Center Websites Research Articles

MALE REPRODUCTIVE ONCOFERTILITY SPECIALISTS AT NCI DESIGNATED CANCER CENTERS: ASSOCIATION OF WEB SITE CONTENT WITH INSTITUTIONAL RANKING AND LOCATION SOCIODEMOGRAPHICS

We previously demonstrated that the availability and quality of patient directed information regarding male fertility preservation on the web sites of National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated cancer centers was lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate whether there are institutional ranking or sociodemographic factors that influence whether male reproductive oncofertility-focused urologists and cancer survivorship are featured on NCI cancer center web sites.

Evaluation of information quality on the internet for periodontal disease patients.

To evaluate the quality of accessible information on periodontal diseases on the Internet using different scales. A search was performed using the Google search engine with questions about periodontal disease symptoms. The first 30 web sites obtained after searching for each question were evaluated. Duplicate web sites, advertisements, discussion groups, links to research articles, videos, and images were excluded. A total of 90 web sites were included and evaluated with Health on the Net Code of Conduct Certification (HONCode) presence, Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks, and the quality criteria for consumer health information (DISCERN) toolkit. Only 27.8% of the analyzed web sites contain HONCode certificates. No webpages fulfilled all JAMA criteria, whereas 32.2% of the web sites did not provide any of them. Majority of the web sites' (44.4%) overall rating score was 2 with the DISCERN instrument. In the DISCERN Section Scores comparison between various types of web sites, information web site scores were higher than Dental Health Center Web sites in Section 1 and Section 3 scores (p=.000 and p=.001, respectively). Overall quality of periodontal information based on patients' questions on the Internet has serious shortcomings especially in terms of attribution and the quality of information on treatment choices.

Presentation of caregiver-specific vaccine-related information on National Cancer Institute designated cancer center websites

BackgroundHousehold-based caregivers serve an important role in protecting the health of cancer patients, who may be vulnerable to infectious diseases due to their cancer treatments. Caregiver preventive care should be prioritized to maintain continuity of care and to reduce potential for transmission of infectious diseases to cancer patients. Uptake of vaccines, such as influenza vaccine, is suboptimal in the United States in general, as well as among caregivers for cancer patients. Little is known about the types of information about vaccination and prevention of infectious diseases (e.g. influenza) presented to caregivers of cancer patients. MethodsA qualitative content review of NCI cancer center websites (N = 70), searching for vaccine-related information and the need for and availability of vaccines for caregivers, and comparison of the availability of this information to that for caregiver support groups and general preventative health information (e.g. diet, exercise) for caregivers or patients was conducted. ResultsWhile 53 of 70 (76%) cancer centers routinely presented general preventative health information for caregivers or patients, only eight (11%) cancer centers had any information about vaccinations for caregivers or patients. Of these eight cancer center websites, only one had information about vaccinations for caregivers or family contacts. ConclusionsAs vaccinations confer both individual and community-level protection against infectious diseases, promotion of routine vaccination for caregivers should be considered as part of caregiver support resources provided by cancer centers. This can include changes such as including this information on cancer center websites or adding to caregiver support resource documents.

Smartphone Apps for College Mental Health: A Concern for Privacy and Quality of Current Offerings.

The expanding need for mental health services on college campuses has increased interest in smartphone apps for mental health. Although apps can be effective tools, they can also present risks regarding privacy and lack of efficacy, and little is known about the nature or quality of mental health apps that colleges are recommending to students. This study sought to fill that knowledge gap. Sixty college counseling center Web sites were examined for suggested mobile apps offered as resources for students. The features of each app were assessed, including date of last update, privacy policy, and whether any research had been published in peer-reviewed journals. Twenty-six college counseling centers suggested a total of 218 unique apps. Of these, 28% were no longer available for download. Of the 158 remaining apps, only 44% had been updated in the past 6 months, and 39% had no privacy policy. Of the 97 existing apps with privacy policies, 88% collected user's data and 49% shared users' data with third parties. Efficacy studies had been published in peer-reviewed journals for only 16% of existing apps. College counseling centers are not suggesting safe or up-to-date mobile apps. There is an urgent need to help centers identify, curate, and recommend more appropriate apps. The authors suggest that centers use the American Psychiatric Association's app evaluation framework; develop an app review process, with input from clinicians and students; or employ a digital navigator to select apps and help connect students to the appropriate app.

Investigating Disparities by Sex and LGBTQ Identity: A Content Analysis of Sexual Health Information on College Student Health Center Websites

Student Health Centers (SHCs) are important resources on U.S. college campuses. In light of recent calls for creating more opportunities for health care services to young men and sexual/gender minorities, this content analytic study evaluated how sexual health information and resources are communicated on SHC websites. Utilizing a stratified random sample of 400 U.S. colleges/universities, we assessed how often sexual health is explicitly labeled for particular groups, the types of sexual health topics on SHC websites, the depth of sexual health information, and the sexual health resources offered on SHC websites. Our findings revealed that women’s health webpages far outnumbered men’s health webpages, sexual health topics were more common on women’s health webpages, and sexual health topics were covered at greater depth on women’s health webpages compared to men’s health webpages. Similar disparities were found for sexual/gender minorities. General sexual health webpages on SHC websites addressed significantly more sexual health topics in greater depth and offered more sexual health resources than LGBTQ health webpages. The practical implications for college student health and potential health disparities are discussed.

Access [dis]Abled: Interrogating Standard Design Practices of Higher Education Writing Center Websites

In the 11 years since the 2006 publication of the International Writing Center Association's (IWCA) Position Statements on Disability and Diversity, writing center scholars have continued to explore how disability issues intersect with writing center work including the development of accessible web content and interfaces (Hawkes, 2010). Recent studies have found that university websites were ineffectively designed, difficult to navigate, and omitting any representation or acknowledgment of students with disabilities (Gabel et al., 2016; Gabel & Miskovic, 2014; Meyer, 2008; Miskovic & Gabel, 2012). In this study, the primary author and four undergraduate student-researchers study where and how disability support is explicitly articulated on writing center websites from regional Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) and how digital resources have been designed for students with disabilities. Results show that two out of the 35 writing center offices that exist at the 55 universities analyzed have a mission statement that explicitly articulates a support for students with disabilities. Writing center websites also ineffectively incorporate pictures, simple text, simple navigation, and other accessible features (71% of the 35 writing centers analyzed had websites where 21 – 70% of the content is inaccessible). Recommendations to address these problems are provided.

Communicating about sex when it matters: a content analytic investigation of sexual health information on college student health center websites

ABSTRACTYoung adults struggle to achieve sexual health. Student health centers (SHCs) are uniquely positioned to provide young adults with credible and complete sexual health information. Using the comprehensive model of information seeking for theoretical guidance, we conducted a content analysis to examine the credibility and completeness of sexual health information available to young adults through SHC websites at 400 randomly selected U.S. colleges/universities. Unfortunately, most SHC websites do not provide complete sexual health information, which may decrease the credibility of SHCs as a source of sexual health information for young adults. Topics related to sexual health predominantly focused on prevention and risk topics (i.e. sexually transmitted diseases, contraception, and pregnancy). We offer practical suggestions for SHC webpages to align their sexual health information content with the American College Health Association standards of practice and point to a scholarly focus on content characteristics and information availability to complement information seeking studies.

Surgeon crossover between pediatric and adult centers is associated with decreased rate of loss to follow‐up among adolescent renal transplantation recipients

The risk of adverse outcomes for pediatric renal transplant patients is highest during the transition from pediatric to adult care. While there have been many studies focus on graft failure and death, loss to follow-up likely plays a large role in patient outcomes. We hypothesize patients are lost to follow-up during this transition period and that patients transplanted at pediatric centers with a closely affiliated adult center (AFFs) are less likely to suffer from fragmentation of care and become lost to follow-up. AFFs were defined as those pediatric centers whose transplant surgeons were also on staff at an adult center and were identified using center websites. We included patients undergoing renal transplantation at <=18years of age and had data for the entire transition period on the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (n=6,762, 92.3% in 95 AFFs). 32% of patients were lost to follow-up. On regression, patients transplanted at AFF were 33% less likely to be lost to follow-up compared with those from non-AFF (OR 0.67 CI 0.54-0.82, P<0.01). The proportion of patients lost to follow-up during the transition period is remarkably high, but lower among recipients transplanted at AFFs. Poor follow-up may be mitigated by improving integration of care.

Non-English Language Availability of Community Health Center Websites.

For limited English-proficient (LEP) patients, the digital divide has narrowed, creating a new population of Internet users. However, language-appropriate health information is difficult to find. Community health center (CHC) websites are health information resources and their homepages are critical access points for patients. CHCs supported by Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) care for many LEP patients. We sought to determine the number of HRSA-supported CHC websites providing translated homepage content. In February 2017, we performed a cross-sectional analysis of the language availability of CHC homepages. The primary outcome was availability of translated content on CHC homepages. Secondary outcomes were method of translation and associations between homepage translation and CHC demographics, including percent LEP population and socioeconomic and Internet access characteristics. Of the 1400 CHC homepages, 480 (34.3%) provided translated information with half using Google Translate. We found higher odds of having a translated homepage as the LEP population by county increased [odds ratio (OR): 1.26, confidence interval (CI): 1.07-1.49, P=0.005], Internet subscription at the state level increased (OR: 1.19, CI: 1.02-1.38, P=0.026), and if health centers were in metropolitan areas (OR: 1.81, CI: 1.31-2.51, P<0.001). There was also higher likelihood of having a homepage translated to Spanish in counties with higher Spanish LEP populations (OR: 1.39, CI: 1.19-1.63, P<0.001), but this did not extend to non-Spanish languages (OR: 0.85, CI: 0.71-1.04, P=0.131). Despite increased Internet use among LEP patients and linguistic diversity of the CHC populations, there is a lack of language-appropriate content on CHC website homepages.

Emerging Roles for Optimising Re-Use of Open Government Data

This paper describes a small-scale study to investigate the missions, services and operational tasks provided by four open government data centers: NYC OpenData (New York Open Data Center), DataSF (open data portal of San Francisco), WPRDC (Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center) and the London Datastore (Greater London open data portal). The findings are used to propose three emerging specialist data roles for open government data (OGD) centers. The methodology used was an analysis of the textual content of the data center websites, to identify the common elements of the mission and services. A common mission across all four open government data centers was ‘to improve the use of data’. The range of data center services and tasks identified and extracted from the websites, could be classified into five common categories: Availability, Understandability, Technical Help, Social Engagement, and Improve User Data Literacy. Three new specialist open government data roles were proposed, which were framed to facilitate the delivery of the services identified in this study: Data Interpreter, Data Consultant and Data Visual Assistant. In parallel with existing research data policies and guidelines, these three specialist OGD roles could be extended and applied across other open data portals and domain-based data centers e.g. research data repositories, to optimise the delivery of open data, to facilitate greater value from data sharing, to maximize the understanding of complex data and to minimize the subsequent misuse of data.

특수교육지원센터 웹 사이트 접근성 및 준수율 분석

특수교육지원센터 웹 사이트 접근성 및 준수율 분석

Why Websites Work: An Examination of Interdisciplinary Agricultural Center Websites

Why Websites Work: An Examination of Interdisciplinary Agricultural Center Websites

Information on student counseling center websites in Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, and Hong Kong

Information on student counseling center websites in Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, and Hong Kong

Nutrition Education Services Described on National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Center Websites.

For women diagnosed with breast cancer, healthy weight and enhanced nutrition may improve outcomes. The goal of this study is to examine the nutrition education services available on National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Centers' websites. In 2017, websites of all 61 NCI-Designated Cancer Centers that provide adult clinical care were reviewed at least twice. Websites were analyzed for the existence and type of expert-directed nutrition education services for breast cancer survivors. Of the 61 websites analyzed, 49 (80%) provided information about nutrition education. Twenty (33%) included only nutrition counseling, three (5%) only nutrition classes, and 26 (42%) both counseling and classes. Forty-six websites included information about nutrition counseling; of these, 39 had an easily identifiable description. Thirty-seven class options were offered, 22% were specific to breast cancer, 16% to subgroups such as young women, 41% were nutrition-only classes, and 24% included skills education. Nutrition services are an important part of breast cancer treatment. This study demonstrated that most NCI-designated cancer centers offered counseling. However, the type of information that was offered varied and services were not always specific to patients with breast cancer. Further research is needed to confirm the presence of services, assess patient access, and demonstrate their efficacy in promoting optimal survivor outcomes.

Website Accessibility: U.S. Veterans Affairs Medical Centers as a Case Study

The Internet is a critical eHealth/eGovernment information source, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs operates the United States’ largest integrated health care system. This case study used machine-based accessibility testing to assess accessibility for 116 VA Medical Center websites, based on U.S. Section 508 standards and international WCAG 2.0 guidelines. While we found accessibility issues on each website analyzed, problems were generally limited. Notable exceptions included PDF accessibility and fixed-text sizes. The study’s results offer implications for practitioners (accessibility problems likely overlooked and ways to check accessibility) and educators, particularly the need to better integrate accessibility into the curriculum.

Lotus japonicus Genetic, Mutant, and Germplasm Resources

A quarter of a century has passedsinceLotus japonicus was proposed as a model legume because of its suitability for molecular genetic studies. Since then, a comprehensive set of genetic resources and tools has been developed, including recombinant inbred lines, a collection of wild accessions, published mutant lines, a large collection of mutant lines tagged with LORE1 insertions, cDNA clones with expressed sequence tag (EST) information, genomic clones with end-sequence information, and a reference genome sequence. Resource centers in Japan and Denmark ensure easy access to data and materials, and the resources have greatly facilitated L. japonicus research, thereby contributing to the molecular understanding of characteristic legume features such as endosymbiosis. Here, we provide detailed instructions for L. japonicus cultivation and describe how to order materials and access data using the resource center websites. The comprehensive overview presented here will make L. japonicus more easily accessible as a model system, especially for research groups new to L. japonicus research. © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease that exposes patients to a great risk of emerging cardiovascular diseases and could develop to cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma if left unmanaged. Objective of the Study: this article is intended to provide an overview and explore the optimal intervention for management of NAFLD in the short and long term. Methods: Electronic search in the scientific database from 1966 to 2017– (Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Library as well as NHS center websites were searched for English Publications were obtained from both reprint requests and by searching the database. Data extracted included authors, country, year of publication, age and sex of patients, epidemiology, geographical distribution, pathophysiology, risk factors, clinical manifestations, investigations and types of surgical treatment. Conclusion: It was concluded from the extensive review of the literature that Lifestyle modification including diet, physical activity and controlling metabolic disorders are the cornerstone in current management of NAFLD. Nevertheless, Insulin-sensitizing agents and antioxidants, particularly thiazolidinediones and vitamin E, seem to be a very promising pharmacologic treatment for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, yet further long-term multicenter studies need to be conducted for confirmation and assessment.

Quality of prostate cancer screening information on the websites of nationally recognized cancer centers and health organizations

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to survey the accessibility and quality of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening information from National Cancer Institute (NCI) cancer center and public health organization Web sites. Methods and materialsWe surveyed the December 1, 2016, version of all 63 NCI-designated cancer center public Web sites and 5 major online clearinghouses from allied public/private organizations (cancer.gov, cancer.org, PCF.org, USPSTF.org, and CDC.gov). Web sites were analyzed according to a 50-item list of validated health care information quality measures. Web sites were graded by 2 blinded reviewers. Interrater agreement was confirmed by Cohen kappa coefficient. ResultsNinety percent of Web sites addressed PSA screening. Cancer center sites covered 45% of topics surveyed, whereas organization Web sites addressed 70%. All organizational Web pages addressed the possibility of false-positive screening results; 41% of cancer center Web pages did not. Forty percent of cancer center Web pages also did not discuss next steps if a PSA test was positive. Only 6% of cancer center Web pages were rated by our reviewers as "superior" (eg, addressing >75% of the surveyed topics) versus 20% of organizational Web pages. Interrater agreement between our reviewers was high (kappa coefficient = 0.602). ConclusionNCI-designated cancer center Web sites publish lower quality public information about PSA screening than sites run by major allied organizations. Nonetheless, information and communication deficiencies were observed across all surveyed sites. In an age of increasing patient consumerism, prospective prostate cancer patients would benefit from improved online PSA screening information from provider and advocacy organizations. Validated cancer patient Web educational standards remain an important, understudied priority.

Nutrition Education Services Described on National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Center Websites

To evaluate the existence and ease of locating descriptions about nutrition education services available for patients with breast cancer, on the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Centers' websites. Features of the classes offered were also reviewed.

Sexual and Reproductive Health Services and Related Health Information on Pregnancy Resource Center Websites: A Statewide Content Analysis

BackgroundPregnancy resource centers (PRCs) are nonprofit organizations with a primary mission of promoting childbirth among pregnant women. Given a new state grant program to publicly fund PRCs, we analyzed Georgia PRC websites to describe advertised services and related health information. MethodsWe systematically identified all accessible Georgia PRC websites available from April to June 2016. Entire websites were obtained and coded using defined protocols. ResultsOf 64 reviewed websites, pregnancy tests and testing (98%) and options counseling (84%) were most frequently advertised. However, 58% of sites did not provide notice that PRCs do not provide or refer for abortion, and 53% included false or misleading statements regarding the need to make a decision about abortion or links between abortion and mental health problems or breast cancer. Advertised contraceptive services were limited to counseling about natural family planning (3%) and emergency contraception (14%). Most sites (89%) did not provide notice that PRCs do not provide or refer for contraceptives. Two sites (3%) advertised unproven “abortion reversal” services. Approximately 63% advertised ultrasound examinations, 22% sexually transmitted infection testing, and 5% sexually transmitted infection treatment. None promoted consistent and correct condom use; 78% with content about condoms included statements that seemed to be designed to undermine confidence in condom effectiveness. Approximately 84% advertised educational programs, and 61% material resources. ConclusionsGeorgia PRC websites contain high levels of false and misleading health information; the advertised services do not seem to align with prevailing medical guidelines. Public funding for PRCs, an increasing national trend, should be rigorously examined. Increased regulation may be warranted to ensure quality health information and services.