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Bullying is a public health concern warranting policy-level responses. Toward this end, states are enacting antibullying policies that require schools to be inclusive of parents. The current study examines parent-related challenges as schools implement newly amended antibullying legislation in Connecticut. School personnel data were analyzed from 24 semistructured interviews and qualitative survey responses across 300 schools. We used inductive coding techniques to synthesize data into broader themes. Four major challenges to implementing antibullying policies emerged from qualitative analysis: (1) challenges to parent engagement, (2) interpretation of the word "bullying," (3) parent affective responses, and (4) conflicting home and school norms. State antibullying laws call for greater parent engagement, but schools are often not fully inclusive of parents. A greater focus on the developing a positive school climate and a culture of parental engagement can facilitate the implementation of antibullying laws and ensure the safety of children.

Background: Most pediatric prevalence studies of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) have been based upon data from tertiary care centers, a process known for systematic biases such as excluding youth of lower socioeconomic status and those less likely to have access to health care. In addition, most pediatric ME/CFS epidemiologic studies have not included a thorough medical and psychiatric examination. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of pediatric ME/CFS from an ethnically and sociodemographically diverse community-based random sample. Method: A sample of 10,119 youth aged 5-17 from 5622 households in the Chicagoland area were screened. Following evaluations, a team of physicians made final diagnoses. Youth were given a diagnosis of ME/CFS if they met criteria for three selected case definitions. A probabilistic, multi-stage formula was used for final prevalence calculations. Results: The prevalence of pediatric ME/CFS was 0.75%, with a higher percentage being African American and Latinx than Caucasian. Of the youth diagnosed with ME/CFS, less than 5% had been previously diagnosed with the illness. Conclusions: Many youth with the illness have not been previously diagnosed with ME/CFS. These findings point to the need for better ways to identify and diagnose youth with this illness.

The exit from active substance use presents barriers to achieving and maintaining health, especially as individuals lack the economic resources to afford healthcare access. Treatment settings that strengthen resources may support stability in recovery and influence health. Analyzing a sample of recovery home residents over two years (N = 494), the current study assessed individually held resources (e.g., wages, employment) and the average economic conditions of a resident's house (e.g., house employment rate) to understand their association with self-reported health status. Employment status, but not wages or transportation access, was associated with reported health scores. The average employment rate of a recovery home was also positively correlated with the health of its residents. Results indicate the need to address employment and other economic issues which plague recovering individuals. Community aftercare settings may offer such a pathway through affordable housing, employment opportunities, and supportive relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Institutes of Health/Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NIH/CDC) Common Data Elements (CDE) established a post-exertional malaise (PEM) workgroup with the task of describing PEM and recommending a standardized way of assessing it in patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). As a stigmatized group, patients with ME/CFS are in need of instruments which can properly describe their symptomatic experiences, which can help reduce the disparity between illness seriousness and appropriate attention from healthcare. The current study explored attitudes and preferences among 115 patients with ME/CFS who participated in the creation of a patient-driven instrument to measure PEM, the key symptom of the illness. Themes that emerged from the qualitative analyses of patient feedback focused on how their illness was experienced; their access to care; problems with physicians, researchers, and research methods; and expressions of gratitude for the collaborative process. Domains that were most important to the patient community were identified in the effort to create a comprehensive measure of PEM. Benefits of community-based action research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]