The Durban University of Technology Faculty of Health Sciences Decentralized Clinical Training Project: Protocol for an Implementation Study in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

BACKGROUND: The Durban University of Technology (DUT) Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, is embarking on a project to implement a Decentralized Clinical Training Program (DCTP). The DUT FHS DCTP project is being conducted in response to the growing demands of students requiring clinical service placements as part of work-integrated learning. The project is also geared toward responding to existing gaps in current practices related to the implementation of a DCTP, which has mainly been through traditional universities providing training to medical, optometry, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy students. In South Africa, a DCTP is yet to be implemented within the context of a university of technology; it is yet to be implemented within health science faculties that offer undergraduate health science programs in mainstream biomedicine and alternative and complementary disciplines. OBJECTIVE: We aim to design, pilot, and establish an effective DCTP at the DUT FHS in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. METHODS: Participatory action research comprising various designs-namely, appreciative inquiry, qualitative case study design, phenomenography, and descriptive qualitative study design-will be used to conduct the study. Data will be collected using individual interviews, focus group discussions, nominal group technique, consensus methodology, and narrative inquiry. Study participants will include various internal and external stakeholders of the DUT, namely, academic staff; students; key informants from universities currently using successfully established DCTPs; academic support staff; staff working in human resources, finance, procurement, and accounting; and experts in other disciplines such as engineering and information systems. Overall, 4 undergraduate health science programs-namely, Radiography, Medical Orthotics and Prosthetics, Clinical Technology, and Emergency Medical Care and Rescue-will be part of the project's pilot phase. Findings from the project's pilot phase will be used to inform scale-up in the other undergraduate programs in the DUT FHS. The project is being implemented as part of the university's strategic objective of devising innovative curricula and pedagogical practices to improve the mastery, skill set, and competence of health science graduates. RESULTS: The study has currently commenced with the situational analysis, consisting of engagement with external stakeholders implementing DCTPs. The data to be generated from the completion of the situational analysis are anticipated to be published in 2024. CONCLUSIONS: This project is envisioned to facilitate collaboration among the universities of technology, traditional universities, Ministry of Health, and private sector for clinical placement of undergraduate health science students in health establishments that are away from the university, thereby exposing them to real-life experiences related to health care. This will facilitate authentic learning experiences that will contribute to improved competencies of graduates in relation to the health needs of society and the multiple realities of the South African health system. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/52243.

The impact of critical thinking skills on student pharmacist GPA at a historically Black university.

INTRODUCTION: Limited information is available regarding whether malleable factors such as critical thinking skills are associated with academic performance among underrepresented minority pharmacy students. This study assessed the relationship between critical thinking skills and grade point average (GPA) among pharmacy students attending a Historically Black College. METHODS: A cross sectional study design was utilized to evaluate the association between student's GPA and critical thinking skills. Demographic data and GPA were abstracted from student records. The health sciences reasoning test with numeracy was administered to pharmacy students at Howard University during the 2017 to 2018 academic year. Critical thinking scores were classified as weak, moderate, or strong/superior. A one way analysis of variance was conducted to ascertain if the average GPA differed based on critical thinking skills category. A multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to determine whether student's critical thinking skill category was associated with the cumulative GPA after accounting for other factors. RESULTS: Among 217 students, the mean GPA among students with a weak critical thinking skills score (3.22 ± 0.40) was lower compared to students with a strong/superior score (3.39 ± 0.33) with a p-value of 0.029. After adjusting for other factors, a strong/superior critical thinking skills score was associated with a higher GPA (p-value = 0.024) in comparison to weak critical thinking skills. CONCLUSION: Stronger critical thinking skills scores are associated with better academic performance among underrepresented minority pharmacy students.

Differences Among Types of Sexual Misconduct Incidents Reported to Title IX Coordinators and Institutional Stability in Incidents Over Time.

Sexual misconduct incidents reported to Title IX coordinators and stability in incident characteristics within institutions of higher education (IHEs) over time were examined. Data included two waves of reported incidents in 2016-2018 (n = 2,598) and 2018-2020 (n = 2,778) across Maryland IHEs (N = 40). Findings showed most reported incidents were for Other Sexual Misconduct (e.g., sexual harassment) versus Sexual Assault I (i.e., rape) or Sexual Assault II (e.g., unwanted sexual touching). Types of sexual misconduct differed regarding reporting by responsible employees, nonstudent perpetrators, and the range of accommodations accessed; institutional-level profiles of sexual misconduct were stable across waves. Implications and future research are discussed.

Comprehensive evaluation of majors offered by universities based on combination weighting.

This paper proposes a combination weighting calculation method to evaluate the performance of majors. Because of the varying emphasis of each weighting method, a combination of the Criteria Importance Through the Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC) method, entropy method, and mean-variance analysis is proposed. Based on the evaluation index system for engineering majors offered at universities, the research of index weight determination and major evaluation is carried out after investigating the data of various indices of engineering majors in recent years. Compared with the majors in engineering education accreditation, the results reveal that the major comprehensive performance ranking is valid, thereby not only providing a new program for universities to establish an evaluation mechanism but also implementing normalized and dynamic major evaluation.

Relação entre o perfil de adesão e as barreiras para a permanência no programa de extensão "yoga: awaken one" / Relationship between the membership profile and the barriers to stay in the "yoga: awaken one" extension program

Objetivo: Investigar a relação entre o perfil de adesão e barreiras percebidas por estudantes universitários para permanência no Programa de Extensão "Yoga: Awaken ONE". Métodos: Foram realizados dois cortes transversais com universitários da Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia. O primeiro foi composto por 16 indivíduos e investigou o perfil demográfico, socioeconômico, antropométrico, da aptidão física e da qualidade de vida dos universitários que ingressaram no Programa de Extensão. O segundo visou identificar as barreiras para permanência de 13 estudantes (dentre os 16 iniciais) que haviam se afastado do Programa após quatro meses do início. Resultados: Houve predominância de indivíduos do sexo feminino, dos cursos de graduação em Educação Física e Pedagogia e da classe socioeconômica C. A maioria dos participantes estava com indicadores adequados de gordura corporal. Observou-se grande proporção de indivíduos com indicadores baixos de flexibilidade e força muscular. Para a qualidade de vida, a menor mediana foi observada para o domínio meio ambiente e a maior para o domínio relações sociais. As principais barreiras percebidas para a prática de yoga pelos universitários foram "jornada de estudos extensa" e "jornada de trabalho extensa". Observou-se correlação do perfil sociodemográfico, indicadores de obesidade, variáveis hemodinâmicas, flexibilidade, força muscular e qualidade de vida com barreiras percebidas para permanência no Programa de Extensão universitária "Yoga: Awaken ONE". Conclusões: Estes achados sugerem que o perfil do público universitário pode ser determinante para a permanência ou evasão de programas de promoção de exercícios físicos e precisa ser considerado em propostas de programas de extensão universitária.

Objective: Investigate the relationship between the member adherence profile and barriers perceived by university students to remain in the "Yoga: Awaken ONE" Extension Program. Methods: Two cross-sections were carried out with university students from the Federal University of Recôncavo da Bahia. The first was composed of 16 individuals and investigated the demographic, socioeconomic, anthropometric, physical fitness, and quality of life profile of university students joining the Extension Program. The second aimed at identifying the barriers to remain in the program faced by 13 students (out of the initial 16) who had withdrawn from the Program four months after the beginning. Results: There was a predominance of female individuals, from undergraduate courses in Physical Education and Pedagogy, and from the C socioeconomic class. Most participants had adequate body fat indexes. There was a large proportion of individuals with low flexibility and muscle strength. For quality of life, the lowest median was observed for the environment domain, while the highest could be noted for the social relationship domain. The main barriers perceived for the practice of yoga by university students were "long study hours" and "long work hours". There was a correlation between sociodemographic profile, obesity indicators, hemodynamic variables, flexibility, muscle strength, and QOL with the perceived barriers to stay in the "Yoga: Awaken ONE" university extension program. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the profile of the university audience can be a determinant for the permanence or dropout of programs that promote physical exercise and therefore, it should be taken into consideration in proposals for university extension programs.

Psychosocial and environmental determinants of physical activity in a Brazilian public university employees - ELDAF: A prospective cohort study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Increased physical activity levels and their determinations are essential issues worldwide. The Longitudinal Study of Physical Activity Determinants (ELDAF) aims to understand the roles of psychosocial and environmental factors in workers' physical activity levels. METHODS: A prospective cohort study of non-faculty civil servants from a public university (approximately 1,200 individuals) will start in 2022 (baseline). The primary measurements will be accelerometer- and questionnaire-based physical activity, social support, social network, socioeconomic status, bereavement, job stress, body image, common mental disorders, depression, and neighborhood satisfaction. Additional measurements will include necessary sociodemographic, physical morbidity, lifestyle and anthropometric information. Participants' places of residence will be geocoded using complete addresses. All participants will furnish written, informed consent before the beginning of the study. Pilot studies were performed to identify and correct potential problems in the data collection instruments and procedures. ELDAF will be the first cohort study conducted in Latin America to investigate physical activity and its determinants.

Relationship between impulsivity, uncontrolled eating and body mass index: a hierarchical model.

BACKGROUND: Impulsivity increases the risk for obesity and weight gain. However, the precise role of impulsivity in the aetiology of overeating behavior and obesity is currently unknown. Here we examined the relationships between personality-related measures of impulsivity, Uncontrolled Eating, body mass index (BMI), and longitudinal weight changes. In addition, we analyzed the associations between general impulsivity domains and cortical thickness to elucidate brain vulnerability factors related to weight gain. METHODS: Students (N = 2318) in their first year of university-a risky period for weight gain-completed questionnaire measures of impulsivity and eating behavior at the beginning of the school year. We also collected their weight at the end of the term (N = 1177). Impulsivity was divided into three factors: stress reactivity, reward sensitivity and lack of self-control. Using structural equation models, we tested a hierarchical relationship, in which impulsivity traits were associated with Uncontrolled Eating, which in turn predicted BMI and weight change. Seventy-one participants underwent T1-weighted MRI to investigate the correlation between impulsivity and cortical thickness. RESULTS: Impulsivity traits showed positive correlations with Uncontrolled Eating. Higher scores in Uncontrolled Eating were in turn associated with higher BMI. None of the impulsivity-related measurements nor Uncontrolled Eating were correlated with longitudinal weight gain. Higher stress sensitivity was associated with increased cortical thickness in the superior temporal gyrus. Lack of self-control was positively associated with increased thickness in the superior medial frontal gyrus. Finally, higher reward sensitivity was associated with lower thickness in the inferior frontal gyrus. CONCLUSION: The present study provides a comprehensive characterization of the relationships between different facets of impulsivity and obesity. We show that differences in impulsivity domains might be associated with BMI via Uncontrolled Eating. Our results might inform future clinical strategies aimed at fostering self-control abilities to prevent and/or treat unhealthy weight gain.

Ensino da segurança do paciente na graduação em enfermagem no estado da Bahia / Enseñanza sobre la seguridad del paciente en el pregrado en enfermería en el estado de Bahia-Brasil / Teaching patient safety in undergraduate nursing in the state of Bahia

RESUMO Objetivo: identificar o tema segurança do paciente nos componentes curriculares de cursos de graduação em enfermagem no estado da Bahia. Método: pesquisa quantitativa, descritiva, exploratória de base documental desenvolvida em fevereiro de 2019, com dados extraídos da Matriz Curricular, Projeto Pedagógico e Ementa, disponíveis nos websites de instituições de ensino superior com situação ativa no sistema e-MEC. Resultados: das 75 instituições cadastradas, nove eram públicas, e 66 privadas. O tema segurança do paciente não foi encontrado em nenhum website de universidades públicas e apenas em 8,06% das privadas. O contato inicial com a temática dava-se no 3º semestre, a carga horária média das disciplinas que abordavam o tema variava de 30 a 306 horas e o componente curricular era obrigatório para estas disciplinas. Apenas 1,71% dos websites das instituições públicas apresentavam todos os documentos pesquisados, enquanto as privadas apresentaram 33,33%, a matriz curricular foi o documento mais disponibilizado. Conclusão: a inserção do tema segurança do paciente nos componentes curriculares mostrou-se insuficiente, apontando necessidade de revisão dos processos formativos e inclusão de abordagem interdisciplinar e transdisciplinar, tendo em vista a complexidade do cuidado em saúde e a importância do desenvolvimento de competências específicas com foco na segurança do paciente.

RESUMEN Objetivo: identificar el tema seguridad del paciente en los componentes curriculares de cursos de pregrado en enfermería en el estado de Bahia-Brasil. Método: investigación cuantitativa, descriptiva, exploratoria de base documental desarrollada en febrero de 2019, con datos extraídos de la Matriz Curricular, Proyecto Pedagógico y Directrices, disponibles en los sitios electrónicos de instituciones de enseñanza superior con situación activa en el sistema e-MEC. Resultados: de las 75 instituciones registradas, nueve eran públicas y 66 privadas. El tema de la seguridad del paciente no se encontró en ningún website de universidades públicas y solo en el 8,06% de las privadas. El contacto inicial con la temática se trabajaba en el 3º semestre, el promedio de la carga horaria de las asignaturas que trataban el tema variaba de 30 a 306 horas y el componente curricular era obligatorio para estas asignaturas. Solo el 1,71% de los sitios electrónicos de las instituciones públicas presentaba todos los documentos investigados, mientras que los privados presentaron el 33,33%, la matriz curricular fue el documento más disponible. Conclusión: la inserción del tema seguridad del paciente en los componentes curriculares se mostró insuficiente, señalando necesidad de revisión de los procesos formativos e inclusión de abordaje interdisciplinario y transdisciplinario, teniendo en cuenta la complejidad del cuidado de la salud y la importancia del desarrollo de competencias específicas centradas en la seguridad del paciente.

ABSTRACT Objective: to identify the theme of patient safety in the curricular components of undergraduate nursing courses in the state of Bahia. Method: quantitative, descriptive, exploratory research of documentary basis developed in February 2019, with data extracted from the Curricular Matrix, Pedagogical Project and Menu, available on the websites of higher education institutions with active situation in the e-MEC system. Results: of the 75 registered institutions, nine were public, and 66 were private. The theme of patient safety was not found in any website of public universities and only in 8.06% of private universities. The initial contact with the theme took place in the 3rd semester, the average workload of the subjects that addressed the theme ranged from 30 to 306 hours and the curricular component was mandatory for these disciplines. Only 1.71% of the websites of public institutions had all the documents surveyed, while the private ones presented 33.33%, the curriculum matrix was the most available document. Conclusion: the insertion of the patient safety theme in the curricular components proved insufficient, pointing out the need for review of training processes and inclusion of an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach, in view of the complexity of health care and the importance of developing specific competencies focused on patient safety.