Access to veterinary care: evaluating working definitions, barriers, and implications for animal welfare.

Humans have a moral obligation to meet the physical and mental needs of the animals in their care. This requires access to resources such as veterinary care, which is integral to achieving animal welfare. However, "access" to veterinary care is not always homogenous across communities and currently lacks a consistent definition. The objectives of this scoping review were to (1) understand how "access" to veterinary care has been defined in the literature, (2) map a broad list of potential barriers that may influence access to veterinary care, and (3) identify how access to care impacts the welfare of companion and livestock animals. The literature search yielded a total of 1,044 publications, 77 of which were relevant to our inclusion criteria, and were published between 2002 and 2022. Studies were most frequently conducted in the United States (n = 17) and Canada (n = 11). Publications defining access to veterinary care (n = 10) or discussing its impacts on animal welfare (n = 13) were minimal. However, barriers to accessing veterinary care were thoroughly discussed in the literature (n = 69) and were categorized into ten themes according to common challenges and keywords, with financial limitations (n = 57), geographic location (n = 35), and limited personnel/equipment (n = 32) being the most frequently reported. The results of this scoping review informed our proposed definition of access to veterinary care. Additionally, our findings identified a need to further investigate several understudied barriers relating to access to care (i.e., veterinarian-client relationship, client identity) and to better understand how they potentially affect animal welfare outcomes.

Sleep in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Narrative Review and Systematic Update.

Purpose of Review: Sleep problems are a common comorbidity for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and research in this area has a relatively long history. Within this review, we first outline historic patterns in the field of sleep and ASD. Second, we conducted a systematic update and coded these studies based on their alignment with historic patterns. Research on ASD and sleep over the past two decades has primarily focused on four principal areas: (1) documenting the prevalence and types of sleep problems; (2) sleep problem treatment options and efficacy; (3) how sleep problems are associated with other behavioral, contextual, or biological elements; and (4) the impact of child sleep problems on families and care providers. The systematic update in this paper includes empirical studies published between 2018 and 2021 with terms for sleep and ASD within the title, keywords, or abstract. Recent Findings: In sum, 60 studies fit the inclusion/exclusion criteria and most fit within the historic patterns noted above. Notable differences included more global representation in study samples, studies on the impacts of COVID-19, and a growing body of work on sleep problems as an early marker of ASD. The majority of studies focus on correlates of sleep problems noting less optimal behavioral, contextual, and biological elements are associated with sleep problems across development for children with ASD. Summary: Recommendations for future directions include continued expansion of global and age representation across samples, a shift toward more treatment and implementation science, and studies that inform our mechanistic understanding of how sleep and ASD are connected. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40675-022-00234-5.

Graduate student confidence following a for-credit systematic review course pilot.

BACKGROUND: In 2015, librarians at Purdue University began fielding requests from many disciplines to consult or collaborate on systematic review projects, and in 2016, health sciences librarians led the launch of a formal systematic review service. In 2019, Purdue University Libraries was reorganized as the Libraries and School of Information Studies (PULSIS) and assigned its own course designation, ILS. The increase in calls for systematic review services and the ability to teach ILS courses inspired the development of a credit-bearing ILS systematic review course. CASE PRESENTATION: We designed, taught, and assessed a one-credit systematic review course for graduate students, using a backward-design course development model and applying self-determination theoretical concepts into lessons, assignments, and assessments. Using qualitative pre- and post-assessments, we discovered a variety of themes around student motivations, expectations, and preferences for the course. In quantitative post-class assessments, students reported improved confidence in all systematic review processes, with the highest confidence in their ability to choose and use citation management managers, describe the steps in the systematic review process, and understand the importance of a reproducible and systematic search strategy. CONCLUSIONS: We considered our pilot a success. Next steps include testing 2- and 3-credit- hour models and working to formally integrate the course into departmental and certificate curriculums. This case report provides a model for course design principles, learning outcomes, and assessments that librarians and library administrators can use to adjust their systematic review services.

Puberty in the Last 25 Years: A Retrospective Bibliometric Analysis.

Puberty research has been highly productive in the past few decades and is gaining momentum. We conducted an analysis of bibliographic data, including titles, abstracts, keywords, indexing terms, and citation data to assess the sheer numbers, audience and reach, publication types, and impact of puberty-related publications. Findings suggest that puberty-related publications are increasing in sheer numbers, and have reach in many fields as befits an interdisciplinary science. Puberty-related publications typically have higher impact in terms of citations than the journal averages, among the journals that published the most studies on puberty. Limitations of the field and recommendations for researchers to improve the impact and reach of puberty-related publications (e.g., clear conclusions in abstracts, highlighting the importance of puberty) are discussed.