Discussion Boards Research Articles

Adapting to the Educational Challenges of a Pandemic: Development of a Novel Virtual Urology Subinternship During the Time of COVID-19

ObjectiveTo design, implement, and evaluate learner attitudes of a virtual urologic surgery clinical rotation for medical students.MethodsTen senior medical students at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania were enrolled. Students were administered a precourse test on their perceived confidence of their urologic knowledge, confidence in identifying urologic conditions, comfort with performing urologic evaluations, and confidence placing consults for urologic issues. Students participated in a 2-week curriculum that included both asynchronous and synchronous content. Asynchronous content included prerecorded lectures, self-paced problem-based learning modules, directed reading and video content, and an online discussion board. Synchronous content included real-time videoconferences covering case discussions, simulated patient presentations, and critical literature reviews. At the conclusion of the course, students were administered the postcourse survey evaluating changes in their ability to identify and understand urologic conditions.ResultsThe postcourse survey demonstrated this course significantly increases students’ scores in: self-perceived urologic knowledge, confidence in naming urologic conditions, comfort with performing urologic evaluations, and confidence placing consults for urologic conditions (P <.05).ConclusionVirtual medical student rotations are scalable and effective at delivering surgical material and can approximate the interpersonal teaching found in clinical learning environments. They may be a useful tool to supplement or augment clinical learning in select situations.

Addressing the Opioid Epidemic: Strategies for Interprofessional Health Education

INTRODUCTION Opioid use disorder impacts families in the United States from all walks of life with premature loss of life and devastating financial and social consequences. An online interprofessional program was designed and implemented to assist pre-licensure health professions students to understand the complexities of the opioid epidemic. The program included information related to the epidemic’s impact on individuals, patients, families and the community, solutions to this crisis, and the benefit of interprofessional care in to addressing the epidemic. METHODS The purpose of this study was to explore students’ perceptions of individuals experiencing opioid use disorder and the value of interprofessional care. There were 217 students of medicine, dental, nursing, emergency medical services, and physical therapy who participated in the discussion-board format activity that enabled them to acquire new knowledge and apply it to two unfolding case studies of individuals experiencing opioid use disorder. RESULTS Thematic analysis was applied to the discussion that was generated from the activity. Six themes were identified from the discussion board responses: 1) Opioid use disorder can happen to anyone, 2) Mismanaged health care contributes to opioid addiction, 3) Overwhelming life stressors can impact opioid use, 4) Seeking relief from chronic pain can dominate a person’s life, 5) A strong sense of empathy and compassion is essential for health professionals, and 6) Interprofessional collaboration improves outcomes. CONCLUSION This educational strategy was an effective approach to engage students in informed discussions regarding the complexities of the epidemic and to appreciate the benefit of interprofessional care in addressing opioid use disorder.

Congenital Upper-Extremity Differences: A Thematic Analysis of On-Line Discussion Boards

On-line discussion boards (DBs) are used by patients and family members to pose questions and share experiences with a broader community. Systematic analysis of the text posted to DBs about congenital upper-extremity (UE) differences may allow physicians to identify and address patients' questions and concerns better. We used Google and Yahoo! Internet search engines to identify on-line DBs pertaining to congenital UE differences. Posts written between January 1, 2009 and January 1, 2019 were collected and analyzed. Each on-line post was coded by 2 researchers using 3 rounds of grounded theory: open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. This allowed comprehensive, central themes of the DBs to emerge. We collected 521 posts and analyzed 420 posts from 152 threads. A total of 163 unique users contributed to posts. Parents of a child with a congenital UE difference accounted for the majority of users (65%), most of which were postnatal (91%). Of posts written by patients, 48% expressed negative emotions pertaining to their difference, whereas 17% conveyed a positive experience. Five selective codes were identified from posts written by non-administrators: (1) Connecting With Others, (2) Emotional Aspects, (3) Treatment, (4) Diagnosis, and (5) Function. Connecting With Others was the most frequently assigned selective code; users were looking to establish a connection in 73% of posts. Posts seeking information (n= 106) were more often technical in nature than were posts providing information (54% vs 44%). Posts providing information (n= 206) were more often emotional (18% vs 13%). Individuals accessing on-line DBs are commonly searching for technical and emotional support from others. Through analysis and identification of the themes from these posts, we believe physicians should be proactive in addressing technical concerns through education and counseling, but should also validate emotional concerns and assist families and patients via support groups or connections to others. Treating surgeons can improve their care of patients with congenital UE differences by better understanding the needs of patients and their families that may not be elucidated in a traditional patient encounter.

Catch 22: The Paradox of Social Media Affordances and Stigmatized Online Support Groups

This study highlights the challenges of computer-mediated communication for vulnerable individuals and groups, by studying boundary work in stigmatized communities online. Five stigmatized online communities with different affordances were studied: (1) “pro-ana” blogs; (2) an infertility discussion board; (3) a Facebook group for bereaved parents; and (4) two WhatsApp groups for Israeli veterans of war with post-traumatic stress disorder. In-depth interviews with members and administrators ( n = 66) revealed that social media affordances such as low anonymity and high visibility may marginalize those living with stigma. While research literature applauds social media for allowing the formation and maintenance of social capital, our study highlights the paradox caused by these very same affordances. To offer safe and functioning environments of support, the communities must guard against impostors whose presence threatens their safe havens. Simultaneously, this may make these groups inaccessible to those who truly need support and remove such groups from the public eye.

Teacher candidate perceptions on alternative asynchronous online discussion boards

Asynchronous online discussion boards are frequently utilized as a pedagogical tool within traditional, hybrid, and online higher education courses. Research has found teacher candidates can be disenchanted with the monotonous structure of traditional asynchronous online discussion boards. In educator preparation, we claim to understand teacher candidates learn differently. Yet, the majority of assignments have a linguistic focus. This demonstration of knowledge is not effective for all teacher candidates. To support all teacher candidates, faculty can find ways to differentiate by incorporating alternative asynchronous discussion board platforms. Four platforms were compared in this study: traditional written response, video response, Flipgrid, and BookSnaps. A mixed-methods approach was used with elementary teacher candidates (n=77) to answer the following research question: 1) What asynchronous online discussion board platform enhanced teacher candidates perceptions of creativity, ability to demonstrate content understanding, student voice, and usefulness toward learning? It is important to understand the factors, which create a high-quality asynchronous discussion board experience. This research can help faculty to determine how to strengthen the asynchronous online discussion board learning experience.

Analyzing Grammatical Errors: A Case Study of Virtual University of Pakistan

The current study investigated an overview of the grammatical errors committed by the students of Virtual University of Pakistan (VoU) particularly in the English courses. These students were mainly from the computer science and management sciences programs. However, the learners fail to concentrate on the grammatical errors, which are the important part of their writing skills. The researchers selected a stratified random sample of ninety-nine students through the random number technique by using T-Yamani's method of selecting a sample for descriptive cum statistical analysis from online creative writings in thousands of Graded Discussion Board (GDB). These GDBs are part of the internal exams system of VoU. The study points out the most common grammatical errors committed by the graduate and post-graduate students of the Virtual University of Pakistan and suggests some remedial measures to correct those errors. Moreover, the research also provides facilitation for the teachers and students for further research in this area.

Online ‘barebacking’ community and the creation of ‘sex pig’ identities: Exploring affordances of a Web forum in celebrating sexual excess

The Internet and HIV biomedical technologies are considered as significant technological advances underpinning “barebacking”, or condom-less anal sex among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM). Online chatrooms, discussion boards, and geosocial networking applications (“apps”) are regarded as having facilitated new opportunities to meet and connect with other barebackers. Virtual spaces enabled the proliferation of online discourses specific to barebacking, such as “bugchasing” and “giftgiving” to refer to the intentional spreading of HIV. While previous research focus on the metaphors used by bugchasers and giftgivers online, such studies lack analyses of other barebacking practices and identities beyond intentional seroconversion. This paper seeks to fill this gap by examining the affordances of a barebacking online community I call “Pigpen” in offering space for MSM to discuss various topics apart from intentional seroconversion: in particular, the emergence of “sex pigging”. Analyzing online forum discussions, I argue that Pigpen opens possibilities for reimagining sex pigging desires, identities, and practices that are intertwined and constituted by HIV prevention discourses and biomedical technologies. While sex pigging is associated with sexual excess, I demonstrate that limitless sex is practiced in a variety of ways: ranging from the eroticization of HIV and other STIs, to avoiding transmission by adapting some harm reduction strategies. Some sex pigs reappropriate the association of pigs with revulsion and taboo by reframing sexual excess as pleasurable and productive of feelings of freedom. By contrast, other sex pigs renegotiate risk and safety by incorporating risk minimization, giving rise to the possibility of “safer sex pigs”. Thus, sex pigging desires, identities, and practices are more complex than previously thought because they do not neatly fall into the category of irrationality and irresponsibility.

Suicide Motives and Protective Factors - Contributions from a Hikikomori Discussion Board

The study describes reasons why hikikomoris or socially withdrawn people consider committing suicide, and factors that prevent them from committing the act. 2,644 anonymous messages were collected in May 2020 from a Finnish hikikomori discussion forum and analyzed using netnography and inductive content analysis. Suicides motives involved experiences of failure, loneliness and worthlessness, often combined with mental health problems and triggered by loss of employment or significant relationship. Lack of courage was a common reason for not committing suicide. The role of family in preventing suicide is significant, along with support from professionals. Family and individualized interventions are discussed briefly.

Investigating the Presence of the History of Medicine in North American Medical Education: Can One of the Medical Humanities Concisely Integrate with Biomedical and Clinical Content with Reference to Clinical Competencies?

As a curricular topic, the history of medicine can reinforce medical knowledge while integrating the benefits associated with humanities education. This study examined the degree to which medical history was present in the curricula of North American Medical Schools, how those sessions (if any) were delivered, and who delivered them. We hypothesized that medical history would be present but that very few American Medical schools would have mandatory sessions, that the presentation of this content would be very diverse, and that sessions would be presented by a variety of professionals. We compiled a contact list of deans and curricular administrators at each institution and recruited respondents from an online discussion board. Respondents completed a short survey regarding the curriculum at their home institution. We received responses from 96 of 209 institutions (46.0%). Of these, 29.2% of respondents indicated that their institution had mandatory sessions on medical history, 42.7% had non-mandatory curricular sessions, 49.0% had extracurricular sessions, and 21.4% had electives on the history of medicine. Lecture was the primary means of delivery in all modalities except for the electives, which primarily used small group discussion. Clinical faculty were the most common people overseeing these sessions, but a wide variety of others also contributed. While few North American medical schools had mandatory sessions on the history of medicine, the topic was present in very diverse ways. The lack of standardization in teaching the history of medicine may provide fertile ground for subsequent research in medical education.

Narratives of illness in a Chinese virtual hospital

This study explores 60 individual narratives of illness presented in the initiating messages of threads that are posted in a well-known virtual space, ‘Tianya Hospital’ (????), in China. ‘Tianya Hospital’ is a discussion board where website users discuss their own or their loved ones’ health problems with other participants, who may be either health experts or patients with similar illnesses. Adopting the approach of mediated discourse analysis, the study aims to find out what is narrated (i.e., narrative presentation categories), what stance is taken and what the patterns and functions of the narrative presentation and the stance taking are. Some narrative presentation categories identified in this study are to some degree associated with existing face-to-face medical consultation phases, while others are related to a ‘timescale’ frame and the ‘sick role’ concept. The findings also show that the online narratives present not only the description of health problems, but also epistemic and affective stances. Some features of the narrative presentation organization and the stance taking in narratives can perform particular functions, such as serving to legitimize patients’ or patients’ caregivers’ complaints about healthcare services

28.L. Workshop: Promoting the mental health of refugee minors: mobilising key stakeholders

Abstract According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are over 25 million refugees worldwide, over half of whom are under the age of 18. War and conflict is among the leading causes of forced displacement. We know children exposed to war are at an increased risk of developing mental health problems, in particular post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). An international meta-analysis reported a pooled PTSD prevalence estimate of 47 per cent. War exposure is not the only trauma these minors face; multiple and profound trauma is reported during flight and resettlement. Given the scale of forced displacement, related trauma and associated mental health problems, promoting the mental health of refugee minors is a public health priority. The complexity of addressing mental health problems among refugee minors requires all the stakeholders around the child or adolescent to be empowered to provide support. This extends across healthcare, school, community intervention, family and the individual. Fear of jeopardizing asylum applications, stigma, and unfamiliarity with mental health all lead refugees to underreport mental health symptoms. School reportedly plays an important role in societal integration for refugee children. It is paramount to consider the safety aspects of community mental health intervention, including impact on those delivering the interventions. Not least, refugees should be empowered. Reciprocal respect between researchers and refugee minors can facilitate a deeper understanding of the issues at hand and mental health interventions can be designed, delivered and evaluated in a way that is simultaneously useful, useable and desirable. This workshop will bring together international perspectives on how to promote the mental health of refugee minors, with an emphasis on a holistic approach that engages everyone around the child or adolescent. The CHAP research group (Sweden), along with international partners from University of Manchester (UK), will present findings from their research programme to promote the mental health of refugee minors in Sweden and families living in conflict zones. This will provide a springboard for discussion of international approaches and lessons. The objective of the workshop is to leverage combined knowledge and expertise at an international level to enhance public health approaches to promote the mental health of refugee minors. The workshop will start with a mapping exercise to understand which countries are represented in the room. A series of short presentations will be given on strategies and tools to empower: routine health care personnel; school personnel; community intervention facilitators; refugee minors and families. After each presentation, the group will be asked to reflect on knowledge and practice from their country. Written comments will be collected on a digital interactive discussion board. The main points will be summarized ahead of an opportunity for discussion in the room. Key messages Global efforts to promote the mental health of refugee minors, including how to inform and empower key people around the child or adolescent, need to be leveraged. Involvement of refugees as advisors in mental health research has the potential to play a transformative role. It can lead to interventions that are simultaneously useful, useable and desirable.

Promoting Productive Political Dialogue in Online Discussion Forums

Discussion is a crucial component for learning in a college classroom. Increasingly, university and college faculty are using online learning management systems to facilitate and assess course discussions. Given this reality, are there ways to frame prompts to generate normatively better discussions, or discussions where students are better able to meet the course learning outcomes? To answer these questions, we utilize data from Introduction to American Government classes at two institutions with the students of three instructors who participated in online discussion boards on multiple substantive topics; for each topic, students were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions. In each, we framed a related prompt in different ways to test how such prompts impact student success as measured by several learning outcomes informed by the American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U). With our unique experimental design and novel data, we are able to test several hypotheses related to student engagement, the content of discussions, as well as the quality of students’ work. In the end, our research has important normative implications for pedagogy as well as the cultivation of civility and political engagement inside and outside of the modern classroom environment.

Feeding the troll detection algorithm

The authenticity of public debate is challenged by the emergence of networks of non-genuine users (such as political bots and trolls) employed and maintained by governments to influence public opinion. To tackle this issue, researchers have developed algorithms to automatically detect non-genuine users, but it is not clear how to identify relevant content, what features to use and how often to retrain classifiers. Users of online discussion boards who informally flag other users by calling them out as paid trolls provide potential labels of perceived propaganda in real time. Against this background, we test the performance of supervised machine learning models (regularized regression and random forests) to predict discussion board comments perceived as propaganda by users of a major Romanian online newspaper. Results show that precision and recall are relatively high and stable, and re-training the model on new labels does not improve prediction diagnostics. Overall, metadata (particularly a low comment rating) are more predictive of perceived propaganda than textual features. The method can be extended to monitor suspicious activity in other online environments, but the results should not be interpreted as detecting actual propaganda.

Interprofessional education during the COVID-19 pandemic: finding the good in a bad situation

ABSTRACT COVID-19 restrictions necessitated wholescale conversion of curricula to online learning environments globally. We used a mixed-methods study design to evaluate the conversion of a large foundational interprofessional course, at our university, to an asynchronous online learning environment. A survey was used to gauge if students learned interprofessionally and about interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP). A COVID-19 discussion board was used to assess learner knowledge of their own and other health professions and value for IPCP. Survey results indicated students perceived the online session as effective as it would have been in person. The COVID-19 discussion board presented evidence that students met all Interprofessional Education Collaborative core competencies for IPCP, shared knowledge of their and other health professions, and expressed the value and essentiality of IPCP. Findings support social context as a main requisite for interprofessional education, and within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, students were able to heighten their connection to the global interprofessional community. Circumstances surrounding COVID-19 highlight the need for increasing IPCP education. One unforeseen positive that has emerged in spite of this global catastrophe is enhanced student awareness of IPCP and interprofessional comradery as evidenced through student discussions in this course.

Lessons Learned from Active Engagement in a Large-Enrollment Introductory Biochemistry Course during a Remote Quarter

The combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and social unrest turned education on its head this quarter. To keep students engaged, a plethora of techniques were employed, ranging from synchronous lectures and activities via the Zoom platform to the asynchronous online discussion board Piazza. Consideration of students’ nonacademic struggles also resulted in course modifications. This last method may have been the most effective in promoting student engagement, especially during the remaining 2 weeks of the quarter with increasing worldwide social unrest.

Moving to Remote Instruction in Organic Chemistry II Laboratories

The Spring 2020 semester students were faced with the challenge of adjusting how they learned in the middle of the semester, as the situation changed from instructors holding group office hours and study sessions for the upcoming midterm exams to faculty and students scrambling to gather their belongings before the impending lockdown. Immediately before spring break, instructors and students were notified that all classes would be moving to a remote-teaching model for the remainder of the semester. While the move was challenging for lecture courses, moving the second semester of organic chemistry laboratory proved to be a daunting task. The process was made simpler by considering ways to reduce the cognitive load on our students. The laboratories would focus on the major student learning outcomes, and the existing classroom management system (CMS) would be used to provide online worksheets, quizzes, and discussion boards. Specific focus was directed to compound identification using spectroscopy and the physical components of the laboratory setting. Here we present the method that we employed and the results of transitioning our organic chemistry laboratory to an online platform. Additionally, we provide some recommendations to instructors faced with making this transition in the future.

Second Opinions: Negotiating Agency in Online Mothering Forums.

Online forums and other virtual communities are an increasing source of postpartum support and information for first-time mothers. However, there is little evidence about how new mothers in Canada access and use online resources. The purpose of this study was to examine how first-time mothers accessed information and support both online and off-line during the first six months postpartum and how their experiences were constructed through social and institutional discourses. A qualitative feminist poststructuralist approach was used to analyze an online discussion board with first-time mothers in Nova Scotia. Mothers who used the online discussion board experienced a sense of community with other mothers where empathy and encouragement were integral to the ways in which information and support were shared. "Weak ties" (with strangers) were important and led to the following themes: (a) empathy, encouragement, and information; (b) socialization; (c) blurring the boundaries of online and off-line networks; and (d) Developing community. These online forums offer insight for health professionals looking to improve mothers' care postpartum and point to a need to foster spaces for new mothers to talk to each other.

Course Redesign for College General Chemistry during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Albright College changed its classroom courses to an online format starting at the middle of the semester. This communication describes the transformation of the remaining semester for the lecture of the general chemistry course for majors. Video, ungraded and graded quizzing activities, and discussion boards were developed in an asynchronous format, while video conferencing by Zoom provided a platform for synchronous office hours. Insights from the spring semester inform plans for the online fall semester.

Converting an Environmental Sampling Methods Lecture/Laboratory Course into an Inquiry-Based Laboratory Experience during the Transition to Distance Learning

In mid-March 2020, due to the novel coronavirus, my 300-level Environmental Sampling Methods lecture/laboratory course transitioned to distance learning. After this move, the primary focus of the course became the laboratory. To do this, I revised my three remaining laboratory exercises (i.e., water quality, soil quality, environmental microbes) and created two new ones (i.e., toxicology, ultraviolet radiation). For the students to complete the experiments, I shipped low-cost equipment and supplies to them; this shipment included Petri plates and sampling swabs, sterile water, a pH meter and associated calibration powders, a total dissolved solids meter, clay and sand samples, conical tubes, sampling baggies, cyanotype printing paper, and lettuce seeds. I justified this shift toward being primarily laboratory-focused by requiring all the experiments to become inquiry-based, increasing the rigor of the experiments but also keeping the students engaged by allowing them to design their own projects. To keep a sense of community within the class, discussion boards were utilized. To ensure a safe environment at home, each project required preapproval. The discussion below focuses on the details of how the course was modified, how the course was managed, some of the pitfalls I encountered, and how the students exceeded my expectations with the projects they created.

My Friendly Orange Glow

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">I sat down</b> at the computer and thought about what I wanted to do. I could send an instant message. I could participate in a chat room, post in a discussion board, or play an interactive multiuser space game, joining a team consisting of people from all over the country. I could read an online newspaper. I could send messages to my online friends, many of whom I’d never met in person. Whatever I did, I could interact with a flat-panel touch screen display.