Health Behaviors of Funeral Directors in the US: A Needs Assessment.

Objectives: Little is known about the health-risk behaviors of funeral directors. We undertook a study to examine their health behavior risks by assessing perceived health behaviors. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional, descriptive study of a sample of funeral directors in the US as of September 2018. We used online survey software to disseminate a multi-wave survey to funeral directors. Results: Overall, we received 132 completed surveys (16.5% response rate). Overall, funeral directors rated themselves as healthy, but 61% reported that their mental health was not good in the previous 30 days due to stress, depression, or problems with emotions. We found that 23% reported that their poor physical or mental health keep them from doing their daily activities such as self-care, work, or recreation in the last 30 days. Other behaviors such as screenings, weight management, stress management, and substance use were found to be concerns in this population. Conclusions: Public health efforts should focus on health promotion programming with an emphasis on improving the overall health and well-being of funeral directors in the US.

Processing the Removal and Managing the Moves or Removals of Foster Children: A Qualitative Exploration of Foster Parents' Experiences.

Foster parents are crucial to the function of the child welfare system. Despite developments in research related to the grief and loss of foster parents, more research would be helpful in building a stronger understanding and knowledge base for helping foster parents manage the removals of foster children in their home. This study included ten foster parents from the United States and explored their experience with loss and the stress associated with the expected or unexpected removal of a foster child from their home. The findings of the data analysis yielded three overarching themes: (1) managing or coping with ambiguous loss; (2) systemic impacts of a move or removal on a family; (3) need for helpful preparation or support for dealing with the loss of foster child. Implications include better preparation and support for foster parents dealing with moves and removals of foster children, as well as considering less abrupt removals of children from foster homes.

Evaluation of plasma fibrinogen concentration as an indicator of physeal or epiphyseal osteomyelitis in foals: 17 cases (2002-2007).

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether high plasma fibrinogen concentration (> or = 900 mg/dL) is a valid indicator of physeal or epiphyseal osteomyelitis in foals. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. ANIMALS: 17 foals with physeal or epiphyseal osteomyelitis with or without septic arthritis, 17 foals with septic arthritis alone, 20 foals with non-Rhodococcus equi pneumonia, and 22 healthy foals. PROCEDURES: Medical records were reviewed for information regarding signalment and total WBC count, segmented neutrophil count, and plasma fibrinogen concentration measured when foals were initially evaluated at the hospital. Whether the foals survived to discharge from the hospital was also determined. RESULTS: Foals with physeal or epiphyseal osteomyelitis had higher plasma fibrinogen concentrations than did foals in the other 3 groups. Sixteen of 17 affected foals had values > or = 900 mg/dL. The positive predictive and negative predictive values for plasma fibrinogen concentrations between 900 and 1,500 mg/dL as an indicator of osteomyelitis were 84.2% and 98.2%, respectively. Fibrinogen concentrations of 200 to 400 mg/dL and 500 to 800 mg/dL were associated with foals not having physeal osteomyelitis. Having septic arthritis alone or non-R equi pneumonia was significantly associated with a plasma fibrinogen concentration between 500 and 800 mg/dL; however, the positive predictive value of this range as an indicator of those diseases was low. Foals with osteomyelitis had greater total WBC and segmented neutrophil counts than did foals with septic arthritis alone. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: A plasma fibrinogen concentration of > or = 900 mg/dL may be useful as an indicator of physeal or epiphyseal osteomyelitis in foals.