Experiences and lessons learned from a global research administration capacity building project to support and expand HIV/AIDS research in southwestern Uganda.

International collaborative research projects conducted at academic research institutions, including complex basic science, clinical, and translational HIV/AIDS research, require intensive communication, coordination, and thoughtful relationship-building at all institutional levels and especially require the support of experienced and well-trained Research Administrators. To be successful, global research teams must be not only scientifically adept, but supported by a staff skilled in identifying opportunities, submitting proposals, and managing all aspects of award administration and reporting. Using a National Institutes of Health, Fogarty International Center funded training grant, the project team aimed to develop a comprehensive Research administration capacity-building program that would improve the support provided to investigators at Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Uganda through collaboration with the University of Virginia in the United States and expand future funding success for innovative HIV/AIDS and HIV-related research.

Review of health hazards and prevention measures for response and recovery workers and volunteers after natural disasters, flooding, and water damage: mold and dampness.

Health problems and illnesses encountered by unprotected workers, first-responders, home-owners, and volunteers in recovery and restoration of moldy indoor environments after hurricanes, typhoons, tropical storms, and flooding damage are a growing concern for healthcare providers and disaster medicine throughout the world. Damp building materials, particularly cellulose-containing substrates, are prone to fungal (mold) and bacterial infestation. During remediation and demolition work, the airborne concentrations of such microbes and their by-products can rise significantly and result in an exposure risk.

English-speaking and Spanish-speaking domestic violence perpetrators: an MMPI-2 assessment.

The use of assessments to characterize domestic violence perpetrators continues to develop with an emphasis on increasing the effectiveness of domestic violence interventions. The present study examines and compares Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-2 responses from 41 English-speaking and 48 Spanish-speaking men who were in court-mandated domestic violence treatment programs. Data are analyzed on all validity, clinical, supplementary, and content scales using composite means and cluster analyses.

Medicare preferred provider organization demonstration: plan offerings and beneficiary enrollment.

As preferred provider organizations (PPOs) become the dominant model of managed health care in the private sector, policymakers have increasingly viewed PPOs as an attractive option for Medicare. In part to understand how PPOs might operate under the Medicare Program, CMS launched the Medicare PPO demonstration in January 2003. In this article, we examine how PPOs have operated so far under the demonstration, including PPO availability and market entry; premiums, benefits, and beneficiary cost sharing; and enrollment, market share, enrollee characteristics, and disenrollment to date.