Publications by authors named "Brian Carter"

Objectives: Adults with behavioral health needs exhibit elevated tobacco use rates. Tobacco-free workplace policies (TFWPs) at behavioral health treatment centers can effectively curb clients' tobacco use and secondhand smoke/vape exposure. However, there is little extant observational research about how total versus partial workplace tobacco use bans are associated with employee's perceptions of signage clarity, consistency of enforcement, and stakeholders' policy awareness in behavioral health centers.

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  • - The study investigates attention problems in children born preterm (<30 weeks gestation) from ages 2 to 5, analyzing factors that influence these attention trajectories and their relationship to ADHD diagnoses.
  • - Using data from 608 infants in a large prospective study, researchers found that while most children displayed low initial attention problems, there were notable individual differences in symptom progression over time.
  • - The findings indicate that children with higher initial attention issues and faster increases in symptoms are at a greater risk for an ADHD diagnosis, highlighting the need for tailored interventions based on individual characteristics.
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  • * A study analyzed DNA methylation patterns in buccal cells from VPT infants to see how their gestational age (GA) and age since conception (post-menstrual age, PMA) affect their development.
  • * Researchers found thousands of DNA sites linked to GA and PMA, with pathways related to brain development and growth significantly affected, indicating that early life epigenetic changes are vital for neurodevelopment in preterm infants.
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Moral distress is a complex phenomenon whereby a person feels tension, constraint, or conflict with an action or circumstance because it goes against their individual or the perceived collective (e.g., community, organizational, or professional association's) moral stance.

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Importance: Preeclampsia has direct influences on a developing fetus and may impact postnatal health, and fetal growth restriction (FGR) is often seen co-occurring with preeclampsia. The development of children born very preterm after preeclampsia diagnosis with and without FGR is not well characterized.

Objective: To examine the associations of preeclampsia and FGR with developmental and/or behavioral outcomes in a cohort of very preterm infants.

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Objective: Understand how high-risk infants' development changes over time. Examine whether NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) profiles are associated with decrements in developmental outcomes between ages 2 and 3 years in infants born very preterm.

Study Design: The Neonatal Outcomes for Very preterm Infants (NOVI) cohort is a multisite prospective study of 704 preterm infants born <30 weeks' gestation across nine university and VON affiliated NICUs.

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Tobacco-free workplace policies (TFWPs) are underused evidence-based interventions that reduce the elevated use of tobacco among substance use treatment center (SUTC) employees and patients. SUTC employees' anticipated concerns about stakeholder pushback are barriers to TFWP adoption. Examination of discrepancies between anticipated and actualized employee-reported TFWP concerns arising from coworkers, patients, and community members in the context of leadership concerns and tobacco cessation care availability for employees may inform strategies to increase TFWP uptake.

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  • The study evaluated the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) to determine its accuracy as a screening tool for autism in a large sample of nearly 3,400 children from the ECHO program, particularly focusing on both term and preterm children.
  • Results indicated that while the M-CHAT showed high specificity (88-99%), its sensitivity was relatively low (36-60%), suggesting it is better at identifying low-risk children rather than accurately diagnosing those at higher risk for autism.
  • Overall, the findings support the use of M-CHAT as a valuable tool for identifying developmental delays and behavioral concerns in children, even though it has limitations in detecting all cases of autism risk effectively.
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  • Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in very preterm infants is linked to long-term health issues and might be influenced by changes in glucocorticoid (GC) activity, affecting the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and its genetics.
  • * DNA methylation (DNAm) of HPA genes was studied using samples from infant tissues, revealing that antenatal steroid exposure correlated with changes in sex-specific methylation, particularly within genes like FKBP5 and POMC related to stress response.
  • * The results indicate that while BPD severity doesn't directly relate to these epigenetic changes, antenatal steroids do, suggesting potential pathways for understanding how preterm birth impacts infant development
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Prior research has identified epigenetic predictors of attention problems in school-aged children but has not yet investigated these in young children, or children at elevated risk of attention problems due to preterm birth. The current study evaluated epigenome-wide associations between neonatal DNA methylation and attention problems at age 2 years in children born very preterm. Participants included 441 children from the Neonatal Neurobehavior and Outcomes in Very Preterm Infants (NOVI) Study, a multi-site study of infants born < 30 weeks gestational age.

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Objective: This study measured staff understanding and integration of trauma-informed care following comprehensive education.

Study Design: This mixed method design used the validated Attitudes Related to Trauma-Informed Care (ARTIC) scale and open-ended survey questions via REDCap optional surveys. Trauma-informed care education was made available to staff members in a level IV NICU.

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Children born less than 30 weeks gestational age (GA) are at high risk for neurodevelopmental delay compared to term peers. Prenatal risk factors and neonatal epigenetics could help identify preterm children at highest risk for poor cognitive outcomes. We aimed to understand the associations among cumulative prenatal risk, neonatal DNA methylation, and child cognitive ability at age 3 years, including whether DNA methylation mediates the association between prenatal risk and cognitive ability.

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Purpose: Medical Knowledge for general surgery residents' is assessed by the American Board of Surgery In- Training Examination (ABSITE). ASBITE score reports contain many metrics residency directors can utilize to assess resident progress and perform program evaluation. The purpose of this study was to develop a framework to evaluate program effectiveness in teaching specific subtest and subtopic areas of the ABSITE, using ABSITE score reports as an indicator.

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Shared decision-making in pediatric palliative care.

Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care

January 2024

Shared decision-making (SDM) with parents and adolescents is normative in pediatric practice in North America. In this article we discuss how it is applicable to the practice of pediatric palliative care (PPC). As PPC itself is exemplary of patient-and-family-centered care, it often uses a SDM approach in clarifying patient and family preferences, goals, and values.

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Importance: Use of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised With Follow-Up, a 2-stage parent-report autism risk screening tool, has been questioned due to reports of poor sensitivity and specificity. How this measure captures developmental delays for very preterm infants may provide support for continued use in pediatric care settings.

Objective: To determine whether autism risk screening with the 2-stage parent-report autism risk screening tool at age 2 years is associated with behavioral and developmental outcomes at age 3 in very preterm infants.

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Objective: Broadband parent rating scales are commonly used to assess behavioral problems in children. Multiple rating scales are available, yet agreement between them is not well-understood. The objective of this study was to evaluate agreement between the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Third Edition (BASC-3), and Child Behavior Checklist 1.

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Epigenetic age acceleration is a risk factor for chronic diseases of ageing and may reflect aspects of biological ageing. However, few studies have examined epigenetic ageing during the early neonatal period in preterm infants, who are at heightened risk of developmental problems. We examined relationships between neonatal age acceleration, neonatal morbidities, and neurobehavioral domains among very preterm (<30 weeks gestation) infants to characterize whether infants with early morbidities or different neurobehavioral characteristics had accelerated or decelerated epigenetic ageing.

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Clinician-healers bear witness to suffering and accompany patients and families through the liminal spaces of an illness experience. Bearing witness to a patient's suffering is a form of attunement toward the ill or hospitalized person. Non-action, or , becomes illustrative of the empathy that develops as clinicians bear witness to the suffering of patients and families.

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Background: Very preterm infants are at high risk for neurodevelopmental impairments. We used a child-centered approach (latent profile analysis [LPA]) to describe 2-year neurobehavioral profiles for very preterm infants based on cognitive, motor, and behavioral outcomes. We hypothesized that distinct outcome profiles would differ in the severity and co-occurrence of neurodevelopmental and behavioral impairment.

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To understand the future of neonatology, it is important to reflect upon the past and the factors that lead to significant advances in the field. In this article, we explore the evolving landscape of neonatology and the shifting practices in the resuscitation of extremely premature infants, with a particular focus on societal influences that have driven these changes. Using the political policy concept of an Overton Window, we explore how breakthroughs move from unthinkable to acceptable practice and how the increasing involvement of parents and their advocacy efforts have played a pivotal role in that progress.

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Tools for assessing multiple exposures across several domains (e.g., physical, chemical, and social) are of growing importance in social and environmental epidemiology because of their value in uncovering disparities and their impact on health outcomes.

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Worldwide, sub-Saharan Africa has the highest burden of global neonatal mortality (43%) and neonatal mortality rate (NMR): 27 deaths per 1,000 live births. The WHO recognizes palliative care (PC) as an integral, yet underutilized, component of perinatal care for pregnancies at risk of stillbirth or early neonatal death, and for neonates with severe prematurity, birth trauma or congenital anomalies. Despite bearing a disproportionate burden of neonatal mortality, many strategies to care for dying newborns and support their families employed in high-income countries (HICs) are not available in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs).

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Introduction: Evidence-based smoking cessation interventions are underused settings where behavioral health treatment is provided, contributing to smoking-related health disparities in this patient group. This study assessed the relationship of provider's beliefs about patients' smoking, perceptions of treatment capability, and knowledge of referral options and their use of the 5A's (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange) intervention for smoking cessation.

Methods: Surveys were collected from providers in healthcare settings in Texas where patients receive behavioral health care (N = 86; 9 federally qualified health centers, 16 Local Mental Health Authorities (LMHAs), 6 substance use treatment programs in LMHAs, and 55 stand-alone substance use treatment centers).

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Objective: To identify neonatal characteristics and 2-year neurodevelopmental outcomes associated with positive screening for risk of autism.

Study Design: Nine university-affiliated neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) enrolled infants born at <30 weeks of gestation. Infants underwent the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale examination before discharge and the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition, the Child Behavior Checklist, and the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, revised with follow-up (M-CHAT-R/F) at 2 years of corrected age.

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