Mean Correct Responses Research Articles

Heart Failure Knowledge Assessment and Perceived Patient Satisfaction in Heart Failure Units: A Multicenter Observational Survey.

Self-care and empowerment promotion in patients with heart failure (HF) is essential for improving their prognosis, but there is limited information concerning the patients' depth of knowledge about this pathology as well as patient satisfaction within heart failure units (HFUs). Our objective was to assess both aspects in a cohort of patients regularly followed-up HFUs. A multicenter, observational study was conducted with consecutive patients followed in 14 HFUs between June and November 2023. It was based on a cross-sectional survey comprising 23 questions related to demographics, knowledge/self-care, and the subjective assessment of perceived quality and satisfaction in HFUs. 281 patients were included (36.7% women, 74.7% aged over 65 years). 48% had hospitalizations for HF or sought emergency department services within the preceding year. The mean correct responses related to knowledge were 9.7 ± 2.3 (80.7% of the total), and 53 patients (18.9%) answered all knowledge questions correctly. 211 (79.6%) could identify potential HF decompensation with abrupt weight gain, and 196 (74.2%) recognized at least three additional signs of worsening HF. 266 patients (98.2%) were likely or very likely to recommend HFUs, and 194 (89.8%) positively appreciated the experience at the day hospital. Patients followed up in HFUs showed adequate but improvable knowledge and capacity for self-care, with a high level of satisfaction.

Changes in Knowledge and Management Skills of ANMs To Screen, Manage and Refer Pregnant Women with Five High-Risk Conditions: Results from A Pre-Post-Training and A Six-Month Follow-Up Assessment in Telangana, India

Background: Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) are key providers of maternal, newborn and child health services, and are the first point of contact for high-risk pregnancies (HRPs). In partnership with Government of Telangana, under Integrated HighRisk Pregnancy Tracking and Management (IHRPTM) program, all the ANMs of the state were trained to screen and manage five HRPs: anaemia; gestational diabetes-GD; pregnancy induced hypertension-PIH; ante-partum haemorrhage-APH; and quality-Antenatal care (ANC). Assessed pre- and post-class-room and six months after class-room training capabilities of ANMs. Methods: Immediate-gains through class-room-training and six-months after class-room training knowledge/skills from 7,553 and 529 ANMs respectively, were assessed using a checklist of 15 questions per HRP-condition. Also obtained, qualitative insights about class-room training. Results: Due to class-room training, there was 8-17% improvement in immediate-gain in knowledge/skills to diagnose, manage/ refer women with HRPs. Improvement in mean correct responses (out of 15 questions per-HRP) between pre-and-post-training assessments was maximum for GD: mean 7.6 at pre-training, improved to 10.2 by post-training; APH: 9.7 to 11.7; qualityANC: 10.2 to 11.7; PIH: 9.3 to 10.7; and anaemia:11.0 to 12.3. Gain in knowledge/skills as Cohen’s-d effect-size was large (0.7-0.8) for GD, APH, quality-ANC, PIH, and medium (0.6) for anaemia, as pre-training knowledge/skills was already better for anaemia. Mean gain per HRP was more than three questions in four districts and < 0.5 questions in two districts. Mean gain did not differ much according to age, work experience and training-time. As compared to pre-training level, retention of knowledge/skills, six-to-nine months after class-room training dropped substantially (Cohen’s-d effect-size≤ 0.2) for all HRPs, except for anaemia (d=0.4). Training gave them confidence to stabilize emergency cases at sub-centre level before referring to higher facility! Conclusion: Through IHRPTM’s protocol-based training: screening, management/referral of HRPs by ANMs is feasible. Standardized-training supplemented with handholding leads to provision of obstetric care.

Odor identification and discrimination as markers of early Alzheimer’s disease

AbstractBackgroundReliable markers are essential in order to achieve accurate diagnosis in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Olfactory impairment has been identified as a possible non‐invasive biomarker of AD. Odor identification tasks are most commonly used for measuring olfactory abilities. However, odor identification is associated to verbal abilities and cultural context. The aim of this study was to determine whether odor discrimination could be a valid marker of early AD.Method65 participants were enrolled in the study. 26 patients with mild cognitive impairment due to AD (MCI‐AD), 26 patients with mild dementia due to AD (MD‐AD) and 13 cognitively normal elderly subjects (CN). All participants underwent cognitive examination (MMSE, CDR, ADAS‐Cog 13, fluency tests) and olfactory function assessment (Burghart Sniffin’ Sticks odor identification and odor discrimination tests).ResultMD‐AD and MCI‐AD subjects performed significantly worse than CN subjects in both odor identification (mean correct responses ± SD was 6.77±1.91; 9.08±2.30; 13.31±1.55 respectively; p<0.001) and odor discrimination (mean correct responses ± SD was 6.27±1.66; 8.19±1.65; 12.92±1.71 respectively; p<0.001) tests. MD‐AD subjects performed significantly worse than MCI‐AD subjects in both odor identification (p<0.05) and odor discrimination (p<0.001) tests.Both odor identification and odor discrimination tests had AUC>0.9 on ROC analysis for differentiating MCI‐AD subjects from CN subjects (AUC 0.938 and 0.982) and for differentiating MD‐AD subjects from CN subjects (AUC 0.99 for both). Neither odor identification, nor odor discrimination test reached AUC>0.8 on ROC analysis for differentiating MCI‐AD from MD‐AD subjects (AUC 0.777 and 0.793).Odor identification differentiated MCI‐AD from CN subjects with sensitivity of 69% and specificity of 100% at cut‐off score of ≤10 correct responses. Odor discrimination differentiated MCI‐AD from CN subjects with sensitivity of 77% and specificity of 100% at cut‐off score of ≤9 correct responses.ConclusionThe study confirmed that tests for olfactory dysfunction can reliably differentiate patients with mild cognitive impairment due to AD from cognitively normal subjects. Both odor identification and discrimination are reliable markers for identification of patients with early Alzheimer’s disease.

Flipped pedagogical approach in teaching skeletal muscle physiology for undergraduate medical students

Objectives: Medical teachers need to use different pedagogical approaches to enhance student learning. Students are exposed to the flipped classroom (FC) in addition to the other teaching approaches which may enhance the comprehension, interpretation, and analytic skills of the students. The objective of this study was to compare the test scores obtained after the FC teaching session with the test scores obtained after a traditional classroom teaching session on a topic in skeletal muscle physiology delivered to 1st-year undergraduate medical students. Materials and Methods: Twenty-one 1st-year undergraduate medical students, undergoing a musculoskeletal system module at a private medical college were involved in this study. Students in the flipped pedagogical method were required to read the notes and power-point slides provided in addition to watching the prerecorded lecture videos before class. During the class, there was a topic review session followed by a small case discussion in groups. In the traditional classroom, students were advised to attend the lectures but there were no recorded videos to watch before the session. The effectiveness of the two types of pedagogical approaches was tested through pre-test and post-test using multiple-choice questions. The students’ perception of FC was collected through a semi-structured validated questionnaire. Results: The pre-test mean score was higher for FC (5.48 ± 1.44) when compared to the traditional classroom (3.19 ± 1.4). In our study, the scores from pre-test to post-test in a traditional classroom showed statistically significant improvement (P = 0.0014) but were not statistically significant in the FC. In the flipped pedagogical approach, the difference between mean correct responses for question number 5 (P = 0.031) in pre-test and post-test was statistically significant. There was an improvement in the mean scores in all the eight questions between pre-test and post-tests in the traditional pedagogical method of teaching. About 79.6% of students agreed that they watched all the assigned videos and 78.6% of students completed reading the assigned power-point presentation slides before coming to the FC. About 78.5% agreed to learn more topics in FC format and 78.6% of students agreed that FC was more engaging and interesting in comparison to a traditional class. Conclusion: Our study showed that flipped and traditional pedagogical approaches both enhance student learning.

Knowledge Measure for Ovarian Cancer Research (KnoMOR): Development and psychometric testing results of a patient-centered knowledge measure (029)

<b>Objectives:</b> Knowledge is a prerequisite to informed choice. There are no validated measures of ovarian cancer (OC) to assess patients' knowledge systematically. Through efforts to create shared medical decision tools for OC, we sought to develop and validate an OC knowledge measure with sub-scales focusing on general knowledge and maintenance therapy (MT) to assess patients' understanding of their disease and treatment. <b>Methods:</b> Gaps in OC and MT knowledge were identified from qualitative interviews with patients and non-medical caregivers. Content experts supplemented these gaps with key facts that OC patients should know. Sample questions were drafted, iteratively refined with feedback from content experts, and cognitively tested with nine patients. The knowledge measure (true/false/not sure and multiple choice) was administered to women with OC and then re-administered 30 days later to assess test-retest reliability. "Not sure" answers were coded as incorrect. Reading level was assessed by the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level test. Item difficulty (% of correct responses) and item uncertainty (% of "not sure" responses) were calculated for each question. Internal consistency reliability was assessed using the Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 (KR-20). Test-retest reliability was estimated with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Physicians were recruited from a national convenience sample to test for known-group validity. The percentage of correct responses to the OC and MT scales were compared for physicians and patients with an independent samples t-test. <b>Results:</b> The 31-item (14 OC general knowledge, 17 MT knowledge) measure was completed by 146 OC patients, 65 newly diagnosed and 81 with recurrent disease recruited between October 2020 and June 2021. A total of 27 physicians participated. Two items were dropped due to ceiling effects or overlapping constructs, resulting in a 29-item knowledge measure (12-item general OC knowledge; 17-item MT knowledge scales) with a reading level of grade 11.3. Additional items with high item uncertainty were retained due to their importance in informed decision-making and potential to be impacted by decision support interventions. Internal consistency reliability of the final scale was acceptable (OC scale, KR-20: 0.80, MT scale, KR-20: 0.76). Test-retest reliability was good (OC scale, ICC: 0.70, MT scale, ICC: 0.79). There were significant differences in knowledge between patients and physicians on the OC scale (patients' mean correct responses, 58.7%; physicians' mean correct responses, 88.1%; p<0.001). Similarly, patients answered 43.9% of MT questions correctly compared to 84% of physicians (p<.001). <b>Conclusions:</b> We developed a brief, valid, and reliable indicator of ovarian cancer patients' knowledge of key concepts central to making an informed decision about MT. The patient-centered measure is a simple and convenient tool that can be incorporated into a broader assessment of the quality of patients' decision-making about ovarian cancer.

Clinical Pharmacists' Knowledge of and Attitudes toward Older Adults.

Background: Although pharmacy literature suggests that pharmacists have a positive attitude towards older adults, there is a paucity of studies that have measured pharmacists’ knowledge or attitudes towards older people. The purpose of our study was to assess the knowledge and attitudes of hospital pharmacists toward older adults. Methods: An electronic survey was distributed over two months to clinical hospital pharmacists across the province of Alberta, Canada. The survey was composed of two validated tools, the Palmore Facts of Aging Quiz (PFAQ) and Kogan’s Attitude toward Old People Scale (KOPS). PFAQ is scored from 0 (poor knowledge) to 25 (high knowledge) and KOPS from 34 to 204, with higher than 119 indicating a positive attitude. Results: A total of 153 pharmacists completed the survey (response rate of 24%). The mean age was 39 (SD 10.8) years; the average years practiced was 15 (SD 11), and the majority of respondents (n = 65) reported that >50% of patients in their practice were geriatrics. The mean correct responses on the PFAQ were 18.8 (SD 2.6). KOPS had a mean score of 156.8 (SD 14), with only one pharmacist score falling below 119, indicating a negative attitude. There was a statistically significant, positive correlation between attitudes and knowledge (r = 0.38, p < 0.05), as well as the increasing age of the respondents (r = 0.18, p = 0.03). The remaining measured categories (i.e., gender, years of pharmacy practice) had no significant effect. Conclusion: Clinical hospital pharmacists in Alberta have a positive attitude toward geriatric patients, as well as a satisfactory knowledge of older adults.

Tracking Changes of Hidden Food: Spatial Pattern Learning in Two Macaw Species

Food availability may vary spatially and temporally within an environment. Efficiency in locating alternative food sources using spatial information (e.g., distribution patterns) may vary according to a species’ diet and habitat specialisation. Hypothetically, more generalist species would learn faster than more specialist species due to being more explorative when changes occur. We tested this hypothesis in two closely related macaw species, differing in their degree of diet and habitat specialisation; the more generalist Great Green Macaw and the more specialist Blue-throated Macaw. We examined their spatial pattern learning performance under predictable temporal and spatial change, using a ‘poke box’ that contained hidden food placed within wells. Each week, the rewarded wells formed two patterns (A and B), which were changed on a mid-week schedule. We found that the two patterns varied in their difficulty. We also found that the more generalist Great Green Macaws took fewer trials to learn the easier pattern and made more mean correct responses in the difficult pattern than the more specialist Blue-throated Macaws, thus supporting our hypothesis. The better learning performance of the Great Green Macaws may be explained by more exploration and trading-off accuracy for speed. These results suggest how variation in diet and habitat specialisation may relate to a species’ ability to adapt to spatial variation in food availability.

Myths and misperceptions in pacemaker patients: a quasi experimental study to assess effect of an educational intervention

BackgroundMisconceptions regarding activities after pacemaker implantation can result in restrictions in daily life. This study aims at measuring the correction of misconceptions following an educational intervention utilizing a picture based brochure and personal counseling.MethodsOne hundred and twenty-eight patients were enrolled in a quasi experimental study on the day after pacemaker implantation. Patients’ perceptions about safety of various daily activities, medical procedures, and usage of appliances, in the presence of pacemaker was assessed using a questionnaire before and ten days after an educational intervention using a pictorial brochure. The number of correct responses before and after the intervention was compared to assess the change in patients’ perception.ResultsA total of 128 patients were interviewed at baseline, of which 115 followed-up at 10 days. Mean age of patients was 60.31 ± 12.81 years. In total, 76 (59.4%) were male and 61(47.7%) were illiterate. Mean correct responses increased from 64.47 ± 29.48% to 92.29 ± 14.42% (p < 0.001). Percent of questions answered correctly improved in all three categories after the intervention. Correct answers increased from 74.57 ± 24.94% to 95.65 ± 11.48% (p < 0.001) for routine daily activities, 51.09 ± 33.9% to 84.78 ± 20.86% (p < 0.001) for medical procedures and 64.03 ± 37.36% to 92.57 ± 18.79% (p < 0.001) for domestic appliance usage.ConclusionMisconception that can adversely affect pacemaker patient’s quality of life can be corrected by counseling with pictorial based brochures regardless of the patient’s baseline knowledge or education.

A Comparison of Sexual Reproductive Health Knowledge Between Transgender Men and Cisgender Women [04B

INTRODUCTION: Gynecologic care for transgender (trans) men can be emotionally challenging due to the nature of the examinations. However, it remains important and recommended, especially in individuals who have not undergone gender-affirming surgery. There are currently no published studies assessing trans men's knowledge of sexual reproductive health (SRH) and gynecologic care. This study aimed to compare SRH knowledge and gynecologic care practices of trans men and cisgender women. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey composed of 41-questions that addressed demographics, SRH knowledge, and gynecologic care practices was administered online using Amazon Mechanical Turk. Inclusion criteria included female assigned at birth, 18 years or older and residing in the US. Data were analyzed descriptively using SPSS. RESULTS: To date, 520 participants (n=167 trans men, n=353 cisgender women) have completed the survey. Preliminary analyses revealed that trans men answered less than 50% of the twenty knowledge questions correctly (mean correct responses: 48.1% vs 62.9% for cisgender women), demonstrating significantly lower baseline SRH knowledge than cisgender women [95% CI 11.35–18.43, P&lt;.001]. More trans men expressed interest in learning about the female reproductive system than cisgender women (68.9% vs 54.4%). Additionally, trans men reported more medical visits for SRH issues than cisgender women in the last 12 months (mean visits: 4.27 vs 3.03) and were more likely to discuss SRH concerns with providers other than gynecologists. CONCLUSION: Trans men seem to have limited SRH knowledge but are interested in learning more about their natal reproductive organs. Providers including gynecologist should assess for knowledge gaps and engage in appropriate counseling.

COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT IN A SAMPLE OF EGYPTIAN PATIENTS WITH GENERALIZED ONSET EPILEPSY

Background: Cognitive brain functions constitute the ability to work with information in a meaningful way, apply gained information, perform preferential changes, and someone ability to change opinions about that information. Individuals with epilepsy have a higher prevalence of impaired cognitive performance compared to healthy individuals who are matched for age and education. Numerous factors can have a deleterious impact on cognition in patients, including age at onset of epilepsy, seizure frequency, duration of seizures, structural cerebral damage as a consequence of repetitive or prolonged seizures and medications used for treating seizures. Objective: Assessing the cognitive functions in patients with generalized onset epilepsy. Patients and Methods: Our study was conducted, in the neurology department of Sohag general hospital upon 75 individuals divided into 3 equal groups presented with epilepsy selected from the inpatient and outpatient clinics. Patients were divided into three groups: I. Group A: patients diagnosed with generalized onset epilepsy with medication (anti-epileptic drugs). II. Group B: patients diagnosed with generalized onset epilepsy without medication (anti-epileptic drugs). III. Group C: healthy subjects will be included in the study as the control group. All of the participants were be subjected to the following: *Full history (demographic data and personal history, detailed history of general health condition and chronic or current diseases) and general and neurological examination *Special tests including: PEBL Wisconsin (Berg) Card Sort test, PEBL The Conners’ continuous performance test, Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCa) *Brain imaging: MRI brain (to exclude organic cause). *EEG. Results: The mean Correct Responses Wisconison card sorting test of study groups was around 76.7±5.65 in group 1, around 78±2.88 in group 2 and 81.8±2.38 in group 3; with significant difference between group 1 and group 3 and significant difference between group 2 and group 3. The mean Target Acc Rate continuous performance test was around 0.956±0.03 in group 1, around 0.970±0.015 in group 2 and 0.974±0.015 in group 3; with significant difference between group 1 and group 2 and significant difference between group 1 and group 3. The mean MoCa of study groups was around 24.1 in epileptic with medication group, 23.96 in epileptic without medication group and 25 in control group with no significant difference between all groups. With high significant difference between Group 1 versus Group 3, and Group 2 versus Group 3. The normal MoCa was around 3 in epileptic with medication group, 2 in epileptic without medication group and 22 in control group with high significant difference between all groups. Conclusion: All patients with epilepsy reported significant impairment in all cognitive measures such as working memory, inhibitory control, goal maintenance, and mental flexibility. We observed attentional deficits in processes such as alertness and attention span and those requiring sustained and divided attention compared with controls. Attentional and executive impairment was correlated with higher frequency of seizures.

Toward Understanding the Lexical-Morphological Networks of Children With Specific Language Impairment: Analysis of Responses on a Morphological Production Task.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to characterize the lexical-morphological networks of children with specific language impairment (SLI) compared to children with typical language by analyzing responses on a morphological derived form production task. Method School-age children with SLI (n = 32) and peers with typical language (n = 40) completed an oral cloze derived form production task (Carlisle, 2000). On this task, children were expected to complete verbally presented sentences with a derived form of a provided morphological stem. Responses were coded as correct or incorrect following Carlisle's (2000) stated correct responses. Incorrect responses were coded as scorable or unscorable, and then scorable responses were coded as pseudowords or real words. Real words were further coded according to whether they were repetitions of the given stem. Results There was a statistically significant between-group difference for mean correct responses (d = 1.43). The scorable incorrect responses of children with SLI included a lower mean proportion of pseudowords than did the incorrect responses of children with typical language (d = 0.76). Conclusion Because children with SLI produced a lower proportion of pseudowords as scorable incorrect responses than peers with typical language, we conclude that they have less developed lexical-morphological networks and, thus, less derivational morphology knowledge than peers with typical language.

Numeracy and Understanding of Quantitative Aspects of Predictive Models: A Pilot Study.

The assessment of user preferences for performance characteristics of patient-oriented clinical prediction models is lacking. It is unknown if complex statistical aspects of prediction models are readily understandable by a general audience. A pilot study was conducted among nonclinical audiences to determine the feasibility of interpreting statistical concepts that describe the performance of prediction models. We conducted a cross-sectional electronic survey using the Amazon Mechanical Turk platform. The survey instrument included educational modules about predictive models, sensitivity, specificity, and confidence intervals (CIs). Follow-up questions tested participants' abilities to interpret these characteristics with both verbatim and gist knowledge. Objective and subjective numeracy were assessed using previously validated instruments. We also tested understanding of these concepts when embedded in a sample discrete choice experiment task to establish feasibility for future elicitation of preferences using a discrete choice experiment design. Multivariable linear regression was used to identify factors associated with correct interpretation of statistical concepts. Among 534 respondents who answered all nine questions, the mean correct responses was 95.9% (95% CI, 93.8-97.4) for sensitivity, 93.1% (95% CI, 90.5-95.0) for specificity, and 86.6% (95% CI, 83.3-89.3) for CIs. Verbatim interpretation was high for all concepts, but significantly higher than gist only for CIs (p < 0.001). Scores on each discrete choice experiment tasks were slightly lower in each category. Both objective and subjective numeracy were positively associated with an increased proportion of correct responses (p < 0.001). These results suggest that a nonclinical audience can interpret quantitative performance measures of predictive models with very high accuracy. Future development of patient-facing clinical prediction models can feasibly incorporate patient preferences for model features into their development.

Examination of TIMSS Mathematics Data with Multilevel Measurement Models in Respect to Content, Cognitive and Topic Areas

This research study aims to identify TIMMS 8th grade mathematics item groups and the specification of items in which Turkish 8th grade students have signıfıcantly lower level of correct responses compared to all other 8th grade participants. For this purpose, total 260 (82 from 1999, 88 from 2007, and 90 from 2011) items released by International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) were grouped according to cognitive, content and sub-content domains. Then, mean correct responses of released items for each participant country were obtained from IEA’s yearly almanac. Finally, data were analyzed by using Multilevel Measurement Models and differences in achievement levels between Turkish 8th graders and their peers from other participating countries were predicted and tested in the context of item groups. Analysis of data showed that performance of Turkish students statistically significantly lower than performance of students from rest of the other participant countries in Number (Content Domain)-Fractions and Decimals (Topic Area)-Knowing (Cognitive Domain) item group. Detailed investigation revealed that students generally fail in procedures in fractions and conversions among fraction, decimal, and percent.

Randomized controlled trial of a computerized opioid overdose education intervention

BackgroundOpioid overdose (OD) has become a significant public health problem in need of effective interventions. The majority of existing educational interventions target provision of naloxone and are conducted in-person; these elements present logistical barriers that may limit wide-spread implementation. This study developed and evaluated an easily disseminated opioid OD educational intervention and compared computerized versus pamphlet delivery MethodsParticipants (N=76) undergoing opioid detoxification were randomly assigned to receive OD education via a Pamphlet (N=25), Computer (N=24), or Computer+Mastery (N=27) with identical content for all delivery modalities. Primary outcomes were changes from pre- to post-intervention in knowledge of opioid effects, opioid OD symptoms, and recommended opioid OD responses, as well as intervention acceptability. Also assessed at 1 and 3-month follow-ups were retention of knowledge and change in reported OD risk behaviors. ResultsKnowledge increased following all three intervention-delivery modalities with few between-group differences observed in knowledge gain or acceptability ratings. Largest gains were in the domain of opioid OD response (from 41.8% to 73.8% mean correct responses; p<0.001). Knowledge was well sustained at the 1 and 3-month follow-ups among completers, where a significant reduction was seen in the critical behavioral risk factor of using opioids while alone. ConclusionOpioid overdose education delivered by computer or written pamphlet produced sustained increases in knowledge and reduction in a key behavioral risk factor. ResultsResults support further evaluation of this educational intervention that can be used alone or to complement naloxone-training programs.

Knowledge of Prostate Cancer and Screening Among Young Multiethnic Black Men.

The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge of prostate cancer and screening and its associated factors in young Black men aged 18 to 40 years. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in a convenience sample of 267 young Black men in Austin, Texas. Knowledge about prostate cancer and screening was operationalized through 14 items, including 12 items from the Knowledge about Prostate Cancer Screening Questionnaire (PC knowledge), and two items assessing dietary knowledge and prostate cancer screening controversy. PC knowledge scores were regressed on age, cues to action, health screening experience, and demographic/personal factors. Most participants were African American men of American origin (65.3%) and were college freshmen (18.9%). PC knowledge scores were low, with mean correct responses of 28.5%, mean knowledge score of 5.25 ± 3.81 (possible score range of 0 to 14, with higher scores indicating higher PC knowledge) and a median score of 5.00. On average, 47% of the respondents replied “Don’t Know” to the questions. Overall, PC knowledge scores were low among these young Black men, especially in domains related to risk factors, screening age guidelines, limitations, and diet. It is thus important that these men be educated more on these important domains of prostate cancer and screening so that the decision to screen or not will be an informed one. Health screening experience, residence area, major field of study, and academic classification were significant predictors of knowledge.

A pilot workshop to help refugees navigate the U.S. pharmacy system

ObjectivesTo assess refugees’ understanding of the U.S. pharmacy system; to determine whether an educational workshop improved understanding. SettingU.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants–affiliated institute, Manchester, NH. Practice innovationStudent pharmacist–led workshops for refugees, including slide presentation, interactive activities, and demonstration. Main outcome measuresComparison of pre- and post-workshop responses to knowledge-based questions about the U.S. pharmacy system; ability to interpret a medication label pictogram; comfort level and willingness to speak to a pharmacist. ResultsSignificant post-workshop increases were seen in awareness that identification is needed when filling a prescription, that prescription medication labels have refill information, and that a translator can be requested in U.S. pharmacies. Participants who had not used a U.S. pharmacy before the workshop showed significant improvement after the workshop in mean percentage of correct responses to knowledge-based questions; those who had previously used a U.S. pharmacy did not. Participants who were in the U.S. for less than 3 months showed significant improvement in mean correct responses to knowledge-based questions after the workshop; those who were in the U.S. for 3 months or more did not. Participants’ comfort level and willingness to speak to a pharmacist were not significantly increased after the workshop. ConclusionParticipants who were in the U.S. for the least time and those who had never used a U.S. pharmacy showed significant increases in understanding specific aspects of the U.S. pharmacy system after an educational workshop. Participants’ comfort level and willingness to speak with a pharmacist did not change post-workshop.

Association of Fellowship Training With Otolaryngology Training Examination Scores

No prior studies have evaluated whether residents who pursue fellowship training achieve higher performance on the Otolaryngology Training Examination (OTE) and whether a specific fellowship will demonstrate a correlation with the corresponding specialty-specific OTE score. To determine whether residents pursuing fellowship training achieve higher performance on the OTE and whether fellowship choice is correlated with higher scores on the related subspecialty section of the OTE. This retrospective analysis included 35 residents training in an academic otolaryngology residency program from July 1, 2003, to June 30, 2014. The OTE scores for postgraduate years 2 through 5 and the type of fellowship were collected for all residents meeting inclusion criteria. Data were collected from September 1 to October 15, 2014, and analyzed from October 16 to December 1, 2014. Residents were divided by whether they pursued fellowship training and by the type of fellowship chosen. Outcome measures included comparison of scores between residents who pursued vs those who did not pursue fellowship training and comparison of subspecialty OTE scores between residents who pursued the corresponding fellowship and those who did not. Of the 35 residents who met the inclusion criteria (24 men and 11 women), 17 (49%) pursued fellowship training. The 3 most common fellowship choices were facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, pediatric otolaryngology, and rhinology (4 residents each [24%]). For all residents, mean scores on the OTE improved each subsequent training year, but this difference was only significant between postgraduate years 2 and 3 (from 60.9% to 68.6% correct; P < .001). Residents who pursued fellowship training did not perform better than those who did not (mean correct responses in postgraduate years 2-5, respectively, 59.6% vs 62.6% [P = .40]; 67.6% vs 71.2% [P = .33]; 71.2% vs 72.0% [P = .71]; and 71.4% vs 73.7% [P = .20]). Among residents who pursued the most common fellowships, no correlation was found between postgraduate year 5 scores on the related subspecialty section compared with the rest of the study group (mean correct responses for facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, 72.5% vs 74.7% [P = .67]; for pediatric otolaryngology, 72.9% vs 71.3% [P = .79]; and for rhinology, 72.2% vs 71.2% [P = .91]). Residents who pursued fellowship training did not achieve higher scores on the OTE in any examination year compared with residents who did not pursue fellowship training and did not achieve higher scores within the OTE section that matched their chosen subspecialty in their last year of training. Fellowship choice does not appear to influence OTE scores among residents.

Knowledge, attitude and practices of antibiotic usage and resistance among the second year MBBS Students

Background: Social aspect of antibiotic management forms a significant way to overcome the rapidly intensifying problem of antibiotic resistance. Knowledge helps in spreading awareness and understanding while attitude and practices influences health related behaviour. Medical students should not only be made aware of the current emerging health issues but also be directed towards rational antibiotics prescribing behaviour as future medical practitioners. Therefore, present study was undertaken to assess the existing knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) related to antibiotic usage and resistance among second year (fourth semester) MBBS students. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, questionnaire based study conducted in department of pharmacology of a government medical college in Kerala, India. Questionnaire was distributed among a batch of 120 second year MBBS students after one of the pharmacology lecture session. Attitude and Practices related questions were assessed using Likert scale. Data was entered in excel and analysed using descriptive statistics of SPSS to generate frequency and percentage. Results: 91.6% (110) were considered valid for analysis. Mean age was 21±1 years. Students had fair knowledge regarding antibiotics usage and resistance with mean correct response 79.72±25.37%. Mean correct responses of attitude and practices related questions were found to be 55.95±25.63% and 64±13.79% respectively. Conclusions: Most of the students were aware of the antibiotic resistance and its consequences. However, their attitude and practices were found to be a matter of great concern. An educational intervention can be introduced to bring about behaviour changes regarding rational antibiotics prescribing among them.

Piloting of an oral health education programme and knowledge test for midwives

Research shows limited emphasis being placed on oral health by midwives in Australia and the need for further education in this area. The study aim was to pilot a midwifery oral health education programme and knowledge test and identify any flaws in its content and design. Twenty-two midwives from an antenatal ward in South-Western Sydney completed the programme and 12 feedback forms/knowledge tests were returned. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. Feedback data showed all midwives appreciated that the programme was available online and self-paced. Most found the programme extremely informative and following completion were more confident in promoting maternal oral health. The mean correct responses in the knowledge test was 79% (SD = 12.3) which suggests most items were suitable for assessing knowledge improvement. However, in three items midwives had low correct responses. Various aspects that could be improved or clarified were identified and suggestions discussed.

Eye movements during processing of text requiring bridging inferences in adolescents with higher functioning autism spectrum disorders: A preliminary investigation

In this study, 18 children with higher functioning autism (HFASD) and 16 controls read short, two-sentence passages that necessitated a bridging inference for comprehension and responded to a general knowledge question that was either primed or unprimed by the inference. We measured mean reading times and correct responses to knowledge questions, as well as recorded the eye-movements of the participants while reading. Analysis of reaction times to general knowledge questions were faster for questions in relevant context as compared to those in irrelevant contexts, suggesting that children with HFASD were able to build the bridging inferences necessary for comprehension. Eye-movement data revealed that children with HFASD spent more time fixating on text, made more fixations overall, and made more regressions (i.e., moving backward within the text) while reading than did controls. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are offered.