National Institutes of Health pathways to prevention workshop: Improving rural health through telehealth-guided provider-to-provider communication.

Introduction: Rural communities often face chronic challenges of high rates of serious health conditions coupled with inadequate access to health care services-challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. One strategy with the potential to mitigate these problems is the increased use of telehealth technology. A feature of telehealth applications-collaboration between health care providers for consultation and other purposes-referred to herein as Rural Provider-to-Provider Telehealth (RPPT), introduces important expertise that may not exist locally in rural communities.

Pertussis Vaccination Among Childcare Center Staff, Administrators, and Parents: Uptake, Policies, and Beliefs.

Introduction Little is known about childcare staff's and parents' uptake of and attitudes towards pertussis vaccine. Methods Questionnaires were distributed to St. Louis parents and childcare staff in fall, 2014.

Impact of an Education Intervention on Missouri K-12 School Disaster and Biological Event Preparedness.

Background: A 2011 nationwide school pandemic preparedness study found schools to be deficient. We examined the impact of a school nurse educational intervention aimed at improving K-12 school biological event preparedness.

Methods: Missouri Association of School Nurses (MASN) members were e-mailed a survey link in fall 2013 (ie, preintervention), links to online education modules (ie, intervention) in late fall, and a postintervention survey link in spring, 2014.

Vaccination for child clients and employees in St Louis childcare agencies: Vaccine uptake and policies versus parents' perceptions.

Background: Little is known about childcare agency staff vaccination requirements, parents' perceptions of these requirements, or vaccine uptake in these populations.

Methods: A questionnaire was administered to St Louis parents and childcare agency staff in fall of 2014. The χ(2) tests compared staff's versus parents' uptake of hepatitis A, pertussis, and seasonal influenza vaccines.

Parents' and staff's support for a childcare agency employee mandatory vaccination policy or agency certification program.

Background: Vaccine-preventable diseases pose a significant risk to children in childcare. However, few regulations exist regarding childcare staff vaccination. This study aimed to assess support for a childcare agency staff mandatory vaccination policy.

Missouri K-12 school disaster and biological event preparedness and seasonal influenza vaccination among school nurses.

Background: School preparedness for bioevents, such as emerging infectious diseases, bioterrorism, and pandemics, is imperative, but historically has been low.

Methods: The Missouri Association of School Nurses members were sent an online survey during the 2013-2014 school year to assess current bioevent readiness. There were 15 and 35 indicators of school disaster and bioevent preparedness, respectively.

Are US jurisdictions prepared to dispense medical countermeasures through open points of dispensing? Findings from a national study.

Communities will rely on open points of dispensing (PODs) for mass dispensing of medical countermeasures following a bioterrorism attack or a pandemic. US Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) open POD preparedness is assessed using the Technical Assistance Review (TAR) but focuses on oral prophylaxis dispensing; mass vaccination readiness is not well measured. Non-CRI preparedness had not been studied.

US disaster planners' attitudes regarding preevent vaccine for first responders and point-of-dispensing workers.

Disaster planners' attitudes toward pre-event anthrax and smallpox vaccine for first responders and point-of-dispensing (POD) workers have not been examined. An online questionnaire was sent to US Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) and non-CRI public health disaster planners in 2013. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to assess determinants of belief that first responders and POD workers should be offered the anthrax and/or smallpox vaccine before an event.

Infection prevention and mass vaccination training for U.S. point of dispensing staff and volunteers: a national study.

Background: Points of dispensing (PODs) are deployed for medical countermeasure mass dispensing. However, infection prevention and vaccine administration pre-event training offered and just-in-time (JIT) education planned for POD workers have not been assessed.

Methods: Disaster planners were sent an online questionnaire in 2013.

Case report: the effects of massage therapy on a woman with thoracic outlet syndrome.

Introduction: Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) refers to a group of conditions resulting from compression of the neurovascular structures of the thoracic outlet. The parameters for physical therapy include myofascial release (MFR), neuromuscular therapy (NMT), muscle strengthening, and stretching. This case study examined the effects of neuromuscular therapy, massage, and other manual therapies on a 56-year-old female presenting with bilateral numbness over the forearms and hands on waking.

Mary Wakefield: Health Resources and Services Administrator. Interview.

Dr. Mary Wakefield is the administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration. She came from the University of North Dakota, where she directed the Center for Rural Health.

Psychological essentialist reasoning and perspective taking during reading: a donkey is not a zebra, but a plate can be a clock.

In an eyetracking study, we examined whether readers use psychological essentialist reasoning and perspective taking online. Stories were presented in which an animal or an artifact was transformed into another animal (e.g.

Public health. Developing health workforce capacity in Africa.

In Africa, programs to improve health will require major investments in institutions that can train and retain health professionals.

Implementing patient safety initiatives in rural hospitals.

Implementation of patient safety initiatives can be costly in time and energy. Because of small volumes and limited resources, rural hospitals often are not included in nationally driven patient safety initiatives. This article describes the Tennessee Rural Hospital Patient Safety Demonstration project, whose goal was to strengthen capacity for patient safety initiatives in 8 small Tennessee rural hospitals using a multi-organizational collaborative model.

Envisioning and implementing new directions for health care.

Across the entire health sector, federal analysts indicate that in 2006 approximately $2.1 trillion were spent on health care, over $7,000 per person. With expenditures at this level, it is no surprise that people are asking whether the public receives value commensurate with the financial investment.