Effect of pass/fail grading vs. letter grading on pharmacy students' achievement goal orientations.

Introduction: In the Fall of 2021, the grading scale for a pharmacotherapy case-based series of recitations in a pharmacy practice course was modified from a letter grade format to a pass/fail format. The aim of this study was to assess how different formats of grading affected pharmacy students' achievement goal orientations based on the 2 × 2 conceptual framework developed by Eliot and Harackiewicz (i.e.

Emergency Verbal Consent for Intrapartum Research: A Grounded Theory Study.

Objective: To understand the experiences of women, birth partners and health professionals of verbal followed by retrospective written consent in a prospective cohort study of a device to manage postpartum haemorrhage (PPH).

Design: Grounded Theory.

Setting: Tertiary facility in North-West England, UK.

Building Interprofessional Educational Bridges internationally: A reflection on our international partnership to equip future healthcare professionals with skills to care for rural and marginalized populations.

Background: Trans-Atlantic collaboration between nursing and pharmacy programs for interprofessional education (IPE) is uncommon. A literature search revealed limited sources for comparison, leading to the creation of a stakeholder committee from four colleges: Augusta University College of Nursing and University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, representing the United States of America, and Robert Gordon University Schools of Nursing and Midwifery and Pharmacy and Life Sciences, representing Scotland. A proposal outlining an international IPE experience designed to prepare future healthcare professionals to collaboratively address the challenges facing rural and underserved populations by supporting improvements in access to care for both countries.

Collaborative drug therapy modification (CDTM): Facilitators, barriers, and perceptions of individual pharmacist participation in Georgia.

Background: Georgia Board of Pharmacy (BOP) regulations permit pharmacists to engage in collaborative drug therapy modification (CDTM) with physicians, allowing them to perform patient assessments, adjust pharmacotherapy, and order laboratory tests. Pharmacist-led CDTM can positively affect health outcomes leading to reduced healthcare expenditures. CDTM is underutilized, with < 1% of Georgia pharmacists holding an active license to practice CDTM.

Improving mental health in black men through a 24-week community-based lifestyle change intervention: the black impact program.

Background: Poor mental health is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among Black men in the United States. Efforts to improve mental health among Black men have been hampered by a lack of access and utilization of mental health services. Physical activity and social networks have been shown to improve mental health.

Virtual Community Engagement for Retention of Black Men in Clinical Research.

Black American men have worse cardiovascular health compared with their White counterparts, yet are highly underrepresented in clinical trials. In 2020, Black men were recruited to participate in Black Impact, a community-based lifestyle intervention to increase cardiovascular health. Due to the research pause during the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, a virtual community engagement (VCE) process was co-designed with community stakeholders and evaluated for its effect on retention for the clinical trial.

Antihypertensive Use and the Risk of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias among Older Adults in the USA.

Background: Epidemiological evidence on different classes of antihypertensives and risks of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) is inconclusive and limited. This study examined the association between antihypertensive use (including therapy type and antihypertensive class) and ADRD diagnoses among older adults with hypertension.

Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted, involving 539 individuals aged ≥ 65 years who used antihypertensives and had ADRD diagnosis selected from 2013 to 2018 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data.

The impact of synchronous hybrid instruction on students' engagement in a pharmacotherapy course.

Background: Synchronous hybrid instruction offers flexible learning opportunities by allowing a portion of students to attend class sessions on campus while simultaneously allowing the remaining students to attend remotely. Although such flexibility may offer a number of advantages for pharmacy students, one area of concern is whether online participation options within synchronous hybrid courses can promote similar levels of engagement as courses that are designed entirely for face-to-face (FTF) participation.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of synchronous hybrid instruction on pharmacy students' engagement in a pharmacotherapy course.

Improving cardiovascular health in black men through a 24-week community-based team lifestyle change intervention: The black impact pilot study.

Background: Higher cardiovascular health scores, using American Heart Association's (AHA) Life's Simple 7 (LS7), have been associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and mortality among all racial/ethnic groups. Nationally, Black men have the lowest levels of LS7. Thus, a study was conducted to evaluate the impact of a community-based team lifestyle change program on LS7 among Black men.

A Scoping Review Evaluating the Effect of SGLT-2 Inhibitors on Insulin Dose Requirements in Insulin-Dependent Patients With Type 2 Diabetes.

Objective: Assess evidence describing the effect of Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors on total daily insulin (TDI) requirements in insulin-dependent patients with type 2 diabetes.

Data Sources: A scoping review was conducted following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Protocols and Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. The search was conducted in PubMed; citation mapping was completed in Web of Science.

Exploring psychological factors associated with breastfeeding in women with a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m.

Objective: Women with a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m are less likely to initiate and maintain breastfeeding compared to normal-weight women. Psychological factors have been linked with breastfeeding, but their influence on women with a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m experiences needs further exploration. The aim of this study was to investigate whether psychological factors are voiced by women with a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m, and how these factors influence their breastfeeding.

Contraceptive unmet needs in low and middle-income countries: A systematic review.

Contraceptive use in sub-Saharan Africa remains low, with a minimal rise from 23.6% to 28.5% between 2008 and 2015.

Rising to the challenge: medical students as Doctors' Assistants; an evaluation of a new clinical role.

Introduction: The COVID-19 Pandemic brought clinical placements to a halt for many UK medical students. A University Hospitals Trust offered clinical phase students the opportunity to support the National Health Service (NHS) in newly defined roles as Doctors' Assistants (DAs). This study evaluates the experience of students working in a single NHS Trust.

Experiences of women, men and healthcare workers accessing family planning services in Malawi: A grounded theory.

Background: The importance of modern contraceptive methods in averting unwanted pregnancies has been acknowledged in Malawi. Currently, the country has registered the highest rates of unsafe abortions, unmet needs for contraception and a low contraceptive prevalence rate. Understanding why these rates exist is important.

Obstetric Care by Family Physicians and Infant Mortality in Rural Alabama.

Background: The closure of obstetrics (OB) units at rural hospitals is thought to have implications for access to prenatal care (PNC) and infant mortality rate (IMR). The objective of this study was to determine whether local availability of PNC and OB services, specifically as provided by family physicians (FPs), would be associated with a lower IMR in 1 rural Alabama county.

Methods: Data from 1986 to 2013 from Pickens County was compared with data from 2 sets of control counties: Clarke/Monroe (full OB care) and Coosa/Conecuh (no local OB care).

Fear of birth in clinical practice: A structured review of current measurement tools.

To identify measurement tools which screen for the presence of fear of birth (FOB) and to determine the most effective tool/s for use in clinical practice. Fear or birth (FOB) is internationally recognised as a cause for increasing concern, despite a lack of consensus on a definition or optimal measure of assessment. There is a wide array of FOB measurement tools, however little clarity on which tool should be used to screen for FOB in clinical practice.

A realist review of the partograph: when and how does it work for labour monitoring?

Background: The partograph (or partogram) is recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), for monitoring labour wellbeing and progress. Concerns about limitations in the way the partograph is used in the clinical context and the potential impact on its effectiveness have led to this realist systematic review of partograph use.

Methods: This review aimed to answer two key questions, 1) What is it about the partograph that works (or does not work); for whom does it work; and in what circumstances? 2) What are the essential inputs required for the partograph to work? A comprehensive search strategy encompassed key databases; including papers of varying methodologies.

Improving quality of care during labour and childbirth and in the immediate postnatal period.

Quality of care during labour and childbirth and in the immediate postnatal period is important in ensuring healthy maternal and newborn survival. A narrative review of existing quality frameworks in the context of evidence-based interventions for essential care demonstrates the complexities of quality of care and the domains required to provide high quality of care. The role of the care provider is pivotal to optimum care; however, providers need appropriate training and supervision, which should include assessment of core competencies.

Is accurate and reliable blood loss estimation the 'crucial step' in early detection of postpartum haemorrhage: an integrative review of the literature.

Background: Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is the leading cause of maternal mortality in low-income countries and severe maternal morbidity in many high-income countries. Poor outcomes following PPH are often attributed to delays in the recognition and treatment of PPH. Experts have suggested that improving the accuracy and reliability of blood loss estimation is the crucial step in preventing death and morbidity from PPH.