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BackgroundPrEP, a biomedical HIV prevention option, continues to be underutilized among transgender women who could benefit from sustained use, especially women of color and those who identify as Latina and/or reside in the southeastern US.ObjectiveWe explored the barriers and facilitators experienced by transgender women who live in Florida regarding accessing, using, and/or staying on PrEP.MethodsIn-depth interviews and focus groups were conducted in either Spanish or English with adult transgender women living in Florida (N = 22). The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded in ATLAS.ti using thematic analyses.ResultsThe mean age of the participants was 42.2 years. Among the participants, 73% were Hispanic/Latina, 59% were foreign-born, and approximately one-third were living with HIV (but had past experience with PrEP). Transgender women cited the following barriers to accessing or considering PrEP: (1) costs and benefits of PrEP use; (2) under-representation in clinical trials resulting in unknown or misinformation regarding PrEP side effects; (3) chronic poverty; and (4) trauma and discrimination. Other stressors, such as behavioral healthcare needs, were identified.ConclusionsOur analysis revealed interlocking systems of oppression like transphobia, discrimination, and misgendering, which were common barriers experienced by our participants. These synergistically epidemic (i.e., syndemic) barriers contributed to their feelings of being systematically excluded in social spaces, research, public health planning and policies, laws, and social programs related to PrEP. These structural barriers are impediments to HIV preventive care but also act as a source of stress that contributes to mental health problems, financial vulnerability, substance abuse, and other deleterious health outcomes.

This study aims to understand educators'--specifically those in positions of authority in graduate-level library education programs--perceptions of and attitudes toward design thinking and methods in graduate-level library curricula by investigating the following research questions: What is the current landscape for the integration of design into the LIS curriculum, from the program director's perspective? What do these directors think about the competencies required for future librarians, and where does design fit into those competencies? What are the possibilities for a future degree focused on reconceptualizing the field from a design perspective rather than the traditional library science? Thirteen MLIS program directors and people in equivalent positions at ALA-accredited programs in the United States and Canada were interviewed to investigate these queries. The conversations suggest there is a growing openness to design education that may contribute to the diversification of the curriculum so that graduates' competencies more closely reflect recommendations in the literature and address the needs of employers. They also reveal dichotomies in how LIS program directors define and integrate design education into LIS curricula, such as barriers of bureaucratic concerns versus interest in experimenting with design courses available elsewhere in their universities, or even the potential for a dual library science/library design degree option. The article concludes with recommendations for next steps in advancing design in library education so as to prepare graduates for the growing number of user experience, public programming, or even more traditional teaching librarian positions where a design thinking approach leads to effective practice.

Future MLIS graduates need to be collaborative, creative, socially innovative, flexible, and adaptable problem solvers--characteristics demonstrated by people with backgrounds in design. Yet design, especially as an epistemological framework, seems underrepresented in master's level library education. This work explores the current landscape of coursework offerings on design topics in master's-level library education, including the availability of design coursework, the array of design courses offered, and coverage of various methods for, approaches to, and perspectives on design. A field scan of existing coursework in master's-level library degree programs and subsequent categorical, linguistic, and grammatical analysis revealed patterns of topical content and linguistic frequency. These findings show that design is conceptualized in alignment with applied fields, especially technology/computing and instruction, and rarely addressed as an overarching epistemological approach. The use of the term design is especially problematic due to myriad meanings and applied uses: it may refer to a disciplinary field, an artifactual product, or a process of creation, or it may be used to modify another concept. Such use emphasizes difference among contexts over the similarity of epistemology, thus perpetuating a divisive perspective that contradicts the current scholarship of design and may have negative implications for LIS education and the field of librarianship at large.

Academic libraries face mounting pressure to demonstrate their value to stakeholders, yet traditional assessments of their financial value ignore the work of librarians and library staff in producing usable collections and services for patrons. Through a survey of US academic library workers, we examine the range, scope, and financial value of labor performed in US academic libraries. Our findings reveal ways in which traditional assessment mechanisms render this labor invisible to stakeholders. We argue that making this labor more visible will help better communicate the value of academic libraries and ignite conversations about reducing workload and stress for library workers.

Mobile technologies have been shown to be potential aids in improving language learning a long with computer technology, The purpose of this study was to examine students' perceptions of their socio-affective learning practices when utilizing dictionary applications on their mobile phones. Twenty-five undergraduates were chosen at random from a group of 110 students to engage in five focus group discussions about their experiences using mobile dictionaries as learning tools in the West Bank and Palestine. The analysis of the data identified four main themes in the described experiences, each of which is related to specific socio affective aspects of learning and feelings of self-efficacy: feeling confident in their knowledge, independence in their learning, changing the pace of learning outside of the classroom, and overcoming obstacles like multiple meanings, Arabic accents, and technological distractions. The study's proposals for adding more socio-technical pedagogies to English language instruction for Arabic learners are its conclusion.

Discussions of diversity in American librarianship usually focus on gender or ethnicity, but historical studies also show a lack of diversity in educational and disciplinary backgrounds. Librarians traditionally hail from the humanities, especially English and history. But as current educational attention shifts to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, are librarians reflecting this change? Anonymized data from ALA-accredited graduate programs from the last five years were collected, coded, and classified to determine librarians' educational and disciplinary backgrounds and in what ways, if any, they differ from the past 65 years and from the contemporary US general population. Unsurprisingly, we found that contemporary librarians still hail predominantly from English and history--a stark contrast from the business and health undergraduate degrees earned by the general US population. Backgrounds in STEM fields remain lacking in librarianship, but librarians with undergraduate education in the arts are on the rise, perhaps supporting the creativity, flexibility, innovation, and risk taking necessary in twenty-first-century libraries.

This article analyzes survey data from 900-plus U.S. respondents to identify and explain COVID-19 pandemic-induced changes in different work tasks for library workers. Results show negligible change in overall hours for academic library workers and an almost two-hour decrease in overall hours for public library workers. Analysis by task type shows decreased work hours for most tasks, although professional development and administration/management showed increased hours across library types. In contrast, qualitative responses reveal that workers feel they are working more hours because the pandemic has broken down boundaries between work and non-work tasks, surfacing ongoing issues of labor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The Amblyopia tracker app has been developed to be a tool for parents to monitor changes in vision at home during amblyopia treatment. The aims of this study were to evaluate the feasibility and repeatability of parents testing their children at home and to compare home test results to an assessment in clinic by an orthoptist. Methods: Children (age < 18 years) with amblyopia (interocular acuity difference of ≥ 0.2logMAR) were recruited. Parents were asked to test their child with the app three times during a two week period followed by an online questionnaire about the usability. Participants also tested within 48 h of their appointment where the measurement was repeated by an orthoptist. Results: Out of 277 potential participants contacted, 37 completed three home measurements, mean age 6.8 years (SD 2.94). Home tests comparisons were made between test two and three to ensure familiarity with the process. Paired t-tests showed no statistically significant difference for either eye or the interocular acuity difference (IAD). However, 29% had a difference in IAD of more than 0.1logMAR on repeated testing, with a maximum of 0.4logMAR difference in the IAD. Questionnaire responses from the parents who participated were predominantly positive with 97% of respondents saying they would use it if were available. Comparison of home and clinical measurements (n = 23, mean age 6.72 SD 2.60) showed no statistically significant differences for either eye or interocular acuity difference (paired t-test, p > 0.3 in all cases). Conclusion: Results show no statistically significant differences for the Amblyopia tracker app when used by parents at home on repeated testing, or between the home test by a parent and the test by a clinician. However, variability in the results does indicate that further improvements are required to ensure the results can be used as a reliable clinical tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Health disparities are pervasive in pediatrics. We aimed to describe disparities among patients who are likely to be cared for in the PICU and delineate how sociodemographic data are collected and categorized. METHODS: Using MEDLINE as a data source, we identified studies which included an objective to assess sociodemographic disparities among PICU patients in the United States. We created a review rubric, which included methods of sociodemographic data collection and analysis, outcome and exposure variables assessed, and study findings. Two authors reviewed every study. We used the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Framework to organize outcome and exposure variables. RESULTS: The 136 studies included used variable methods of sociodemographic data collection and analysis. A total of 30 of 124 studies (24%) assessing racial disparities used self- or parent-identified race. More than half of the studies (52%) dichotomized race as white and "nonwhite" or "other" in some analyses. Socioeconomic status (SES) indicators also varied; only insurance status was used in a majority of studies (72%) evaluating SES. Consistent, although not uniform, disadvantages existed for racial minority populations and patients with indicators of lower SES. The authors of only 1 study evaluated an intervention intended to mitigate health disparities. Requiring a stated objective to evaluate disparities aimed to increase the methodologic rigor of included studies but excluded some available literature. CONCLUSIONS: Variable, flawed methodologies diminish our understanding of disparities in the PICU. Meaningfully understanding and addressing health inequity requires refining how we collect, analyze, and interpret relevant data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]