Publications by authors named "Meghan Carey"

Over the last decade, especially since the pandemic, more research has been happening online. Conducting research online can create opportunities to include autistic people across the world and make our studies more diverse. However, conducting research online had led to scammers, or people pretending to be autistic, participating in autism research studies.

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Licensure is an option for some autistic adolescents and families that increases mobility by enabling independent travel to employment, school, and social activities. The objective of this study was to identify current strategies used by healthcare providers (HCPs) in their guidance to autistic adolescents and families on the transition to independent driving. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 HCPs.

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Background And Objectives: Approximately 1.2 million autistic youth will reach the legal age of adulthood over the next decade. Given dynamic changes in the socioecological context of the transition to adulthood, we produced an updated transitions research agenda reflecting the perspectives of autistic young adults, care partners (parents), and professionals who use autism research.

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  • * The research focused on autistic females aged 35-70 to examine the prevalence of symptomatic menopause and associated health conditions among them, finding about 4% reported symptomatic menopause.
  • * Results showed that those with ADHD, anxiety, depression, migraines, and other conditions had higher rates of symptomatic menopause, highlighting the need for better support and discussions around these issues in healthcare settings.
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  • Oxidative stress during pregnancy may play a role in the development of autism, but research directly examining this link is limited.
  • This study involved 169 mother-child pairs and measured prenatal levels of oxidative stress through urinary samples, assessing neurodevelopmental outcomes in the children at around age 3.
  • While the findings did not show significant relationships, there were trends suggesting lower cognitive scores and increased autism-related traits linked to higher oxidative stress, indicating a need for further research in larger populations.
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  • * It highlights healthcare providers' experiences in guiding these families through the process of pursuing driving licensure and the challenges they encounter in providing adequate support.
  • * Key findings suggest that understanding the adolescents' perspectives, preparing caregivers for driving discussions, and facilitating agreements between families are crucial roles for healthcare providers, emphasizing the need for improved communication to better support autistic adolescents' independence.
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In most states, Medicaid waivers provide individuals with an intellectual disability diagnosis generous healthcare coverage throughout adulthood. By comparison, fewer Medicaid programs are available for autistic individuals, and they are more likely to experience disruptions, or gaps, in Medicaid coverage and subsequently not re-enroll. One in five autistic individuals with Medicaid coverage between ages 8 and 25 accrued a new intellectual disability diagnosis.

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We examined associations between prenatal oxidative stress (OS) and child autism-related outcomes. Women with an autistic child were followed through a subsequent pregnancy and that younger sibling's childhood. Associations between glutathione (GSH), glutathione disulfide (GSSG), 8-oxo-deoxyguanine (8-OHdG), and nitrotyrosine and younger sibling Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) scores were examined using quantile regression.

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Purpose: Adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have 30%-40% higher crash rates. However, we still do not understand which factors underlie heightened crash risk and if crash circumstances differ for drivers with ADHD. We compared prevalences of crash responsibility, driver actions, and crash types among adolescent and young adult drivers with and without ADHD who crashed within 48 months of licensure.

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Objective: To characterize healthcare and behavioral service providers' transportation-related discussions with their autistic and non-autistic patients.

Method: 78 providers completed a cross-sectional survey assessing their transportation discussions with patients. We used Mann-Whitney U tests and chi-square tests to compare differences in provider reports by patient diagnosis.

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Importance: In the transition to adulthood, driving supports independence. For autistic adolescents, training provided by specialized driving instructors, including occupational therapists, may establish fitness to drive and continued independence.

Objective: To examine specialized driving instructors' experiences providing behind-the-wheel instruction to autistic adolescents.

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Objective: Our objective was to describe the development of the New Jersey Safety and Health Outcomes (NJ-SHO) data warehouse-a unique and comprehensive data source that integrates state-wide administrative databases in NJ to enable the field of injury prevention to address critical, high-priority research questions.

Methods: We undertook an iterative process to link data from six state-wide administrative databases from NJ for the period of 2004 through 2018: (1) driver licensing histories, (2) traffic-related citations and suspensions, (3) police-reported crashes, (4) birth certificates, (5) death certificates and (6) hospital discharges (emergency department, inpatient and outpatient). We also linked to electronic health records of all NJ patients of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia network, census tract-level indicators (using geocoded residential addresses) and state-wide Medicaid/Medicare data.

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  • The study aimed to compare crash rates, traffic violations, and license suspensions between newly licensed autistic and non-autistic adolescents, finding that autistic individuals represented a smaller portion of drivers involved in these incidents.
  • Data was collected from New Jersey residents through electronic health records linked with driver licensing and crash databases, focusing on those born between 1987 and 2000.
  • Results showed that autistic drivers had lower rates of crashes and violations but faced unique challenges in specific driving situations, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to enhance their driving safety.
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  • * The task force developed a 5-year research agenda focusing on four key areas: Genetic Counseling Clients, Genetic Counseling Process and Outcomes, Value of Genetic Counseling Services, and Access to Genetic Counseling Services.
  • * This framework aims to help advocate for research funding and priorities, promoting the growth of the genetic counseling profession.
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Unlabelled: Limited transportation access may curtail education, occupational training, social, and community engagement opportunities for autistic adolescents. Nearly one-third of autistic adolescents obtain a driver's license by age 21 years, which may increase mobility and improve autistic adolescents' transition to independent adulthood. This study examined driving instructors' perspectives and experiences of teaching autistic adolescents to drive to facilitate a safe learning-to-drive process.

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The size and reach of the genetic counseling profession have expanded on a global scale since the 1970s. Despite this growth, the profession of genetic counseling has remained demographically homogenous. Promoting a culture of inclusivity that supports visible and invisible diversity and leveraging that culture not only expands perspectives represented in the field, but also helps foster equity in genetic services.

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Objective: Identifiable individual-level driver licensing and motor vehicle crash data are essential to advancing transportation safety research. However, epidemiologic studies using such data are rare, which may reflect their inaccessibility. We conducted a legal mapping study to evaluate US state laws regulating access to driver licensing and motor vehicle crash data for use in scientific research.

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  • * Researchers reviewed ADHD patient data from three primary care practices, comparing clinical visits and monitoring from preadolescence (ages 9-11) to adolescence (ages 12-18). The results showed a significant drop in documented ADHD visits during late adolescence.
  • * Key findings highlighted an increase in the assessment of depression, suicide, and substance abuse in adolescents, but only about half were monitored for risky sexual behavior. The study suggests a need for better management practices concerning sexual health and medication safety for adolescents with ADHD.
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Our objective is to describe the development of the New Jersey Safety and Health Outcomes (NJ-SHO) data warehouse, a unique and comprehensive data source that integrates various state-level administrative databases in New Jersey to enable the field of traffic safety to address critical, high-priority research questions. We have obtained full identifiable data from the following statewide administrative databases for the state of New Jersey: (1) driver licensing database; (2) Administration Office of the Courts data on traffic-related citations; (3) police-reported crash database; (4) birth certificate data; (5) death certificate data; and (6) hospital discharge data as well as (7) childhood electronic records from New Jersey residents who were patients of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia pediatric health care network and (8) census tract-level indicators. We undertook an iterative process to develop a linkage algorithm in LinkSolv 9.

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Objectives: To compare monthly rates of specific types of crashes, violations, and license suspensions over the first years of licensure for drivers with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Methods: We identified patients of New Jersey primary care locations of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia who were born in 1987-1997, were New Jersey residents, had their last primary care visit at age ≥12 years, and acquired a driver's license ( = 14 936). Electronic health records were linked to New Jersey's licensing, crash, and violation databases.

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Background: Opportunities to acquire knowledge and skills in new technology are limited for cardiothoracic surgeons after completion of residency. In 2000 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons/American Association for Thoracic Surgery Joint Committee for New Technology Assessment accepted an educational grant from the Foundation for Advanced Medical Education to implement and test an instructional program for practicing cardiothoracic surgeons in off-pump coronary bypass surgery.

Methods: Twenty-four surgeons were selected for participation.

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Context: A rigorous evaluation of continuous quality improvement (CQI) in medical practice has not been carried out on a national scale.

Objective: To test whether low-intensity CQI interventions can be used to speed the national adoption of 2 coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery process-of-care measures: preoperative beta-blockade therapy and internal mammary artery (IMA) grafting in patients 75 years or older.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Three hundred fifty-nine academic and nonacademic hospitals (treating 267 917 patients using CABG surgery) participating in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons National Cardiac Database between January 2000 and July 2002 were randomized to a control arm or to 1 of 2 groups that used CQI interventions designed to increase use of the process-of-care measures.

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