds via precipitation from an aqueous reaction mixture. This protocol promotes a sustainable approach by using water as the reaction medium and room temperature reactions.For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Rath et al. (2023).1 : Publisher’s note: Undertaking any experimental protocol requires adherence to local institutional guidelines for laboratory safety and ethics.

To develop diagnostic imaging approaches, this paper emphasizes the transformational potential of merging geophysics with health sciences. Diagnostic imaging technology improvements have transformed the health sciences by enabling earlier and more precise disease identification, individualized therapy, and improved patient care. This review article examines the connection between geophysics and diagnostic imaging in the field of health sciences. Geophysics, which is typically used to explore Earth’s subsurface, has provided new uses of its methodology in the medical field, providing innovative solutions to pressing medical problems. The article examines the different geophysical techniques like electrical imaging, seismic imaging, and geophysics and their corresponding imaging techniques used in health sciences like tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound imaging, etc. The examination includes the description, similarities, differences, and challenges associated with these techniques and how modified geophysical techniques can be used in imaging methods in health sciences. Examining the progression of each method from geophysics to medical imaging and its contributions to illness diagnosis, treatment planning, and monitoring are highlighted. Also, the utilization of geophysical data analysis techniques like signal processing and inversion techniques in image processing in health sciences has been briefly explained, along with different mathematical and computational tools in geophysics and how they can be implemented for image processing in health sciences. The key findings include the development of machine learning and artificial intelligence in geophysics-driven medical imaging, demonstrating the revolutionary effects of data-driven methods on precision, speed, and predictive modeling.