Gaining Wings to FLY: Using Drosophila Oogenesis as an Entry Point for Citizen Scientists in Laboratory Research.

Citizen science is a productive approach to include non-scientists in research efforts that impact particular issues or communities. In most cases, scientists at advanced career stages design high-quality, exciting projects that enable citizen contribution, a crowdsourcing process that drives discovery forward and engages communities. The challenges of having citizens design their own research with no or limited training and providing access to laboratory tools, reagents, and supplies have limited citizen science efforts. This leaves the incredible life experiences and immersion of citizens in communities that experience health disparities out of the research equation, thus hampering efforts to address community health needs with a full picture of the challenges that must be addressed. Here, we present a robust and reproducible approach that engages participants from Grade 5 through adult in research focused on defining how diet impacts disease signaling. We leverage the powerful genetics, cell biology, and biochemistry of Drosophila oogenesis to define how nutrients impact phenotypes associated with genetic mutants that are implicated in cancer and diabetes. Participants lead the project design and execution, flipping the top-down hierarchy of the prevailing scientific culture to co-create research projects and infuse the research with cultural and community relevance.

The role of trust in HPV vaccine uptake among racial and ethnic minorities in the United States: a narrative review.

Despite the clinically proven benefits of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in preventing cervical and other HPV-associated cancers, vaccination coverage has been suboptimal among adolescents and young adults in the United States (US), particularly among racial and ethnic minority adolescents. Historical legacies, combined with current racial/ethnic disparities in healthcare, may contribute to suboptimal uptake and completion of the HPV vaccine in part through differing levels of trust in doctors and healthcare institutions. The purpose of this narrative review was to characterize trust and its role in decision making about HPV vaccine uptake among US racial and ethnic minorities. We conducted a literature search using the PubMed database, and our search terms yielded 1176 articles. We reviewed 41 full-text articles for eligibility and included 20 articles in this review. These studies used varied measures of trust or mistrust and assessed trust in not only doctors/healthcare providers, but also other sources including pharmaceutical companies, media, and clergy. Our review findings revealed generally high levels of trust in doctors and healthcare providers, but less so in pharmaceutical companies. Mistrust of either healthcare providers, government agencies or pharmaceutical companies was consistently associated with less favorable attitudes and lower vaccine uptake. The downstream effects of mistrust may occur through selected health beliefs regarding the perceived efficacy and safety of the vaccine. Minority groups were more likely to report trust in family members, religious organizations, and media sources compared to their white counterparts. Decision making about vaccine uptake is a multilayered process that involves comparing the perceived benefits of the vaccine against its perceived risks. Understanding how trusted sources can effectively harness the tools of social and traditional media to increase knowledge and awareness may help combat misinformation about the HPV vaccine and improve engagement with diverse communities.

Early exposure to neighborhood crime and child internalizing and externalizing behaviors.

This paper examines the relationship between exposure to neighborhood crime and child mental health. We merge restricted contextual data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study with the National Neighborhood Crime Study, a nationally representative neighborhood sample containing tract-level Uniform Crime Report data for large U.S. cities and clustered OLS regression models to examine how objective measures of robbery or burglary rates at or around birth influence the health and behavior of 566 girls and 646 boys in urban neighborhoods. Findings demonstrate that living in a high crime neighborhood is associated with higher levels of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems for preschool-aged boys and girls. However, these patterns differ for boys and girls and across measures of violent (robbery) and property crime (burglary).

Statewide Antibiotic Stewardship: : An eBrightHealth Choosing Wisely Initiative.

OBJECTIVE: To implement a collaborative statewide antibiotic stewardship initiative in both the ambulatory and inpatient settings. METHODS: Five participating Delaware health systems each convened internal team(s) to translate the vision set forth by the eBrightHealth LLC Choosing Wisely Work Group into clinical action through process improvement efforts at their institutions. The teams focused on implementing antibiotic time-outs, and on improving antibiotic prescribing for upper respiratory infections in ambulatory settings. The learning network utilized an "all teach, all learn" methodology via monthly conference calls and quarterly face-to-face meetings. RESULTS: All inpatient teams implemented antibiotic time-outs for at least 1 unit. Other interventions included commitment posters; submitting antibiotic utilization data nationally; provider/patient surveys; local stewardship champions; and provider prescribing data feedback. Barriers to implementation included competing priorities, lack of reliable utilization data, and suboptimal provider engagement. Overall antibiotic utilization decreased by 9%, compared to the pre-intervention period. CONCLUSIONS: This initiative has demonstrated the value of multidisciplinary teams, from varying healthcare systems, coming together to work on a single project. While each team's interventions and specific goals differed slightly, all teams implemented new initiatives to promote appropriate use of antibiotics. POLICY IMPLICATIONS: Antibiotic stewardship is a national priority. Acute care hospitals are required to have antibiotic stewardship programs; similar programs are proposed for ambulatory settings.

Ceftolozane-Tazobactam for the Treatment of Multidrug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infections: A Multicenter Study.

BACKGROUND: Multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections remain common in hospitals worldwide. We investigated the outcomes associated with the use of ceftolozane-tazobactam for the treatment of these infections. METHODS: Data were collected retrospectively from 20 hospitals across the United States about adults who received ceftolozane-tazobactam for the treatment of multidrug-resistant P aeruginosa infections of any source for at least 24 hours. The primary outcome was a composite of 30-day and inpatient mortality, and secondary outcomes were clinical success and microbiological cure. Multivariable regression analysis was conducted to determine factors associated with outcomes. RESULTS: Two-hundred five patients were included in the study. Severe illness and high degrees of comorbidity were common, with median Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II scores of 19 (interquartile range [IQR], 11-24) and median Charlson Comorbidity Indexes of 4 (IQR, 3-6). Delayed initiation of ceftolozane-tazobactam was common with therapy started a median of 9 days after culture collection. Fifty-nine percent of patients had pneumonia. On susceptibility testing, 125 of 139 (89.9%) isolates were susceptible to ceftolozane-tazobactam. Mortality occurred in 39 patients (19%); clinical success and microbiological cure were 151 (73.7%) and 145 (70.7%), respectively. On multivariable regression analysis, starting ceftolozane-tazobactam within 4 days of culture collection was associated with survival (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 5.55; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.14-14.40), clinical success (adjusted OR, 2.93; 95% CI, 1.40-6.10), and microbiological cure (adjusted OR, 2.59; 95% CI, 1.24-5.38). CONCLUSIONS: Ceftolozane-tazobactam appeared to be effective in the treatment of multidrug-resistant P aeruginosa infections, particularly when initiated early after the onset of infection.

The Accuracy of Trigger Tools to Detect Preventable Adverse Events in Primary Care: A Systematic Review.

PURPOSE: To understand the ability of trigger tools to detect preventable adverse events (pAEs) in the primary care outpatient setting using the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's (IHI) Outpatient Adverse Event Trigger Tool (IHI Tool). METHODS: The OVID MEDLINE and OVID MEDLINE In-process and non-Indexed citations databases were queried using controlled vocabulary and Medical Subject Headings related to the concepts "primary care" and "adverse events." Included articles were conducted in the outpatient setting, used at least 1 of the triggers identified in the IHI Tool, and identified pAEs of any type. Articles were selected for inclusion based first on assessment of titles then abstracts by 2 trained reviewers independently, followed by full text review by 2 authors. RESULTS: Our search identified 6435 unique articles, and we included 15 in our review. The most common studied trigger was laboratory abnormalities. The most common pAEs were medication errors followed by unplanned hospitalizations. The effectiveness of triggers in identifying AEs varied widely. CONCLUSION: There is insufficient data on the IHI Tool and its use to identify pAEs in the general real-world outpatient setting. Health care providers of the primary care setting may benefit from better trigger tools and other methods to help them detect pAEs. More research is needed to further evaluate the effectiveness of trigger tools to reduce barriers of cost and time and improve patient safety.

Multicenter Study of Outcomes with Ceftazidime-Avibactam in Patients with Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae Infections.

Ceftazidime-avibactam is a novel cephalosporin-beta-lactamase inhibitor combination that is active against many carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). We describe a retrospective chart review for 60 patients who received ceftazidime-avibactam for a CRE infection. In-hospital mortality was 32%, 53% of patients had microbiological cure, and 65% had clinical success. In this severely ill population with CRE infections, ceftazidime-avibactam was an appropriate option.

Applying Group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety Disorders in Community Settings: Retention, Outcome, and Clinical Considerations.

The efficacy, and to a lesser extent, effectiveness, of individual cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety disorders has been demonstrated, but whether manualized treatments work in a group format in community settings is less established. We investigated the predictors of retention and outcome in 26 groups (11 Generalized Anxiety Disorder, 11 Panic, 4 Social Phobia groups), conducted for more than 10 years in a semirural community mental health center by 19 therapists. Members of the Anxiety Disorders Treatment Team delivered manualized group CBT treatments. Analysis of standard symptom measures at pre- and posttreatment and archival data revealed significant pre-post decreases in anxiety, retention rates comparable to past findings on group retention, and several significant predictors of retention and outcome. Manualized group CBT for anxiety appears to be a viable treatment in community settings. Limitations of the study as well as related practice-research implications of the findings are discussed.