Is immunisation education in midwifery degrees adequate?

Maternal and childhood vaccination decisions begin during pregnancy, and midwives are an important information resource. Their role is set to increase with the expansion of maternal immunisations into new jurisdictions, and new maternal vaccines in development. Meanwhile, other health providers are orienting parents towards vaccine acceptance, using strategies at odds with midwifery norms around information provision and maternal autonomy. To better understand and address the implications of these developments, we conducted a pilot study to ascertain how midwifery students in Australian universities are taught about immunisation, including dedicated time, assessment, who teaches it, and when. We also analysed teaching materials, looking for messaging regarding the importance of vaccination and whether midwives should be advocating for it. We found that education on immunisation comprises less than four hours of the degree, and encountered the norm of midwives informing about rather than recommending vaccination. The considerations we brought to our small project, and what it illuminated, suggest that midwifery university education is an important arena for developing future vaccine advocates. However, midwifery ideology and professional practice mean that such efforts will be challenging, and must commence from a position of respect for the values midwives hold.

An evaluation of a low intensity mHealth enhanced mindfulness intervention for Chinese university students: A randomized controlled trial.

Mental disorders and sleep dysfunction are common among Chinese university students. This study aimed to evaluate a low cost scalable mindfulness intervention program to improve psychological health and sleep quality among Chinese university students. A randomized controlled trial with 101 university students (mean age 22.30 ±â€¯2.63, 69.31% female) was conducted. Participants were randomized into 4 groups: Group 1: control group (n = 25), Group 2: mindfulness only group (n = 27), Group 3: mindfulness + plain-text reminder group (n = 24), and Group 4: mindfulness + enhanced text reminder with animal meme group (n = 25).The mindfulness intervention consisted of two in-person guided sessions along with weekly self-guided practice for 7 weeks. The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were used to measure depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep dysfunction. After the intervention at week 4, compared to controls, completers in group 2, 3 and 4 (n = 42) showed significantly reduced depression (Cohen's d = 0.83), anxiety (Cohen's d = 0.84), and stress (Cohen's d = 0.75), and improved subjective sleep quality (Cohen's d = 2.00), sleep latency (Cohen's d = 0.55), and habitual sleep efficiency (Cohen's d = 0.86). The effect was maintained at week 7. Low-intensity mindfulness interventions might be a useful intervention program in university settings.

Health promotion programs in higher education: integrative review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE: to characterize the interventions of health promotion programs implemented in Health Promoting Universities; to analyze the results of the interventions of health promotion programs. METHOD: integrative review carried out in EBSCO, PubMed, SciELO, Scopus and Web of Science. Articles published between 2000 and 2014 were selected, with evidence of health promotion intervention programs and evaluation of results. Results: 17 articles were included. The health promotion programs aimed at increasing the welfare of students, with an emphasis on physical activity, sexual health and on improving the environment of health support within the university community. CONCLUSION: health promotion strategies in an university context do not always result from the convergence between educational, political, legislative or organizational actions that support lifestyles and conditions which are favorable to the health of individuals or groups, and that contribute to improving the physical and social environment.

Development of a context specific accreditation assessment tool for affirming quality midwifery education in Bangladesh.

OBJECTIVE: using the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) Global Standards for Midwifery Education as a conceptual framework, the aim of this study was to explore and describe important 'must haves' for inclusion in a context-specific accreditation assessment tool in Bangladesh. DESIGN: A questionnaire study was conducted using a Likert rating scale and 111 closed-response single items on adherence to accreditation-related statements, ending with an open-ended question. The ICM Global Standards guided data collection, deductive content analysis and description of the quantitative results. SETTING: twenty-five public institutes/colleges (out of 38 in Bangladesh), covering seven out of eight geographical divisions in the country. PARTICIPANTS: one hundred and twenty-three nursing educators teaching the 3-year diploma midwifery education programme. FINDINGS: this study provides insight into the development of a context-specific accreditation assessment tool for Bangladesh. Important components to be included in this accreditation tool are presented under the following categories and domains: 'organization and administration', 'midwifery faculty', 'student body', 'curriculum content', 'resources, facilities and services' and 'assessment strategies'. The identified components were a prerequisite to ensure that midwifery students achieve the intended learning outcomes of the midwifery curriculum, and hence contribute to a strong midwifery workforce. The components further ensure well-prepared teachers and a standardized curriculum supported at policy level to enable effective deployment of professional midwives in the existing health system. KEY CONCLUSIONS: as part of developing an accreditation assessment tool, it is imperative to build ownership and capacity when translating the ICM Global Standards for Midwifery Education into the national context. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: this initiative can be used as lessons learned from Bangladesh to develop a context-specific accreditation assessment tool in line with national priorities, supporting the development of national policies.

Health promotion programs in higher education: integrative review of the literature / Programas de promoción de la salud en la enseñanza superior: revisión integrativa de literatura / Programas de promoção da saúde no ensino superior: revisão integrativa de literatura

ABSTRACT Objective: to characterize the interventions of health promotion programs implemented in Health Promoting Universities; to analyze the results of the interventions of health promotion programs. Method: integrative review carried out in EBSCO, PubMed, SciELO, Scopus and Web of Science. Articles published between 2000 and 2014 were selected, with evidence of health promotion intervention programs and evaluation of results. Results: 17 articles were included. The health promotion programs aimed at increasing the welfare of students, with an emphasis on physical activity, sexual health and on improving the environment of health support within the university community. Conclusion: health promotion strategies in an university context do not always result from the convergence between educational, political, legislative or organizational actions that support lifestyles and conditions which are favorable to the health of individuals or groups, and that contribute to improving the physical and social environment.

RESUMEN Objetivo: caracterizar las intervenciones de los programas de promoción de la salud implementados en Universidades Promotoras de Salud; analizar los resultados de las intervenciones de los programas de promoción de la salud. Método: revisión integrativa realizada en la EBSCO, PubMed, SciELO, Scopus y Web of Science. Se seleccionaron artículos publicados entre los años 2000 y 2014, con evidencias de programas de intervención de promoción de la salud y evaluación de resultados. Resultados: se incluyeron 17 artículos. Los programas de promoción de la salud tenían el objetivo de aumentar el bienestar de los estudiantes, con énfasis en la actividad física, salud sexual y mejora del entorno de apoyo a la salud en el ámbito de la comunidad universitaria. Conclusión: las estrategias de promoción de la salud en el contexto universitario no siempre resultan de la convergencia entre acciones educativas, políticas, legislativas u organizacionales que apoyan estilos de vida e condiciones favorables a la salud de los individuos o colectividades y que contribuyen a la mejora del entorno físico y social.

RESUMO Objetivo: caraterizar as intervenções dos programas de promoção da saúde implementados em Universidades Promotoras de Saúde; analisar os resultados das intervenções dos programas de promoção da saúde. Método: revisão integrativa realizada na EBSCO, PubMed, SciELO, Scopus e Web of Science. Selecionaram-se artigos publicados entre os anos de 2000 e 2014, com evidências de programas de intervenção de promoção da saúde e avaliação de resultados. Resultados: foram incluídos 17 artigos. Os programas de promoção da saúde visavam aumentar o bem-estar dos estudantes, com ênfase na atividade física, saúde sexual e melhoria do ambiente de suporte à saúde no âmbito da comunidade universitária. Conclusão: as estratégias de promoção da saúde em contexto universitário nem sempre resultam da convergência entre ações educativas, políticas, legislativas ou organizacionais que apoiam estilos de vida e condições favoráveis à saúde dos indivíduos ou coletividades e que contribuem para melhoria do ambiente físico e social.

One University Making a Difference in Graduate Education: Caring in the Online Learning Environment.

As online education gains momentum, strategies to promote student engagement, develop social presence, and create a virtual community are essential for students' successful learning. A university with a philosophy grounded in caring developed two strategies for the graduate online education setting. These two strategies intentionally promote caring for self and others as a means to foster engagement, social presence, and a vibrant online community. One strategy was online Caring Groups, that is, small groups of four to five nursing students created each semester in one of the students' required courses in the online setting. The second strategy was the creation of two Caring Connections online sites, one for master of science in nursing students and one for doctorate in education nursing students. The sites were developed external to required courses to provide support for the online students throughout the graduate programs. Each site provides an ongoing space for students and faculty to post and discuss inspirational quotes, self-care tips, music, and photographs. The online Caring Groups and Caring Connections sites will be described, including how they were created, how they are used by students, how faculty support students, lessons learned, and how Caring Groups are integrated into the curriculum.

Academic research: policies and practice.

The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 allowed universities in the US to own and manage inventions obtained using federal funds. This Act laid the foundation for university technology transfer activities in most major research universities of the country. Consequently, the interaction between universities and industry has increased, and so has the sophistication in university intellectual property management. UIC's model for managing its intellectual property is efficient and successful, and is the one increasingly used by university technology transfer offices. The model deals with all aspects of UIC's intellectual property: disclosure, protection, marketing, negotiating and licensing, as well as intellectual property provisions in UIC's research agreements, material transfer agreements, option agreements, licensing agreements and others. In a pioneer effort, UIC has developed a policy on contracts for collecting natural product samples for drug discovery which includes royalty sharing and other important provisions. Accompanying this policy we have also drafted a standard contractual agreement for collectors.