Health screenings in college health centers: Variations in practice.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the routine screening of female students in college health centers for six priority health-related behaviors and experiences (tobacco use, alcohol use, eating disorders [EDs], obesity, anxiety and depression, intimate partner violence/sexual violence [IPV/SV]), and to identify variations in practice. Participants: A nationally representative sample of 1,221 healthcare providers (HCPs), including nurse practitioners, physicians, and physician assistants, from 471 U.S. college health centers. Methods: HCPs completed surveys (on-line or paper) and reported on routine screening of female college students. Results: HCPs reported consistently high rates (75-85%) of screening for tobacco use, alcohol use, and anxiety/depression. Rates of screening for IPV/SV, obesity and EDs were much lower. Nurse practitioners reported the highest IPV/SV screening rates. Conclusions: College health centers present unique opportunities for screening, case-finding and intervening to reduce long-term sequelae. Providers are well-positioned to lead initiatives to improve screening practices.

Student Health Services at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Predominantly Black Institutions in the United States.

Introduction: Student health services are associated with improved health outcomes and academic success, particularly among under-resourced college populations. This study compared student health services at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs) and identified factors associated with the availability of comprehensive health services (CHS). Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of 2022 data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), the Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) Directory, and the websites of HBCUs and PBIs (n=167). Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were undertaken to identify institutional variables associated with providing CHS. Institutional variables included college type (public vs. private), MSI category (HBCU vs. PBI), undergraduate enrollment, location, and proportion of Pell grant recipients. Results: Approximately 13% of HBCUs and 26% of PBIs offered no student health services; 65% of HBCUs and 39% of PBIs offered on-campus CHS with prescribing providers. Four-year HBCUs were five times more likely than 4-year PBIs to have CHS (p=0.014). Institutions with more Pell Grant recipients were less likely to offer CHS. Conclusions: Access to health care is an important social determinant of health, academic persistence, and achievement for college students. HBCUs were significantly more likely than PBIs to offer CHS. HBCUs are more likely than PBIs to have resources from federal funding, donors, and endowments that may support the development of student health centers and services. Increased funding for PBI health centers could improve access and promote health equity among the most vulnerable student populations.

College women with a disability and interpersonal violence: A call to action.

ABSTRACT: Interpersonal violence is a serious public health issue, particularly in the young adult population. College women are more likely to experience interpersonal violence than the general population; college women with disabilities are at particularly high risk of victimization. Despite this reality, screening rates for interpersonal violence in college health centers remain low, and college women, both disabled and not, report unsatisfactory interactions with college health providers after an interpersonal violence experience. We provide suggestions for nurse practitioners working in college health which will assist them in their endeavors to screen college women, specifically college women with a disability, for interpersonal violence and to respond to the outcomes of those screenings using a trauma and disability-informed practice lens.

Ostomy and Continent Diversion Patient Bill of Rights: Research Validation of Standards of Care.

An estimated 725,000 to 1 million people are living with an ostomy or continent diversion in the United States, and approximately 100,000 ostomy surgeries are performed each year in the United States. As a result of ostomy surgery, bodily waste is rerouted from its usual path because of malfunctioning parts of the urinary or digestive system. An ostomy can be temporary or permanent. The ostomy community is an underserved population of patients. United Ostomy Associations of America, Inc (UOAA), is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting quality of life for people with ostomies and continent diversions through information, support, advocacy, and collaboration. Over the years, UOAA has received hundreds of stories from people who have received inadequate care. In the United States, patients receiving medical care have certain health rights. For ostomy and continent diversion patients, these rights are known as the "You Matter! Know What to Expect and Know Your Rights-Ostomy and Continent Diversion Patient Bill of Rights" (PBOR). These rights define and provide a guide to patients and health care professionals as to what the best practices are when receiving and providing high-quality ostomy care during all phases of the surgical experience. This includes preoperative to postoperative care and throughout the life span when living with an ostomy or continent diversion. In 2020, the National Quality Forum released "The Care We Need: Driving Better Health Outcomes for People and Communities," a National Quality Task Force report that provides a road map where every person in every community can expect to consistently and predictably receive high-quality care by 2030 (thecareweneed.org). One of the core strategic objectives this report stated is to ensure appropriate, safe, and accessible care. Actionable opportunities to drive change include accelerating adoption of leading practices. The adoption of the PBOR best practices will drive the health care quality improvement change needed for the ostomy and continent diversion population. There are concerns in the ostomy and continent diversion communities among patients and health care professionals that the standards of care outlined in the PBOR are not occurring across the United States in all health care settings. There are further concerns stated by health care professionals that the patient-centered recommendations outlined in the PBOR need to be strengthened by being supported with available published health care evidence. The work of this task force was to bring together members of UOAA's Advocacy Committee, members of the Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurses Society (WOCN Society) Public Policy and Advocacy Committee, and representatives from surgical organizations and industry to create a systemic change by validating through evidence the Ostomy and Continent Diversion PBOR. Through the work of the task force, each component of the PBOR has been substantiated as evidence-based. Thus, this article validates the PBOR as a guideline for high-quality standards of ostomy care. We show that when patients receive the standards of care as outlined in the PBOR, there is improved quality of care. We can now recognize that until every ostomy or continent diversion patient receives these health care rights, in all health care settings, will they truly be realized and respected as human rights in the United States and thus people living with an ostomy or continent diversion will receive "the care they need."

Vaping behaviour patterns and daily blood pressure and heart rate variation: a brief report.

BACKGROUND: Vaping, the use of an electronic device to deliver a drug-infused aerosol has become an increasingly popular way to consume nicotine since its introduction to the market in the early 2000s. Despite the differences in consumption patterns relative to combustible tobacco, the impact of ad libitum nicotine vaping on cardiovascular response has not been thoroughly studied. SUBJECT AND METHODS: This research was conducted on vapers (n = 17) and smokers (n = 14) who represent a subsample of a larger study that explored the relationship between nicotine use, activities of daily living and 24-hour cardiovascular response using Spacelabs ambulatory blood pressure monitors. These data were analysed via ANOVA models and t-tests using SPSS 25.0 for Macintosh. RESULTS: Vapers consumed nicotine significantly more frequently than did smokers, at 48.2% and 18.1% of every 15-minute waking measurement, respectively (p = 0.000). The act of nicotine consumption, rather than the mode of delivery, was significantly associated with increases in systolic, diastolic, mean arterial pressure, and heart rate readings. There was no difference in the mean amplitude of response to nicotine between vapers and smokers. CONCLUSIONS: This study's strong statistical findings, visually evident on ambulatory blood pressure monitor reports, demonstrated that ad libitum nicotine consumption has an acute, dose-dependent effect on cardiovascular response regardless of whether it is smoked or vaped. However, since vapers consumed nicotine more frequently, future studies should be conducted with larger sample sizes, and controlled for age and comorbidities to improve statistical strength. IMPLICATIONS: This pilot study reveals that, when ad lib consumption is documented and measured, vaping has unique and potentially harmful effects on blood pressure, pulse, and mean arterial pressure. Because nicotine is consumed for much longer stretches, vapers have fewer rest periods between nicotine doses.

The impact of nursing assessment on cardiovascular health behaviour: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Assessment represents a critical first opportunity for nurses to influence individual changes in health behaviour. As the global prevalence of cardiovascular disorders rises, so does the role of nurses in cardiovascular health promotion. This review applies Pender's Health Promotion Model (HPM) to an evaluation of the current research on the role of nursing assessment as an intervention to impact cardiovascular health. METHODS: This scoping review was conducted using the PRISMA-ScR framework for scoping reviews. A search of electronic databases (CINAHL, psychINFO, Medline) resulted in 335 records, which were then screened for eligibility for inclusion using the criteria (a) English language, (b) publication between 2009 and 2019, and (c) nursing intervention studies. A total of ten articles met criteria and are included in this scoping review. RESULTS: Half (n = 5) of the articles cited a theoretical framework. While none of the articles explicitly used the HPM, all involved measurement of HPM constructs: perceived benefits of action, perceived barriers to action, perceived self-efficacy, interpersonal influences, and situational influences. The focus and methodology of the included articles was heterogeneous. Assessment tools used were self-report surveys, biometric data, qualitative interviews, or a combination of these measures. Results were generally positive and indicated that nursing assessment is effective at altering health promotion behaviour and attitudes. CONCLUSIONS: This scoping review demonstrated that the current body of literature on the impact of nursing assessment on cardiovascular health promotion behaviour is limited but consistent. Future research would benefit from thorough integration of the HPM into research design in order to more fully explain the causative mechanisms underlying behaviour change as a result of nursing assessment.

Draft Genome Sequence of Pseudomonas frederiksbergensis SI8, a Psychrotrophic Aromatic-Degrading Bacterium.

Pseudomonas frederiksbergensis strain SI8 is a psychrotrophic bacterium capable of efficient aerobic degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons. The draft genome of P. frederiksbergensis SI8 is 6.57 Mb in size, with 5,904 coding sequences and 60.5% G+C content. The isopropylbenzene (cumene) degradation pathway is predicted to be present in P. frederiksbergensis SI8.

Transcriptional profiling suggests that multiple metabolic adaptations are required for effective proliferation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in jet fuel.

Fuel is a harsh environment for microbial growth. However, some bacteria can grow well due to their adaptive mechanisms. Our goal was to characterize the adaptations required for Pseudomonas aeruginosa proliferation in fuel. We have used DNA-microarrays and RT-PCR to characterize the transcriptional response of P. aeruginosa to fuel. Transcriptomics revealed that genes essential for medium- and long-chain n-alkane degradation including alkB1 and alkB2 were transcriptionally induced. Gas chromatography confirmed that P. aeruginosa possesses pathways to degrade different length n-alkanes, favoring the use of n-C11-18. Furthermore, a gamut of synergistic metabolic pathways, including porins, efflux pumps, biofilm formation, and iron transport, were transcriptionally regulated. Bioassays confirmed that efflux pumps and biofilm formation were required for growth in jet fuel. Furthermore, cell homeostasis appeared to be carefully maintained by the regulation of porins and efflux pumps. The Mex RND efflux pumps were required for fuel tolerance; blockage of these pumps precluded growth in fuel. This study provides a global understanding of the multiple metabolic adaptations required by bacteria for survival and proliferation in fuel-containing environments. This information can be applied to improve the fuel bioremediation properties of bacteria.

Expression of the hemoglobin-haptoglobin receptor CD163 on hematopoietic progenitors.

CD163, the hemoglobin-haptoglobin receptor, has been reported to be expressed exclusively on monocyte/ macrophages. Here we demonstrate that CD163 is also expressed by a subpopulation of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Flow cytometric analysis shows that 1.9 +/- 1.3% (+/-SD, n = 16) of adult bone marrow and 2.0 +/- 1.8% (n = 8) of umbilical cord blood CD34(+) cells express cell-surface CD163, and 69.1 +/- 16.9% (n = 9) and 79.7 +/- 22.4% (n = 8) of the respective cells contain the CD163 protein intracellularly. The expression of CD163 by CD34(+) cells was confirmed by western blot analysis of cell lysates. Transcripts corresponding to the known predominant and variant 1 forms of CD163 were amplified via RT-PCR from CD34(+) cell-derived mRNA. A new variant (K11) with a deletion at the start of exon 15 was also detected. The deleted region contains a PKCalpha phosphorylation site and an amino acid sequence (YREM) that may support efficient receptor endocytosis. The addition of activating anti-CD163 antibodies increased the growth and differentiation of erythroid progenitors in colony-forming assays. These data suggest that hemoglobin may mediate a stimulatory effect on erythropoiesis through the activation of CD163 on hematopoietic progenitor cells.