The Comprehensive Communal Trauma Intervention Model (CCTIM), an Innovative Transdisciplinary Population-Level Model for Treating Trauma-Induced Illness and Mental Health in Global Vulnerable Communities: Palestine, a Case Study.

This paper explores how Western medicine may not fully understand and address post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-induced illnesses in a culturally appropriate manner in marginalized communities and offers a theoretical framework to develop comprehensive, effective, and sustainable solutions that comprehensively address and treat the trauma on both a collective and individual level. Focused on Palestinians, this paper discusses the collective trauma Palestinians experienced and how it manifests in transgenerational effects on the body and mind that may be post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or perhaps another distinct condition that is yet to be codified in the Western medical lexicon. It describes local alternatives to Western medical diagnostic tools like the "ease to disease" diagnostic scale and the sociopolitical context-in this case, the Palestinian fight for karamah, or dignity-from which such alternatives arise. Based on these findings, a novel theoretical framework, the comprehensive communal trauma intervention model (CCTIM), a truly transdisciplinary population-level model for treating mental health in vulnerable communities globally, is proposed. It articulates the need to address the root cause of collective trauma, make modifications to the healthcare system, and cultivate strategic equity-oriented and research-based partnerships.

Academic and Attendance Outcomes after Participation in a School Breakfast Program.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about how school breakfast programs are associated with school attendance and academic performance. This study evaluated Dallas Independent School District's (DISD) breakfast after the bell (BATB) program that provides breakfast for both habitually tardy and non-tardy students on (1) academic performance and (2) student attendance over 2 school years. METHODS: A pre-post study design evaluated the impact of the BATB program in elementary/middle/high schools on student attendance and academic outcomes. Paired t-tests evaluated changes in outcomes between 2017 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019 school years. RESULTS: The analytical sample consisted of 30,493 students (70.32% BATB participants, 50.47% male, 68.78% Hispanic). BATB participants were over 2.5 times more likely to attend school versus non-BATB participants (aOR = 2.55; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.23-2.92; p < .001). Compared to pre-participation (2017-2018), unadjusted models showed 2018 to 2019 BATB participants' mean reading scores increased from 1502.72 to 1545.76 during the 2018 to 2019 academic year (p < .001). There were no significant changes in reading and math scores over the 2-year implementation after adjustment. CONCLUSIONS: Results here showed that a school breakfast program that is housed in a large public school system that serves predominantly low resource, ethnically diverse students is associated with increased student attendance.