Video Link Research Articles

PENNSYLVANIA’S ABANDONED MINE LAND (AML) EMERGENCY PROGRAM

Abstract. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation (BAMR) implements an Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Emergency Program to address high-priority, abandoned mine land (AML) problems that suddenly occur throughout Pennsylvania’s coal fields. BAMR maintains two field offices: one in eastern Pennsylvania (Anthracite Region) in Wilkes-Barre and one in western Pennsylvania (Bituminous Region) in Ebensburg. Both field offices maintain in-house construction crews with significant equipment available to respond to and address many small AML Emergencies (hazards) such as pothole (or cavehole), subsidences, and mine drainage breakouts. For larger AML Emergencies such as subsidence events causing structural damage to homes, businesses, and roads; mine fires; coal refuse fires; landslides; or other large-scale or complex AML problems, projects are completed by outside contractors. Project designs are completed by BAMR engineering staff. The contractors are then hired through solicitation of bids or proposals with very short timeframes between bid issue and bid opening. Since October of 2010, BAMR has addressed nearly 800 AML Emergencies which equates to approximately 80 AML Emergency projects each calendar year. The average construction cost to address those emergencies was just over $3.25 million per year. Due to the increased precipitation over the Commonwealth the last several years, that number has increased to an average of 86 AML Emergency projects over the last five (5) years (2015–2019) with a record number of 127 addressed in calendar year 2018. The average cost to address those AML Emergency projects over that five-year period was $4.66 million per year. This paper will provide some background on Pennsylvania’s AML Emergency Program, some summary statistics including the annual number and types of projects completed including costs, and also highlight through both photos and video links some typical projects recently completed by the program.

Trance-it to the Future

Trance-it to the Future

A Dynamically Feasible Fast Replanning Strategy with Deep Reinforcement Learning

In this work, we aim to develop a fast trajectory replanning methodology enabling highly agile aerial vehicles to navigate in cluttered environments. By focusing on reducing complexity and accelerating the replanning problem under strict dynamical constraints, we employ the b-spline theory with local support property for defining the high dimensional agile flight trajectories. We utilize the differential flatness model of an aerial vehicle, allowing us to directly map the desired output trajectory into input states to track a high dimensional trajectory. Dynamically feasible replanning problem is addressed through regenerating the local b-splines with control point reallocation. As the geometric form of the trajectory based on the location of the control points and the knot intervals, the control point reallocation for fast replanning with dynamical constraints is turned into a constrained optimization problem and solved through deep reinforcement learning. The proposed methodology enables generating dynamically feasible local trajectory segments, which are continuous to the existing, hence provides fast local replanning for collision avoidance. The DRL agent is trained with different environmental complexities, and through the batch simulations, it is shown that the proposed methodology allows to solve fast trajectory replanning problem under given or hard dynamical constraints and provide real-time applicability for such collision avoidance applications in agile unmanned aerial vehicles. Hardware implementation tests of the algorithm with the agile trajectory tracker to a small UAV can bee seen in the following video link: https://youtu.be/8IiLQFQ3V0E .

Comparing Performance Across In-person and Videoconference-Based Administrations of Common Neuropsychological Measures in Community-Based Survivors of Stroke.

Neuropsychological assessment via videoconference could assist in bridging service access gaps due to geographical, mobility, or infection control barriers. We aimed to compare performances on neuropsychological measures across in-person and videoconference-based administrations in community-based survivors of stroke. Participants were recruited through a stroke-specific database and community advertising. Stroke survivors were eligible if they had no upcoming neuropsychological assessment, concurrent neurological and/or major psychiatric diagnoses, and/or sensory, motor, or language impairment that would preclude standardised assessment. Thirteen neuropsychological measures were administered in-person and via videoconference in a randomised crossover design (2-week interval). Videoconference calls were established between two laptop computers, facilitated by Zoom. Repeated-measures t tests, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), and Bland-Altman plots were used to compare performance across conditions. Forty-eight participants (26 men; Mage = 64.6, SD = 10.1; Mtime since stroke = 5.2 years, SD = 4.0) completed both sessions on average 15.8 (SD = 9.7) days apart. For most measures, the participants did not perform systematically better in a particular condition, indicating agreement between administration methods. However, on the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test - Revised, participants performed poorer in the videoconference condition (Total Recall Mdifference = -2.11). ICC estimates ranged from .40 to .96 across measures. This study provides preliminary evidence that in-person and videoconference assessment result in comparable scores for most neuropsychological tests evaluated in mildly impaired community-based survivors of stroke. This preliminary evidence supports teleneuropsychological assessment to address service gaps in stroke rehabilitation; however, further research is needed in more diverse stroke samples.

Feasibility and reliability of screening on mild to borderline intellectual disabilities using SCIL through video-administration

Purpose In the Netherlands, the Screener for Intelligence and Learning Disabilities (SCIL) was developed to aid recognition of mild to borderline intellectual disability (MBID) early in the criminal justice system or health-care trajectory. In situations where physically meeting the suspect or client is not feasible, administration of the SCIL using a video-link might be a solution. This paper aims to examine whether the SCIL is still reliable when administered remotely instead of face-to-face. Design/methodology/approach The SCIL was administered twice to a total of 89 respondents: once face-to-face, once using a video link, in varying order and with an interval of at least six weeks. A laptop with a Skype connection was used for the remote administration, while an assistant was present to make sure the respondents did not have to perform technical actions. After the second SCIL administration, respondents were asked to answer a series of evaluation questions. Findings Respondents were generally satisfied with both methods of administration of the SCIL. However, they were in general more positive about face-to-face administration. Nevertheless, most respondents would be willing to undergo administration through video-link in future. On average, respondents scored slightly lower on the SCIL when administered remotely (µ = 16.31, SE = 0 0.77) than with face-to-face administration (µ = 16.94, SE = 0.78), t(88) = 2.47, p = 0 0.015. Calculation of the reliability of the assessment “suspected MBID” showed a (linear weighted) Kappa of 0.77, p = 0.000, 95% RI: 0.64-0.90. Originality/value The results of this study show that with some caution, the SCIL can be administered remotely. When doing this, the SCIL will only lead to a small number of respondents being wrongly labelled as “suspected MBID”.

Speciation Dance

tba Submission 
 
 Video Link
 
 https://vimeo.com/188828000
 
 Artist Statement
 
 As an artist I approach my practice as a conduit for imagining alternate political and personal realities in which the non-human animals are afforded relational and differentiated rights of membership in a multispecies community. The intention of such work is to stir the moral imagination of my viewer. By not simply raising indignation at abuse and neglect, not presenting (yet again) an image of the animal other as a passive victim, my purpose is to envision the animals we are entangled with as neighbours, friends and members of disparate communities.
 
 Speciation Dance is a new media installation work that challenges established relationships between human and nonhuman animals. It represents a progression in my attempts to abandon the presumptive act of speaking for the animal other. Rather, this work joins animal and human voices in hopes of decentering the anthropocentrism inherent in art making.
 
 Project Description:
 Speciation Dance
 
 A small but strategic desire exists within humanity to preserve certain charismatic animal species from extinction; this has led to a dance both epic and intimate, which paradoxically attempts to maintain natural wildness by crafting an elaborate system of interspecies dependency. This contradiction is most visible in the conservation of whooping cranes. This species has come to emblemize the extreme commitment humans have made to the management of creatures we ourselves have driven to near nonexistence. In the performative video work, Speciation Dance, I focus on slippages in identity for both human-surrogate-mates and animals in captive breeding programs. In these relationships scientists and conservation workers don cobbled together costumes and assume monastic vows of silence to prevent their charges from becoming too accustomed to humans. But perhaps more importantly, these orniphiles (bird lovers) encourage the crane to imprint upon their bird persona.
 
 When a creature imprints upon an individual outside of their species it disrupts speciation, the inbred impulse to be attracted only to one's own kind. Imprinting on a human distorts animal identity; seeing itself as human an animal will have no desire to copulate with its own species. As the performers in Speciation Dance transform into bird/people we hear ornithologist George Archibald describing his cross-species relationship with a crane named Tex. George and Tex’s story inspired this piece, and George’s narrative, assembled from found audio recordings, gives humor and context to the work. In this 6-minute two-channel video work, I am documenting two professional dancers from the Nova Dance Collective as they flirt with becoming-animal. Stepping into the role of a liminal being, neither human nor bird, they perform as humans-come-whooping cranes. Dipping, leaping, strutting and extending prosthetic heads to the sky, they attempt to relate to each other through the embodied language of both species. Trying to court and arouse one another, the performers convey the beautiful absurdity of such a futile act.

There is nothing you can think that is not the moon

Our proposed project is a curated digital catalogue of objects which we have collected for over 20 years. Including over 400 different objects, each has been carefully photographed on all of its sides. These recorded surfaces are reconfigured digitally as if the object has been flayed and flattened, enabling the object to be printed two dimensionally. Once printed and cut out, the surfaces can be folded to create a three dimensional, realistic facsimile of the original. While the mimic lacks the actual history of the original, the duplicated aging and wear patterns persuade the viewer otherwise. Can these imposters truly conjure up the ghosts associated with the original? Is the copied souvenir capable of fulfilling the role of a real souvenir? Objects that were collected on trips, childhood favorites, marked our teenage years, or were given to us by our now-deceased grandparents, appear to provide us with a connection to our past. However, in reality they are as material bound as their paper twins.
 
 We have shown the entire collection of printed duplicates as an ephemeral installation in the form of a life-sized thrift store. Printed on translucent acetate, the objects now transformed into lanterns and were given away during a community light festival event. Dispersing the collection in this way is a play on gift giving, allowing the piece to diffuse and the objects to begin new histories.
 [See video link for installation: https://vimeo.com/341254142]
 We want to continue this idea of dispersal by posting a collection of the objects to be available for online printing, for anyone to produce themselves. Depending on space available, this collection could be a handful of curated images, or a more extensive selection. Each object would be accompanied by a small text outlining where and when the original objects was found. We have selected a few of these as examples of what the project would look like; these are on the following pages (at a lower resolution than what is possible).

The depreciation of haitian creole and haitian code switching

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of Haitian code-switching, as a diglossic country, and Haitian Creole depreciation. as the native language of Haiti. The history of the Haitian Creole language developed by enslaved west African, in the plantation of the Island during the slave rebellion for the revolution, after several attempts conspiring for their freedom. After the disembarkation of the French Colony, in the Island where they settled from 1659 until 1804, French has become the language of dominance. It was the language of the masters´ plantations. These two languages have remained the official languages of Haiti, where Haitian people Code-switch when using either French or Haitian Creole. However, Creole has become the language of depreciation, or using another term for it, a marginalized language. In this study a qualitative and descriptive analysis have been carried out, through social media,such as: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and You-Tube, which were used to collect data on Haitian code-switching, by means of the observation of one of the Haitian Ex-presidents, Mr. Joseph Michel Martelly, who is also a famous singer. Some video links will be provided to observe the president Michel Martelly´s code-switching, in different situations, such as: the debate with his opponent Mme Mirlande Hyppolite Manigat, in 2011, before he won the election; interviews with national and international journalists about political and artistic movement; and his performance on stage as a singer.

Everyone needs to breathe

This article is written with an eye towards the future and a foot in the past. It is partly autobiographical, and in each of four parts offers reflective somatic practices. The author is sheltering at home, so her thoughts centre on the meaning of home, family and pets. At the same time, she articulates somatic skills to cultivate embodied presence, insightful verbal interactions and healing touch. Her writing invites readers into somatic movement explorations and somatic communication practices through poetry. Life and death, love and war, ground her article. The section on Simbi involves global shadow work through butoh and the healing essence of water. Golden shadows appear as elemental and ecosomatic in Morphic Curiosity, a butoh invitation to site-specific dance. Video links and photographs further embody the work. The final section, Dance back the world, presents somatic witnessing as an extraordinary process of intimate notice and care. Becoming friends with the whole world is an exhortation of Mahatma Gandhi, and the life work of this author. Her article was written before the brutal murder of George Floyd and the international protests that began in America as cries for social and racial justice. Now we have a new imperative for Gandhi’s call, because everyone has a right to breathe.

Doing remote systemic psychotherapy during a pandemic

This paper describes some findings from a rapid quality improvement project exploring clinician views about the delivery of remote systemic psychotherapy since the Covid-19 induced UK lockdown. Remote systemic psychotherapy is a practice response based on the need to remain physically distant from people and involves "meeting" via video link rather than in person. Written responses were gathered from early-adopter clinicians in one UK NHS trust, reflecting on their experiences of convening remote systemic psychotherapy sessions during March and April 2020. Overall, findings suggest that that remote systemic psychotherapy has been acceptable, effective and indeed welcomed by clinicians, within the pandemic context. Using a diffractive thematic analysis, four themes were constructed from clinician responses: practical and boundary issues need careful attention; the conversational flow of remote systemic psychotherapy sessions is different to that during in-person sessions; it is necessary to do things differently with words and bodies; the practice of creating meaningful dialogical communication when separated by screens is hard. Tentative practice recommendations are provided.

Applying systems thinking and human-centered design to development of intervention implementation strategies: An example from adolescent health research.

Introducing innovative health interventions into clinic settings requires a comprehensive and creative approach to multiple implementation challenges. To optimize implementation of a sexual and reproductive health intervention for young women with depression, we applied systems thinking and human-centered design thinking methods to develop tools and strategies to address issues influencing intervention implementation in diverse clinics. We recruited staff from three clinics that provide sexual and reproductive health and behavioral health care to young women. Across five sessions (four video conference calls, one in-person workshop), we used systems mapping to identify key stakeholders and their relationships, processes, and challenges to care; formed clinic staff-investigator design teams; brainstormed about challenges that would influence intervention implementation and considered potential solutions; prioritized implementation challenges; and designed prototypes of solutions. Participants responded positively to the systems thinking perspective and collaborative design thinking process. Findings included generalizable considerations about solving implementation challenges for clinic-based interventions, such as forming a team of champions representing the diverse disciplines involved in and impacted by intervention implementation, and creating multiple tools and strategies for implementation that can be tailored to a given clinic’s culture.Significance for public healthImplementing innovative health interventions in clinic systems requires consideration of multiple human, environmental, and process factors. To develop implementation tools and strategies for a sexual and reproductive health intervention for young women with depression, we applied systems thinking to consider clinic system elements and their connections, and human-centered design to tackle challenges with intervention implementation by centering on the clinic staff who would be experiencing these challenges. Using this approach, the investigators and clinic staff efficiently and effectively identified implementation challenges in diverse clinic settings and designed tools and strategies to overcome these challenges. This form of investigator-clinic staff collaboration, attention to system factors, and focus on creative solutions can inform research and care around implementing novel interventions in established clinical systems.

Self-reduction techniques taught via smartphone are effective for anterior shoulder dislocation: prospective randomized study.

To prospectively compare the effectiveness of three methods for self-assisted shoulder reduction demonstrated using a smartphone video link. Anterior shoulder dislocation is very common among young adults. Patients often seek medical assistance in the emergency department to reduce their shoulder. Many techniques for shoulder reduction had been described, some of which do not require professional assistance and can be performed by patients themselves. Patients admitted with anterior shoulder dislocation were randomized to either the Stimson, Milch or the Boss-Holtzach-Matter technique. Each patient was given a link to watch a short instructional video on his smartphone and instructed to attempt self-reduction. Success of the reduction, pain level, patient satisfaction and complications were recorded. Thestudy cohortconsisted of 58 patients (mean age was 31.6 (18-66, median = 27), 82% males, 88% right hand dominant). Success rate using Boss-Holtzach-Matter (10 of 19, 53%) and self-assisted Milch (11 of 20, 55%) were significantly higher than with the self-assisted Stimson method (3 of 19, 16%), p < 0.05. Pain levels improved from 8.4 (2-10) to 3.1 (0-10) following the reduction. Patient subjective satisfaction from the reduction attempt was 6.7 (0-10). No complications were observed. Both the Self-assisted Milch and the Boss-Holtzach-Matter techniques are ideal for reduction of anterior shoulder dislocation without medical assistance. Both methods can be successfully performed without assistance or previous education and taught using an instructional video. Level II.

Child-Computer Interaction in times of a pandemic.

The increasing presence of interactive technologies in children’s lives poses critical ethical questions for researchers and designers. Discourse specific to these intersecting topics is nascent, spread across communities and largely developed retrospectively. In a series of workshops and panels at the annual ACM Interaction Design for Children (ACM IDC) conference, a small group from the community has aimed to provide a central space and continuity for this discourse. The most recent of these spaces was the ACM IDC 2020 workshop entitled, “Emergent, Situated and Prospective Ethics for Child–Computer Interaction Research” that brought together a small group of researchers interested in sharing and discussing ethical issues arising when researching, designing, and deploying technologies for children [1]. When we, as the two main organizers of the workshop, wrote the workshop proposal we were particularly interested in how the ethical challenges in Child–Computer Interaction (CCI) were changing in the face of a rapidly changing world. At that time, it was completely unknown to us how different the world would be when we conducted the workshop. When the participants eventually met online for this workshop in late June 2020, a global pandemic had changed public life as we knew it and social justice issues, as manifested in the Black Lives Matter movement, were causing widespread unrest. Layered on these immediate challenges was the looming climate crisis that poses one of the most existential threats to humans yet. When we ran the workshop, we decided to focus our discussions on sharing thoughts and experiences of what these monumental shifts might mean for our community. The question, which we put onto the virtual floor was: How is the ethics of your research changing in the face of the Covid-19 Pandemic and recent social justice issues, as manifested in the Black Live Matters movement? What followed was a rich and thoughtful discussion. Every participant was affected by the pandemic in different ways, both personally and professionally. In the 45 min session we had reserved for this part of the workshop, we were all not only connected via video link, but also collaboratively worked on a shared virtual whiteboard at the same time. In a very productive mix of show and tell, we collected sticky notes, online resources, quotes and other bits of information; all the while making connections and categorizations. Later, we, as the two main organizers, discussed our observations from the workshop, and then reviewed the data and our own notes to informally look for themes related to our original question. We wrote up the themes individually, and worked collaboratively to refine, clarify, and contextualize them. From this exercise, four main themes emerged, which all included perceived challenges as well as the participants’ recommendations for how these concerns might be addressed moving forward. The following briefly summarizes these themes.

A Novel Surgical Technique for the Management of Cerebrospinal Fluid Gusher Encountered During Cochlear Implantation.

: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) gusher encountered during cochlear implantation are most commonly encountered in the setting of an inner ear abnormality. Repair of the gusher is essential to prevent CSF egress postoperatively and to decrease the risk of meningitis. Various methods to repair a CSF gusher have been described, including tight packing of the cochleostomy with fascia, lumbar drainage, and Eustachian tube packing with ear canal overclosure. We describe a novel and simple technique using a fascia ring placed around the cochlear implantation electrode (Cochlear Corporation, CI522) as a means to treat CSF gusher. The fascia is slid down the electrode after insertion, allowing circumferential coverage of the defect. The following video will provide an overview of patients at risk for CSF gusher and demonstrate the technique described above.SDC video link: http://links.lww.com/MAO/B52.

Editorial

This issue contains the papers given at a special conference held at Leo Baeck College (22 May 2019), ‘Albert Friedlander: Comprehension, Compassion and Conciliation’, reflecting on his life and achievements. Among his many activities and achievements, Rabbi Dr Albert Friedlander z’l (1927–2004) was editor of this journal (1982–2004) and we marked his passing with many personal tributes (European Judaism 37, no. 2 [Autumn 2004], 103–122). However, this conference provides an opportunity to explore different aspects of his life and work. Originally conceived by Rabbi Dr Frank Dabba Smith in conversations with Evelyn Friedlander, he organised it together with Professor Michael Berkowitz, UCL, Rabbi Dr Deborah Kahn-Harris, Principal of Leo Baeck College, and Cassy Sachar, the Senior Librarian of the College, who developed an exhibition based on following traces of Rabbi Friedlander’s activities to be found in the library. As well as the papers included here, there was a panel chaired by Rabbi Dr Charles H. Middleburgh, Dean and Director of Studies of the College, including memories from Rabbi Colin Eimer, Rabbi Ariel Friedlander (via video link) and Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp. Evelyn Friedlander was interviewed by Frank Dabba Smith; it was fortunate that she could participate as she was frail due to ill health. Concluding remarks were given by Professor Lord John Alderdice (Director, Centre for the Resolution of Intractable Conflict, Harris-Manchester College, Oxford University). Plans are underway for a further conference, broadening the theme.

Defining a standard set of outcomes for patients with psychosis

Abstract Background A working group (WG) of researchers, clinicians, and service users was created to develop a Standard Set of Psychotic Disorder Outcomes. This study describes the ICHOM framework to create a minimum Standard Set of outcomes for Psychotic Disorders. Methods The WG defined the scope of the project to include adolescents and adults meeting DSM-5 criteria for schizophrenia spectrum disorders or bipolar I disorder. A systematic literature review was conducted to extract patient outcomes. The WG then selected outcomes for this minimum standard set using an online modified Delphi consensus technique, throughout a series of video-conference calls. Outcome measures were identified through additional literature searches using a Terwee filter. These were evaluated by inclusion criteria, namely psychometric properties, feasibility of implementation, licensing fees and available translations. Results In total, 7074 studies were screened for outcome extraction. Outcomes were extracted from the 239 of these which passed eligibility criteria. The WG voted to include 17 outcomes, grouped into 7 domains (symptoms, treatment, recovery, functioning, quality of life, physical health and safety). A further 24 outcomes were identified for bipolar disorder, grouped within the same domains. Conclusions The outcomes recommended by the working group enable meaningful and standardized assessment of psychotic disorders worldwide. Adoption of the ICHOM framework can facilitate informed decision-making by healthcare providers, long term monitoring and improved global treatment outcomes in the long term. Key messages Standard set provides a valid and easy tool for healthcare workers for measuring outcomes. Value based health care and outcomes measures could globally improve healthcare and at the same time reduce healthcare cost.

4G Antipode: Remote Control of a Ground Vehicle From Around the World

Remote control of vehicles (in the air, on the land, and on the sea) is usually performed with a custom radio link. However, with the prevalence of cellular networks, command and control via 4G cellular networks is possible. In this work, we demonstrate control of a remote-controlled vehicle at two points on the Earth that are almost the antipodes (opposite sides of the Earth), at a distance of 18 500 km apart. A remote video link is also provided. This demonstrates the longest distance yet of control of a vehicle via a 4G cellular link.

Comparing the Keyto App and Device with Weight Watchers' WW App for Weight Loss: Protocol for a Randomized Trial.

BackgroundObesity and being overweight are major contributing factors for many diseases. Calorie restricted diets often fail to result in sustained long-term weight loss. Very low–carbohydrate, high-fat ketogenic diets have been suggested to have superior metabolic and weight loss effects. Keyto is a low-cost, highly scalable mobile health (mHealth) app paired with a noninvasive biofeedback tool aimed at facilitating weight loss through a personalized healthy and predominantly plant- and fish-based ketogenic diet.ObjectiveThis protocol describes a randomized trial comparing the efficacy of the Keyto mHealth app and device intervention to that of Weight Watchers’ WW app in individuals who are overweight or obese. The primary outcome is weight loss after 12 weeks. Secondary and exploratory outcomes, including metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors, will be assessed at 12, 24, and 48 weeks.MethodsA total of 144 participants will be recruited and randomized to either the Keyto program or Weight Watchers program. Study participants will be guided through the study via video conference or phone calls and will undergo a fasting blood analysis performed by a third-party diagnostic lab at weeks 0 and 12 to assess metabolic and cardiovascular risk markers. All participants will be asked to weigh themselves daily on a study-provided Bluetooth-enabled scale. Participants randomized to the Keyto arm will also be asked to measure their breath acetone levels, a measure of ketosis, with the Keyto device 3 times per day.ResultsRecruitment started in December 2019. Rolling recruitment is expected to be completed by July 2020. Data collection and analysis of the primary intervention phase is expected to be completed in October 2020. The 24- and 48-week follow-ups are expected to be completed in January 2021 and July 2021, respectively.ConclusionsThis trial will provide high-quality evidence regarding the efficacy of the Keyto weight loss program in individuals who are overweight and obese in a free-living condition. This study also fills a gap by examining the impact of a ketogenic diet emphasizing plant- and fish-based fats on blood lipid profile and cardiovascular disease risk.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04165707; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04165707.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/19053

Achieving equitable management of allergic disorders and primary immunodeficiency in a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic population

Achieving equitable management of allergic disorders and primary immunodeficiency in a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic population

Communication Skills Training for Internal Medicine Residents Using a Brief Animated Video.

Patient communication courses are time-intensive, making incorporation into residency curricula challenging. Using a short video could be an efficient means to teach residents communication skills. We created a 4-min animated video focused on the "ask more and summarize technique". Residents rotating on the inpatient oncology and palliative care service received a video link with a survey (S1) on the tool and its projected utility. A second survey (S2) was sent upon rotation completion to assess the utility of the technique. A 6-month follow up e-mail was sent to determine retention of skills. A total of 52/106 residents responded to S1 and 32/52 to S2. Median age was 28years and 86% were PGY-1. On S1, 95% enjoyed the format, and 95% thought the narration was an effective learning tool and 90% that the animation was effective. A majority (87%) felt the tool would be useful. On comparing self-reported acquisition of skills for paired survey responses, there was a significant increase in asking more regarding patient questions (p = 0.04) but not summarizing back responses (p = 0.1). This tool was reported to be useful in a variety of settings including explaining prognoses, unrealistic patient expectations, upset patients, and patients with fear or anxiety. A 6-month follow up survey (n = 22) showed that almost all the respondents continued to report using the skills learned. A short video is a brief and effective tool that can be incorporated into a busy clinical curriculum to teach residents communication skills in the areas of cancer and palliative care.