Study reports on experiences of LGB Vietnam-era veterans

Greater trauma burden linked with PTSD, poorer mental health

VETERANS AFFAIRS RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS

Research News

IMAGE: A NEW ANALYSIS OF DATA FROM THE VIETNAM ERA FOUND THAT LESBIAN, GAY, AND BISEXUAL VETERANS WHO SERVED AT THE TIME ARE REPORTING PTSD AND POORER MENTAL HEALTH MORE OFTEN... view more 

CREDIT: NATIONAL ARCHIVES

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual Veterans from the Vietnam era report PTSD and poorer mental health more often than their heterosexual counterparts, according to an analysis of data from the Vietnam Era Health Retrospective Observational Study (VE-HEROeS).

A greater burden of potentially traumatic events among LGB Veterans, such as childhood physical abuse, adult physical assault, and sexual assault, was associated with the differences.

"This study is the first to document sexual orientation differences in trauma experiences, probable PTSD, and health-related quality of life in LGB Veterans using a nationally representative sample," said Dr. John Blosnich, senior author of the study, published in July 2021 in Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. Blosnich is a research health scientist with the Department of Veterans Affairs' Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion in Pittsburgh, and an assistant professor in the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California.

Veterans are at high risk for experiencing potentially traumatic events during military service. Evidence also suggests that sexual minorities are at greater risk of PTEs, compared with heterosexual peers. However, few studies have documented how traumatic experiences may differ by sexual orientation among Veterans.

VE-HEROeS sought survey data from more than 45,000 Vietnam-era Veterans, as well as 11,000 matched controls. Data collection was completed in 2018; nearly 19,000 Veterans responded. Multiple studies are underway based on the data collected.

"When initiating VE-HEROes we sought input from the Vietnam-era Veteran community," said Dr. Victoria Davey, the study's senior author. Davey is the principal investigator of VE-HEROeS and an associate chief research and development officer for VA. "That is being done more often in research but hasn't been done with Veteran research as much as it should be, at least in my opinion. It's important to bring the community into the research fold, so you hear from them what should be studied and what the approach should be. I think that by doing so, we created a better study."

Approximately 1.5% of responding Veterans identified as LGB; of those, 87% were male. Compared with heterosexual Veterans, LGB Veterans were younger at the time they were surveyed. They also were more likely to be female (13% of LGB Veterans, compared with 3% of heterosexual Veterans) and less likely to have served in combat.

Veterans were asked about exposure to 11 types of potentially traumatic events (PTEs), largely through a 10-question standardized instrument called the Brief Trauma Questionnaire (BTQ; see table).

"We used the BTQ because it is well-validated in many populations, including military populations, and because we wanted this study to be comparable with other large studies," said Davey. After consulting with advisors from the Vietnam-era Veteran community, researchers added an eleventh question about witnessing sexual assault during military service. Nearly one-third of heterosexual Veterans and about one-fourth of LGB Veterans reported this type of PTE.

"The Veterans advising us said that one of the most traumatic things they experienced was actually having to watch sexual assaults, either on civilians or on other members of the military," said Davey.

Compared with heterosexual Veterans, LGB Veterans were more likely to report exposures to physical abuse in childhood, natural disasters, physical assault in adulthood, and sexual assault. They were less likely to report exposure to combat, witnessing someone being seriously injured or killed, or witnessing sexual assault while in the military.

The study found that 20.1% of LGB Veterans in the study had probable PTSD, compared with 14.7% of heterosexual Veterans-- a significant difference. According to the National Institutes of Mental Health, approximately 3.6% of all Americans have PTSD, with prevalence more common in females (5.2%) than males (1.8%).

LGB Veterans had 50% greater odds of probable PTSD and 70% greater odds of poor mental health, compared with heterosexual Veterans. These differences disappeared when researchers controlled for the number of PTEs.

"The potentially traumatic experiences largely accounted for the differences in mental health outcomes," said Blosnich.

This is a key finding, he noted, because until the early 1970s, being lesbian, gay or bisexual was considered a mental illness. "And there are still people and institutions that believe there is something inherently damaging about being LGB," said Blosnich. "The study analyses indicate that your sexuality is not the driver; if you are subjected to certain experiences, those experiences are the driver. It's how you are treated, not who you are."

Both Davey and Blosnich believe the study can help to inform PTSD treatment of Vietnam-era Veterans, as it indicates that traumas across the lifespan can contribute to PTSD, particularly for LGB Veterans--although how early-life traumas interact with military service experiences isn't fully understood.

"Early life adversity and trauma experienced during the military may combine in complicated ways; we don't know," Blosnich said. "Military trauma is the reason we have a PTSD diagnosis. But it doesn't happen in a vacuum."

Providers should try to create a therapeutic safe space for Vietnam-era Veterans to talk about childhood trauma, he said, but that could be difficult if those earlier experiences are tied to LGB sexual identity.

"Imagine you're an LGB Vietnam-era Veteran. You grew up in a toxic time for LGB people, then served in the military, where your sexuality could end your career," Blosnich said. "Feeling like it's okay to talk about your sexual orientation with a health care provider--that has to be really difficult."

The 2016-2017 Vietnam Era Health Retrospective Observational Study (VE-HEROeS) study is a VA-funded nationwide study designed to assess the current health and well-being of Vietnam Veterans, Blue Water Navy Veterans, and Veterans who served elsewhere during the Vietnam Era (1961-1975). This study is comparing the health of these Veterans to similarly aged U.S. residents who never served in the military. Participants completed a survey of questions about military service, general health, lifestyle, and aging. Data collection was completed in 2018.

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Digital government needs to better take women's digital needs into account

Experts explore the persisting digital gender gap in digital government research and practice and present a vision for future research in this Special Issue of Information Polity

IOS PRESS

Research News

IMAGE: THIS SPECIAL ISSUE OF THE JOURNAL INFORMATION POLITY BRINGS TOGETHER FIVE ARTICLES, TWO BOOK REVIEWS, AND A COMPARATIVE COUNTRY REPORT THAT CHARACTERIZE THE CURRENT STATE OF UNDERSTANDING REGARDING THE ISSUES... view more 

CREDIT: INFORMATION POLITY

Amsterdam, July 8, 2021 - While the literature on the digital divide has widely addressed the digital gender gap, its potential implications for electronic government (e-government) / digital government research and practice have hardly been studied. In this Special Issue of Information Polity experts characterize the current state of understanding of the issues surrounding digital government and gender and present an agenda for future research.

Gender is a neglected topic in the literature on digital government. According to the International Telecommunications Union, women are lagging behind men in making use of the Internet in almost two thirds of countries worldwide. Overall, the proportion of all women using the Internet globally is 48%, compared with 58% of all men. More men than women use the Internet in every region of the world except in the Americas, where the gender gap continues to hover around zero, and in the European Union (EU), where the percentage of men using the Internet in 2020 was around 90% percent, compared with 88% of women.

"Science, math, and quantitative fields in general have always been perceived as male fields," explained the guest co-editors. "Despite the progress made in the last few years, technology is still seen as a tool for men. A more comprehensive view on gender is needed that includes male authors discussing gender issues and that also focuses on men and the differences between men and women, but in addition to the LGBTQ collective."

"Most published studies to date have focused on adoption and use of technologies by women, but we also need deeper insights into the impact of technology on the quality of life of women," the guest co-editors remarked. "We need to collect more gender-sensitive data on the usage of digital government services in order to better understand women's needs and design services accordingly."

This Special Issue presents five articles, two book reviews, and a comparative country report that characterize the current state of understanding to raise awareness of the issues and open an opportunity to build a research agenda on digital government and gender. The articles in this issue revolve around:

• The study of gender and technology in government

• The use of electronic government services and implications for the digital gender gap

• The gender difference in the continuance intention to e-file income tax returns in Pakistan

• The use of social media as a promising communication tool by mayors in Canada, which is more accessible to women than mainstream media

• A comparison of the AI policy frameworks of the European Union and Spain

• The development of digital governance in Mongolia and Taiwan

• A review of two books: African Women, ICT and Neoliberal Politics, by Assata Zerai, and Data Feminism, by Catherine D'Ignazio and Lauren Klein

Collectively, the articles included in this Special Issue indicate that researchers worldwide are building a consistent research agenda around the topic of digital government and gender. "The future looks hopeful," commented the guest co-editors. "Young women scholars are more and more interested in addressing these issues. There are academic organizations and groups, such as Academic Women in Public Administration, that want to address gender inequality in different fields including technology. The level of interest in this issue shows this is an important topic."

The guest co-editors provide a research agenda that they hope will form the basis for future research. They stress that there is a long way ahead and further research should be conducted in order to better understand how inequalities interact and impact women's willingness and propensity to adopt and use digital government, as well as how digital government impacts women's quality of life.

"A gender perspective should be integrated in designing public services in order to better assess women's needs and avoid gender biases especially in emerging fields such as AI and big data analysis. Future research could also focus on gender-based use of different technologies and participation in technology-based initiatives, further exploring the variation in drivers, determinants, and outcomes among social media, online participation platforms, digital co-production, and online services, to just name a few examples," the guest co-editors concluded.

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Advocacy for a digital oral health that leaves no one behind

INTERNATIONAL & AMERICAN ASSOCIATIONS FOR DENTAL RESEARCH

Research News

demic have already had a dramatic impact on the prevailing oral health care model and will continue to do so. The paper "Advocacy for a Digital Oral Health That Leaves No One Behind," published in the JDR Clinical & Translational Research (JDR CTR), promotes the use of digital tools to offer opportunities to improve healthy behavior, lower risk factors common to oral diseases and other noncommunicable diseases and contribute to reducing oral health inequalities.

To mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, systems were quickly put in place in most countries to respond to dental emergencies, giving priority to distance screening, advice to patients by remote means and treatment of urgent cases while ensuring continuous care. Digital health was widely adopted as a central component of this new approach, leading to new practices and tools that, in turn, demonstrated their potential, limitations and possible excesses.

Authors Nicolas Giraudeau, University of Montpellier, France, and Benoit Varenne, World Health Organization (WHO), Oral Health Programme, Geneva, Switzerland, believe that digital tools can accelerate the implementation of universal health coverage and help achieve the World Health Organization 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, leaving no one behind. TheWHO mOralHealth program is structured in four modules (literacy, training, early detection, and surveillance). "Digital oral health should be one of the pillars of oral healthcare post-COVID-19. Universal access to digital oral health should be promoted globally. The WHO's mOralHealth programme aims to do that."

"The use of digital health has led to a new way of understanding both general and oral health," said JDR CTR Editor-in-Chief Jocelyne S. Feine, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada. "This paper calls for political leaders to be made aware of the universal availability of digital technology and make use of it as a safe and equitable means of delivering oral health care to the public."

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About the JDR Clinical and Translational Research
The JDR Clinical & Translational Research is a quarterly publication. This peer-reviewed journal is dedicated to publishing original dental, oral and craniofacial research at the interface between discovery science and clinical application with the translation of research into healthcare delivery systems at the individual patient, clinical practice and community levels. The JDR CTR has been accepted for inclusion in MEDLINE. Follow the JDR CTR on Twitter @JDRClinTransRes.

International Association for Dental Research
The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) is a nonprofit organization with over 10,000 individual members worldwide, with a mission to drive dental, oral and craniofacial research for health and well-being worldwide. To learn more, visit http://www.iadr.org. The American Association for Dental Research (AADR) is the largest Division of IADR with 3,100 members in the United States. To learn more, visit http://www.iadr.org/aadr.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of new

 

Women with recurrent UTIs voice 'fear and frustration' over treatment options

WOLTERS KLUWER HEALTH

Research News

 

July 8, 2021 - Women with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) experience frustration related to their treatment - particularly the risks from repeated use of antibiotics, according to a focus group study in The Journal of Urology®, Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

"This study was prompted by our experience treating countless women with recurrent UTIs referred to our specialized Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery center," comments senior author Ja-Hong Kim, MD, of UCLA Center of Women's Pelvic Health. "The vast majority were understandably dissatisfied with their care pathway, which was primarily antibiotic-focused with minimal effort spent on patient education and prevention strategies."

Lead author Victoria C.S. Scott, MD, of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Beverly Hills, Calif adds, "It's important for patients with this chronic condition to feel empowered in sharing their concerns with physicians regarding their health, quality of life and medical treatment and for physicians to respond to these concerns."

New strategies needed 'to minimize and target antibiotic use'

More than half of women will develop a UTI sometime during their lives, and about one-fourth experience recurrent UTIs. Episodes of UTI have a major impact on patients' lives - including pain and other symptoms, reduced quality of life, and repeated courses of antibiotics for prevention and treatment.

"In our experience, many patients labelled with recurrent UTI are either misdiagnosed or mistreated without following the guidelines set forth by specialty societies," says Dr. Kim. "It became clear that a paradigm shift in recurrent UTI management was needed, starting with patient-centered research to assess gaps in the current UTI treatment algorithm." The researchers performed a series of focus groups, with a total of 29 patients participating.

Analysis of the discussions identified several themes related to negative effects associated with antibiotic use. The women were well aware of the risks of developing antibiotic resistance and collateral damage from overuse or inappropriate use of antibiotics. Some patients developed infection with antibiotic-resistant C. difficile bacteria, in one case leading to hospitalization.

The patients also voiced concern about taking antibiotics when they didn't have an infection. Many believed they had been given antibiotics for other causes of urinary symptoms - particularly overactive bladder, which commonly occurs in women with recurrent UTIs but causes less-severe symptoms.

Other themes centered on resentment of the medical profession. The women expressed irritation with physicians for "throwing antibiotics" at them without presenting other, non-antibiotic options for treating recurrent UTIs. They also felt the medical profession underestimated the impact of recurrent UTIs on their lives. The women felt an urgent need for more research on non-antibiotic options, with a special interest in "natural" or "alternative" treatments for prevention of recurrent UTIs.

However, some women shared they were satisfied with their care - particularly those treated by a physician specializing in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery. Patients were more likely to be satisfied if they felt their doctor understood their problems and had a system for rapid diagnosis and treatment when UTI episodes occurred.

"Physicians must investigate patients' recurrent UTI experiences and their perceptions of antibiotics during counseling to address their concern over antibiotic overuse," says Dr. Scott. The researchers follow and recommend a strategy of delaying antibiotics until urine culture results are available - as endorsed by the American Urological Association (AUA) and other specialty societies.

Dr. Kim concludes: "There are exciting research developments underway, including the utilization of point-of-care rapid diagnostic assays to accurately and selectively treat UTIs as well as studies to understand the impact of vaginal microbiome on voiding dysfunction. We hope these efforts will pave the way to improved patient experience."

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Click here to read "Fear and Frustration among Women with Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections: Findings from Patient Focus Groups."

DOI: 10.1097/JU.0000000000001843

About The Journal of Urology®

The Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA), and the most widely read and highly cited journal in the field, The Journal of Urology® brings solid coverage of the clinically relevant content needed to stay at the forefront of the dynamic field of urology. This premier journal presents investigative studies on critical areas of research and practice, survey articles providing brief editorial comments on the best and most important urology literature worldwide and practice-oriented reports on significant clinical observations. The Journal of Urology® covers the wide scope of urology, including pediatric urology, urologic cancers, renal transplantation, male infertility, urinary tract stones, female urology and neurourology.

About the American Urological Association

Founded in 1902 and headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, the American Urological Association is a leading advocate for the specialty of urology, and has nearly 24,000 members throughout the world. The AUA is a premier urologic association, providing invaluable support to the urologic community as it pursues its mission of fostering the highest standards of urologic care through education, research and the formulation of health care policy. To learn more about the AUA visit: http://www.auanet.org.

About Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer (WKL) is a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for the clinicians, nurses, accountants, lawyers, and tax, finance, audit, risk, compliance, and regulatory sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with advanced technology and services.

Wolters Kluwer reported 2020 annual revenues of €4.6 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 19,200 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.

Wolters Kluwer provides trusted clinical technology and evidence-based solutions that engage clinicians, patients, researchers and students in effective decision-making and outcomes across healthcare. We support clinical effectiveness, learning and research, clinical surveillance and compliance, as well as data solutions. For more information about our solutions, visit https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/health and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @WKHealth.

For more information, visit http://www.wolterskluwer.com, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

 

High risk of divorce after TBI? Not necessarily, study suggests

WOLTERS KLUWER HEALT

Research News

 

 

July 6, 2021 - Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has a major impact on the lives of affected patients and families. But it doesn't necessarily lead to an increased risk of marital instability, as two-thirds of patients with TBI are still married to the same partner 10 years after their injury, reports a study in the July/August issue of the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation (JHTR). The official journal of the Brain Injury Association of America, JHTR is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

For marriages that do end, divorce most often occurs within the first year after TBI, according to the new research by Flora M. Hammond, MD, of Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, and colleagues. "Our data dispel myths about risk of divorce after TBI and suggest a message of hope," the researchers write.

Findings may help in assessing risk and targeting timing marital interventions after TBI

Dr. Hammond and colleagues analyzed long-term follow-up data on 1,423 patients with TBI, all of whom were married at the time of their injury. Patients were drawn from the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems (TBIMS) database enrolling persons hospitalized with TBI. Average age at the time of injury was 44 years; about three-fourths of patients were men.

Ten years after TBI, 66 percent of patients with TBI remained married to the same person, without separation or divorce. Of marriages that ended, 68 percent did so within five years after TBI, including 39 percent within the first year.

The study also looked at factors associated with a higher or lower risk of divorce or separation. "Marital stability over the 10-year period was higher for those who were older, were female, and had no problematic substance use history," the researchers write. The risk of a breakup didn't seem to be related to race/ethnicity, education, cause of injury, or injury severity.

Marital stability has a major impact on the ability to resume normal life and functioning in persons with TBI. Some reports have suggested high divorce rates after TBI. However, in previous studies, reported rates of marital instability after TBI varied widely: from 22 to 85 percent. Long-term follow-up in a large sample of patients with TBI are major strengths of the new study.

The results question previous studies suggesting a high divorce rate among patients who are married at the time they sustain a TBI. The study also provides insights into risk factors for a marital breakup after TBI. The findings are consistent with the known bidirectional link between TBI and substance use. "While substance use itself may not cause marital instability, a spouse's perception that substance use is problematic may contribute to marital instability," Dr. Hammond and coauthors write.

The high risk of marital loss within the first few years after TBI suggests that early education and support might be helpful. The researchers note some important limitations of their study - including the lack of information on the quality of the marital relationship before TBI.

The findings may help to identify couples who may be at high risk of marital instability after TBI, and to guide patient and family education, relationship counseling, and other marital interventions, Dr. Hammond and colleagues believe. They conclude, "Interventions aimed at substance use prevention and functional improvement may also have relevance to facilitating marital stability."

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Click here to read "Marital Stability Over 10 Years Following Traumatic Brain Injury."

DOI: 10.1097/HTR.0000000000000674

About The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation

The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation is a leading, peer-reviewed resource that provides up-to-date information on the clinical management and rehabilitation of persons with traumatic brain injuries. Six issues each year aspire to the vision of "knowledge informing care" and include a wide range of articles, topical issues, commentaries and special features. It is the official journal of the Brain Injury Association of America.

About the Brain Injury Association of America

The Brain Injury Association of America is the country's oldest and largest nationwide brain injury advocacy organization. Our mission is to advance awareness, research, treatment and education and to improve the quality of life for all individuals impacted by brain injury. Through advocacy, we bring help, hope and healing to millions of individuals living with brain injury, their families and the professionals who serve them.

About Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer (WKL) is a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for the clinicians, nurses, accountants, lawyers, and tax, finance, audit, risk, compliance, and regulatory sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with advanced technology and services.

Wolters Kluwer reported 2020 annual revenues of €4.6 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 19,200 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.

Wolters Kluwer provides trusted clinical technology and evidence-based solutions that engage clinicians, patients, researchers and students in effective decision-making and outcomes across healthcare. We support clinical effectiveness, learning and research, clinical surveillance and compliance, as well as data solutions. For more information about our solutions, visit https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/health and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @WKHealth.

For more information, visit http://www.wolterskluwer.com, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

NYU Abu Dhabi researchers unlock secrets behind liver regrowth and regenerative medicine

New insight into the liver's unique ability to regenerate holds promise for developing treatments for the lung, heart, and other organs that currently must be replaced by transplants

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

Research New

  

IMAGE: DR. KIRSTEN SADLER EDEPLI view more 

CREDIT: NYU ABU DHABIAbu Dhabi, UAE, July 5, 2021: NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) researchers uncovered a code that sets the genome of the liver to account for the remarkable ability for this organ to regenerate. This finding offers new insight into how the specific genes that promote regeneration can be activated when part of the liver is removed. These findings have the potential to inform the development of a new form of regenerative medicine that could help non-regenerative organs regrow in mice and humans.

While other animals can regenerate most organs, humans, mice, and other mammals can only regenerate their liver in response to an injury or when a piece is removed. NYUAD researchers hypothesized that the genes that drive regeneration in the liver would be controlled by a specific code that allows them to be activated in response to injury or resection. They hone in on the epigenome, which is the modifications on the DNA that alter the gene expression, as opposed to changing the genetic code itself.

Using a mouse liver model, the team of NYUAD researchers, led by Professor of Biology Kirsten Sadler Edepli, identified the elements of the epigenetic code present in quiescent liver cells - cells that are currently not replicating but have the ability to proliferate under the right conditions - that activate specific genes to regenerate. Genes involved in liver cell proliferation are silenced in livers that are not regenerating, but the surprising finding was that they reside in parts of the genome where most genes are active. The researchers found that these pro-regenerative genes were marked with a specific modification - H3K27me3. During regeneration, H3K27me3 is depleted from these genes, enabling their dynamic expression and driving proliferation.

In the paper Chromatin states shaped by an epigenetic code confer regenerative potential to the mouse liver published in the journal Nature Communications, Sadler and the lead research scientist on her team, Chi Zhang, present the discovery that the mouse liver contains elements of the epigenetic code that allow pro-regenerative genes to activate when signaled. Epigenetic patterns are a well-established mechanism that coordinate gene expression. However, the way epigenetic patterns contribute to gene expression in the liver or how they impact liver regeneration was previously unknown. Their research uncovered six distinct chromatin states in the mouse liver corresponding to specific epigenetic marks, providing the first chromatin map of this important organ and showing that the elements of this map are essential for liver regeneration. This finding provides a mechanism that keeps cells in the liver in a "ready-set-go" state, in preparation for the signal to regenerate.

"The secret to regeneration is locked in a code in the liver epigenome. We are now studying the 'writers' of the epigenetic code -- the enzymes that create the epigenetic marks -- to see how this epigenetic code responds to aging, as the liver's ability to regenerate declines in older animals - including humans," said Sadler. "The continued study of the liver's remarkable ability to regenerate provides promise for the development of regenerative medicine; perhaps we can even try to write the code that allows regeneration in the young liver to cells in older animals, or even to tweak this code in other organs that don't regenerate and currently can only be replaced using complex, high-risk transplants."

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About NYU Abu Dhabi

http://www.nyuad.nyu.edu

NYU Abu Dhabi is the first comprehensive liberal arts and research campus in the Middle East to be operated abroad by a major American research university. NYU Abu Dhabi has integrated a highly selective undergraduate curriculum across the disciplines with a world center for advanced research and scholarship. The university enables its students in the sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities, and arts to succeed in an increasingly interdependent world and advance cooperation and progress on humanity's shared challenges. NYU Abu Dhabi's high-achieving students have come from over 115 countries and speak over 115 languages. Together, NYU's campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai form the backbone of a unique global university, giving faculty and students opportunities to experience varied learning environments and immersion in other cultures at one or more of the numerous study-abroad sites NYU maintains on six continents.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news

Not enough women and minorities apply for a job? Change the recruitment committee

UH study suggest practical steps to increase applicant pool diversity

UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON

Research News

Amid calls for racial and social justice nationwide, businesses and educational institutions are grappling with how to adopt more inclusive organizational practices, including more diversified hiring. However, recruitment teams and strategic leaders often blame their lack of a diverse workforce on a lack of diverse applicants. A large study of recruitment data suggests a simple and efficient way of increasing diversity in applicant pools: have more diverse recruitment committees and leadership teams.

The study, led by researchers at the University of Houston's Center for ADVANCING Faculty Success and published online in the Journal of Applied Psychology, found that when the search committee chair for a job is a woman, 23% more women apply for the job than when the search committee is led by a man. What is more, over 100% more underrepresented minorities (URM), such as Hispanics and Blacks, apply for the job when the recruitment is led by a URM chair as opposed to a non-URM.    

In the context of workplace diversity, the concept of homophily - an affinity for similar others - has developed a bad reputation for furthering systemic barriers to opportunity for minority groups. In fact, homophily, if utilized wisely, can be leveraged to increase the representation of women and underrepresented minorities, according to Maryam A. Kazmi, a Ph.D. candidate at UH and the study's first author.    

"There is something that women and URM recruiters are doing differently than men and majority group members that encourages more women and URM applicants to apply for a job," she said. 

The study, an analysis of three years of recruitment data for tenure-track faculty jobs at a large, public research university, shows that one of the ways in which women and URM recruitment leaders are affecting applicant pools is by appointing more women and URM to participate on the search committees they lead. These women and URM search committee members, together with the leads of recruitment teams, disseminate job ads more widely, specifically to more women and URM potential applicants who then apply in greater numbers. But what motivates them to do so? 

Christiane Spitzmueller, professor of psychology at UH and a study co-author, said that women and URM recruitment leads and team members rely on their own experiences in developing applicant pools. 

"Women and underrepresented minority recruiters have likely experienced the same structural barriers to entry and career progress that the potential applicants may face. Their own experiences of inequity may make them likely to have a soft spot for similar others facing similar issues. This might motivate women and minority recruiters to work harder to ensure that they do what they can to ensure that more women and URM are made aware of the job opening and are encouraged to apply," she said. 

The researchers make a number of policy recommendations for human resource professionals, supervisors and other company executives to ensure more diverse applicant pools, which include: 

• Posting the job ad on women/minority-specific websites
• Cooperating with the organization/institution's diversity and inclusion offices to develop a diverse list of candidates to contact
• Posting the position ad through department chair listservs
• Calling women or colleagues from historically underrepresented backgrounds to get possible candidate names/recommendations on who to recruit
• Using personal networks to recruit
• Including language in the job ads promoting the diversity of the department and university to prospective candidates

The study found that women and URM recruiters tend to use different strategies to affect applicant pool diversity, says Juan Madera, study co-author and professor at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management at UH. 

"We found preliminary evidence that women recruiters are more likely to use personal networks to identify and target women/URM applicants, whereas URM recruiters are more likely to use more formal strategies of increasing applicant pool diversity. For example, cooperating with the institution's diversity and inclusion offices to develop a diverse list of candidates to contact and posting the job ad on women and minority-specific websites," he said.   

"Women and URM continue to be underrepresented in workplaces. The diversification of applicant pools constitutes an important step for broadening the participation of women and URM in the workforce," says Paula Paula Myrick Short, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Houston. "This study provides evidence of practical steps that organizations can take to increase their applicant pool diversity."

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Cancer screenings rebounded in 2020 after COVID but racial disparities remain

DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE

Research News

BOSTON - The numbers of cancer screening tests rebounded sharply in the last quarter of 2020, following a dramatic decline in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, at one large hospital system in the Northeastern United States. These findings were released in a study published in Cancer Cell. The research also found an increase in racial and socioeconomic disparities among users of some screening tests during the pandemic.

Study co-senior author Toni K. Choueiri, MD, director of the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, said following a dramatic decline during the first pandemic peak, there was a "substantial increase in screening procedures during the more recent periods with numbers exceeding those seen before the pandemic. However, racial disparities appear to differ between screening procedures, and are more marked in patients undergoing mammography."

"Early screening and diagnosis provide patients with the best chance for cancer cure--a widened racial gap in cancer screening due to COVID-19 will exacerbate existing racial disparities in cancer mortality," adds Quoc-Dien Trinh, MD, co-director of the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Prostate Cancer Center, co-leader of the Mass General Brigham United Against Racism prostate cancer outreach clinic, and co-senior author on the study.

During September to December 2020, cancer screening rates for breast, prostate cervical, and lung cancer recovered and exceeded numbers seen before the pandemic, the study authors said. However, the recovery was not seen in colonoscopy screening to detect colorectal cancer.

"Colonoscopy did not get back to normal levels," said Chris Labaki, MD, of Dana-Farber, co-first author of the study. One reason may be that it is the most invasive of the tests, requiring hospital and anesthesia services, the authors suggested. The investigators also noted that some patients who would have undergone colonoscopies to screen for colorectal cancer may have opted for alternative, home-based methods such as tests for occult blood in stool.

In addition to the pandemic's temporary stifling of routine cancer screening, the researchers also found an increase in racial and socioeconomic disparities with some screening tests. Significant shifts in the racial distribution of patients undergoing mammography were revealed in the decreased numbers of Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic patients having mammographies during the period September to December 2020 compared to the three months preceding the pandemic. This contrasted with an increase in mammography tests in the whole group of patients during the last quarter of 2020, according to the study. "These findings are concerning and suggest the pandemic may accentuate racial disparities related to cancer screening," the authors noted.

The racial proportions of patients undergoing screening during the pandemic remained stable for PSA, colonoscopy, Pap test, and CT scanning for lung cancer, compared to the pre-pandemic periods.

The study was based on records of the Mass General Brigham system, a large healthcare system in the Northeast -- a region that had experienced a sharp decline in screening during the early months of the pandemic. A decrease in numbers of screening tests during March to June 2020 and June to September 2020 ranged from minus 65% to minus 82% and minus 4% to minus 44%, respectively, depending on screening type.

The reduction in tests initially in 2020 and the resurgence in the last quarter of 2020 was accompanied by changes in diagnoses of cancer: only 1,985 positive tests were reported during the early pandemic (March-June 2020) compared to 3,476 positive tests in the September-December period.

Statisticians calculated that 1,187 diagnoses were "missed" from March to June 2020 because of reduced use of screening. Of those, 323 were "recovered" from September to December 2020, although the study did not note whether the cancers were found at later stages. For colonoscopy, no diagnoses were "recovered" and 38 positive diagnoses were "missed" across the three pandemic periods analyzed.

"The increase in screening tests that was identified from September to December 2020 helped to recover some of the "missed" cancer diagnoses from earlier time periods," Labaki added. "However, more efforts are still needed to ensure the implementation of large screening campaigns as a significant proportion of cancers remains undiagnosed." The delays in diagnosis are expected to cause adverse oncologic outcomes, the researchers say.

"We don't want to miss out on cancer screenings," Choueiri emphasized. "We would want patients to come back to discuss with us and their primary care providers and to embark on screening following the national COVID-19 pandemic guidelines."

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The co-first authors of the study with Labaki are Ziad Bakouny, MD, MSc, and Andrew Schmidt, MD, of Dana-Farber. Co-authors are Stuart Lipsitz, ScD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Timothy R. Rebbeck, PhD, of Dana-Farber and Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.

About Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center

Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center (DF/BWCC) brings together specialists from two world-class medical centers. DF/BWCC has a singular focus on conquering cancer and improving the way that cancer care is delivered throughout the world. Through our 12 specialized disease treatment centers, experts from one of the world's leading cancer institutes and one of the world's leading hospitals work together as one team to offer the most advanced treatments with the compassion and care that makes all the difference.

 

Mapping dengue hot spots pinpoints risk for Zika and chikungunya

A risk-stratification method to more effectively control mosquito-borne diseases

EMORY HEALTH SCIENCES

Research News

Data from nine cities in Mexico confirms that identifying dengue fever “hot spots” can provide a predictive map for future outbreaks of Zika and chikungunya. All three of these viral diseases are spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. 

Lancet Planetary Health published the research, led by Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec, associate professor in Emory University’s Department of Environmental Sciences. The study provides a risk-stratification method to more effectively guide the control of diseases spread by Aedes aegypti. 

“Our results can help public health officials to do targeted, proactive interventions for emerging Aedes-borne diseases,” Vazquez-Prokopec says. “We’re providing them with statistical frameworks in the form of maps to guide their actions.” 

The study encompassed data for 2008 through 2020 from cities in southern Mexico with a high burden of dengue fever cases during that period, along with cases of the more recently emerged diseases of Zika and chikungunya. The cities included Acapulco, Merida, Veracruz, Cancun, Tapachula, Villahermosa, Campeche, Iguala and Coatzacoalcos. 

The results found a 62 percent overlap of hot spots for dengue and Zika and 53 percent overlap for cases of dengue and chikungunya. In addition, dengue hot spots between 2008 and 2016 were significantly associated with dengue hotspots detected between 2017 and 2020 in five of the nine cities. 

The work builds on a previous study of the spatial-temporal overlap of the three diseases, focused on Merida, a city of one million located in the Yucatan Peninsula. That study showed that nearly half of Merida’s dengue cases from 2008 to 2015 were clustered in 27 percent of the city. These dengue hot spots contained 75 percent of the first chikungunya cases reported during the outbreak of that disease in 2015 and 100 percent of the first Zika cases reported during the Zika outbreak of 2016. 

“In this latest paper, we’ve expanded our analysis in scope and geography and shown that the findings are consistent across these nine cities of different sizes and in different regions,” Vazquez-Prokopec says. “We’ve confirmed that dengue, Zika and chikungunya outbreaks tend to concentrate in small areas of a city, and that these hot spots are predictive of where future cases will concentrate.” 

Mosquito control efforts generally involve outdoor spraying that covers broad swaths of a city, but the Aedes aegypti mosquito has adapted to live inside houses. Work by Vazquez-Prokopec and collaborators has shown that the best way to control these mosquitos and the diseases they spread is by spraying a long-lasting pesticide indoors — on the ceilings, along the bases of walls, and in other areas of homes where the mosquitos tend to cluster.

This approach — known as targeted indoor residual spraying — is too expensive and time-consuming to apply across a city. 

The statistical framework in the current paper, however, allows public health officials to concentrate their efforts on previous hot spots for Aedes-borne diseases to better control — and even prevent — outbreaks. 

“The ultimate goal is to give public health officials the power to harness big data and do more effective and efficient mosquito control — even before an epidemic begins,” Vazquez-Prokopec says. 

Vazquez-Prokopec is currently leading a consortium in a randomized clinical trial in Merida to test targeted indoor residual spraying as an intervention against Aedes-borne diseases. The five-year trial, launched in 2020, is funded by a $6.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. 

Dengue fever is sometimes called “break-bone fever” due to the excruciating pain that is among its symptoms. More than one third of the world’s population lives in areas at high risk for infection with the dengue virus, a leading cause of illness and death in the tropics and subtropics.

Dengue is endemic through most of Mexico, where between 75,000 and 355,000 cases occur annually, translating into an economic cost of between about U.S. $150 million and $257 million annually. 

Chikungunya is rarely fatal but the symptoms can be severe and debilitating. Zika can cause symptoms similar to those of dengue and chikungunya, such as joint pains and fever. While Zika tends to be less debilitating, or even asymptomatic, if a pregnant woman contracts the virus it can have a catastrophic impact on her unborn child, including severe brain defects. 

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Co-authors of the Lancet Planetary Health paper include researchers from Mexico’s Ministry of Health; the Autonomous University of the Yucatan; the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon; Yucatan Health Services; the Mexican Society of Public Health; the National Institute of Public Health in Cuernavaca; the Undersecretary of Prevention and Health Promotion in Mexico City; the Pan American Health Organization; and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The work was funded by USAID, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Canadian Institute of Public Health, the state of Yucatan, the National Institutes of Health and Emory University.

Related:

Zeroing in on a mosquito menace

When taste and healthfulness compete, taste has a hidden advantage

New research describes what goes on in your brain when you reach for a candy bar instead of an apple

DUKE UNIVERSITY

Research News

DURHAM, N.C. -- You dash into a convenience store for a quick snack, spot an apple and reach for a candy bar instead. Poor self-control may not be the only factor behind your choice, new research suggests. That's because our brains process taste information first, before factoring in health information, according to new research from Duke University.

"We spend billions of dollars every year on diet products, yet most people fail when they attempt to diet," said study co-author Scott Huettel, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke. "Taste seems to have an advantage that sets us up for failure."

"For many individuals, health information enters the decision process too late (relative to taste information) to drive choices toward the healthier option."

The new paper, which appears July 5 in Nature Human Behaviour, describes the advantage taste has over healthfulness in the decision-making process.

"We've always assumed people make unhealthy choices because that's their preference or because they aren't good at self-control," said study co-author Nicolette Sullivan. "It turns out it's not just a matter of self-control. Health is slower for your brain to estimate - it takes longer for you to include that information into the process of choosing between options."

The research was undertaken when Sullivan was a postdoctoral associate at Duke. She is now an assistant professor of marketing at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

For the study, Sullivan and Huettel recruited 79 young adults of a median age of 24.4 years. Study participants were asked to fast for four hours before the experiment to ensure they arrived hungry.

Participants were asked to rate snack foods on their tastiness, healthfulness and desirability. They were then presented with pairs of foods and asked to choose between them - and the researchers timed their choices.

At the end of the experiment, participants were offered one of the foods they had chosen.

Study participants registered taste information early in their decision process - taking about 400 milliseconds on average to incorporate taste information. Participants took twice as long to incorporate information about a snack's healthfulness into their decisions.

That may not sound like much time. In many cases though, it's enough to alter the choice we make.

"Not every decision is made quickly - house purchases, going to college - people take time to make those choices," Huettel said. "But many decisions we make in the world are fast - people reach for something in the grocery store or click on something online."

The authors say their findings could apply to other choices, not just food. For instance, some financial decisions, such as saving and spending choices, may also be affected by how - and when - the brain processes different types of information.

Meanwhile, all is not lost in the war against junk food cravings.

Half of study participants received a blurb before the experiment, stressing the importance of eating healthy. Those participants were less likely to choose an unhealthy snack.

The authors also identified something simple that can help people with their food choices: slowing down the decision-making process.

When study participants took longer to consider their options, they tended to pick healthier ones.

"There may be ways to set up environments so people have an easier time making healthy choices," Huettel said. "You want to make it easy for people to think about the healthfulness of foods, which would help nudge people toward better decisions."

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CITATION: "Healthful choices depend on the latency and rate of information accumulation," Nicolette J. Sullivan and Scott A. Huettel, July 5, 2021, Nature Human Behaviour. DOI: 10.1038/s41562-021-01154-0