Challenges in collecting information on sexual orientation and gender identity for cancer patients: perspectives of hospital and central cancer registry abstractors.

PURPOSE: Sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations experience cancer treatment and survival disparities; however, inconsistent sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data collection within clinical settings and the cancer surveillance system precludes population-based research toward health equity for this population. This qualitative study examined how hospital and central registry abstractors receive and interact with SOGI information and the challenges that they face in doing so. METHODS: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 abstractors at five Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registries, as well as seven abstractors from commission on cancer (CoC)-accredited hospital programs in Iowa. Interviews were transcribed, cleaned, and coded using a combination of a priori and emergent codes. These codes were then used to conduct a descriptive analysis and to identify domains across the interviews. RESULTS: Interviews revealed that abstractors had difficulty locating SOGI information in the medical record: this information was largely never recorded, and when included, was inconsistently/not uniformly located in the medical record. On occasion, abstractors reported situational recording of SOGI information when relevant to the patient's cancer diagnosis. Abstractors further noticed that, where reported, the source of SOGI information (i.e., patient, physician) is largely unknown. CONCLUSION: Efforts are needed to ensure standardized implementation of the collection of SOGI variables within the clinical setting, such that this information can be collected by the central cancer registry system to support population-based equity research addressing LGBTQ + disparities.

Scanning transmission X-ray, laser scanning, and transmission electron microscopy mapping of the exopolymeric matrix of microbial biofilms.

Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and soft X-ray scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) were used to map the distribution of macromolecular subcomponents (e.g., polysaccharides, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids) of biofilm cells and matrix. The biofilms were developed from river water supplemented with methanol, and although they comprised a complex microbial community, the biofilms were dominated by heterotrophic bacteria. TEM provided the highest-resolution structural imaging, CLSM provided detailed compositional information when used in conjunction with molecular probes, and STXM provided compositional mapping of macromolecule distributions without the addition of probes. By examining exactly the same region of a sample with combinations of these techniques (STXM with CLSM and STXM with TEM), we demonstrate that this combination of multimicroscopy analysis can be used to create a detailed correlative map of biofilm structure and composition. We are using these correlative techniques to improve our understanding of the biochemical basis for biofilm organization and to assist studies intended to investigate and optimize biofilms for environmental remediation applications.

Current medicolegal and confidentiality issues in large, multicenter research programs.

The convenience of fast computers and the Internet have encouraged large collaborative research efforts by allowing transfers of data from multiple sites to a single data repository; however, standards for managing data security are needed to protect the confidentiality of participants. Through Dartmouth Medical School, in 1996-1998, the authors conducted a medicolegal analysis of federal laws, state statutes, and institutional policies in eight states and three different types of health care settings, which are part of a breast cancer surveillance consortium contributing data electronically to a centralized data repository. They learned that a variety of state and federal laws are available to protect confidentiality of professional and lay research participants. The strongest protection available is the Federal Certificate of Confidentiality, which supersedes state statutory protection, has been tested in court, and extends protection from forced disclosure (in litigation) to health care providers as well as patients. This paper describes the careful planning necessary to ensure adequate legal protection and data security, which must include a comprehensive understanding of state and federal protections applicable to medical research. Researchers must also develop rules or guidelines to ensure appropriate collection, use, and sharing of data. Finally, systems for the storage of both paper and electronic records must be as secure as possible.

Racial differences in breast carcinoma survival.

BACKGROUND: Survival after breast carcinoma diagnosis is significantly worse among African American women for reasons unknown. The purpose of this study was to update reports on the National Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program and to examine the effect of race on breast carcinoma survival. METHODS: Subjects were 135,424 women diagnosed with primary breast carcinoma between 1988-1995. Patient age, tumor stage at the time of diagnosis, hormone receptor status, tumor histology, menopausal status, and survival were compared by race category. RESULTS: African American women diagnosed with breast carcinoma (n = 11,159) had a significantly increased risk of death from breast carcinoma and from all cancers compared with white women (n = 124,265), independent of the effects of other predictor variables. African American women were significantly younger at the time of diagnosis, with approximately 33% of the population age

Meta-analysis of studies assessing the efficacy of projective techniques in discriminating child sexual abuse.

OBJECTIVE: This meta-analysis of 12 studies assesses the efficacy of projective techniques to discriminate between sexually abused children and nonsexually abused children. METHOD: A literature search was conducted to identify published studies that used projective instruments with sexually abused children. Those studies that reported statistics that allowed for an effect size to be calculated, were then included in the meta-analysis. There were 12 studies that fit the criteria. The projectives reviewed include The Rorschach, The Hand Test, The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), the Kinetic Family Drawings, Human Figure Drawings, Draw Your Favorite Kind of Day, The Rosebush: A Visualization Strategy, and The House-Tree-Person. RESULTS: The results of this analysis gave an over-all effect size of d = .81, which is a large effect. Six studies included only a norm group of nondistressed, nonabused children with the sexual abuse group. The average effect size was d = .87, which is impressive. Six studies did include a clinical group of distressed nonsexually abused subjects and the effect size lowered to d = .76, which is a medium to large effect. CONCLUSION: This indicates that projective instruments can discriminate distressed children from nondistressed subjects, quite well. In the studies that included a clinical group of distressed children who were not sexually abused, the lower effect size indicates that the instruments were less able to discriminate the type of distress. This meta-analysis gives evidence that projective techniques have the ability to discriminate between children who have been sexually abused and those who were not abused sexually. However, further research that is designed to include clinical groups of distressed children is needed in order to determine how well the projectives can discriminate the type of distress.

Problem-based learning of psychopathology in a traditional curriculum using multiple conceptual models.

A course in basic psychopathology is described in which problem-based learning is implemented in small groups in a traditional medical school curriculum. Simulated patients are utilized to provide the problem data and to allow for practice in medical interviewing. The problem-based portion of the course focuses on the explanation of various psychiatric disorders using an integration of four conceptual models: the medical/biological; the behavioural/learning; the sociocultural; and the psychodynamic. Reception of the course, based on student evaluations as well as teachers' enthusiasm and participation, has been positive for the 6 years the course has existed in this format, lending support to the conclusion that problem-based methods can be successfully integrated into a traditional lecture-based curriculum.