Making people meet: volunteers' contributions to social connection for the well-being of self and others.

Purpose: Social isolation and loneliness are significant public health challenges that reduce well-being. The voluntary sector is suggested to be an important contributor in reducing loneliness and enhancing social connectedness and well-being in everyday life. This study aimed to contribute knowledge about how volunteers may help promote social connections and well-being, by exploring the experiences and perspectives of volunteers themselves.

Otoacoustic Emissions Testing to Identify Hearing Loss in the ICU: A Feasibility Study.

Objectives: Hearing impairment is associated with delirium among ICU patients and a lack of functional recovery among older ICU survivors. We assessed the feasibility of using otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) testing to screen for preexisting hearing loss in the ICU.

Design: Pilot study.

Culture and COVID-19 Related Impacts on Alcohol-Exposed Pregnancy Risk Among Urban American Indian and Alaska Native Young Adults: A Path Analysis.

Purpose: We investigated the influence of COVID-19 pandemic-related factors and cultural identification on indicators of alcohol-exposed pregnancy (AEP) risk among urban American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) youth ages 16-20.

Methods: Path analysis was used to evaluate associations among measures collected at baseline of the Native WYSE CHOICES, an intervention study to reduce AEP risk among urban AIAN youth. Data were collected nationally from 439 female-at-birth AIAN youth (mean age 18.

Impact of a hearing intervention on the levels of leisure-time physical activity and T.V. viewing in older adults: results from a secondary analysis of the ACHIEVE trial.

Background: Age-related hearing loss is common among older adults and may influence physical activity and sedentary behaviors, such as TV viewing. This study examined whether a hearing intervention could affect these behaviors over three years.

Methods: 977 participants (mean age of 76.

Hearing Loss, Difficulty With Activities of Daily Living, and Experience of Consequences of Related Unmet Needs in Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis.

Purpose: Experiencing difficulty with activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental ADLs (IADLs) and/or the consequences of unmet ADL/IADL-related needs is associated with adverse health-related outcomes. The association of hearing loss (HL) with experiencing the consequences of unmet ADL/IADL-related needs is not well understood. We investigated the associations of HL with experiencing ADL/IADL difficulties and the consequences of unmet ADL/IADL-related needs in older adults.

A qualitative study exploring depressed participants' experiences of receiving Augmented Depression Therapy (ADepT).

Objectives: The current study aimed to explore participants' views on the acceptability, impact and mechanisms of change of Augmented Depression Therapy (ADepT), a novel wellbeing-focused and recovery-oriented psychological therapy for depression.

Design: A semi-structured qualitative interview design was used, with data analysed using the framework approach.

Participants: 20 participants with anhedonic depression who had received up to 20 sessions of ADepT, sampled from a pilot randomised controlled trial of ADepT versus Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

One-month outcomes of a culturally tailored alcohol-exposed pregnancy prevention mobile app among urban Native young women: A randomized controlled trial of Native WYSE CHOICES.

Background: The majority of alcohol-exposed pregnancy (AEP) prevention programs for Native women have focused on at-risk adult women residing in rural tribal communities; however, over 70% of the Native population resides in urban areas. Moreover, Native young women universally-regardless of risk status-may benefit from culturally tailored resources. We hypothesized that urban Native young women who engaged with Native WYSE CHOICES (NWC), a culturally tailored AEP prevention intervention delivered by mobile phone app, would report reduced risk of AEP at the 1-month follow-up compared to those who engaged with a comparison condition.

Sleep characteristics and hearing loss in middle-aged and older adults: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2015-2018.

Background: Population-based evidence linking sleep characteristics with hearing is limited and how the associations change with age remains unknown. We aim to investigate cross-sectional associations between sleep characteristics and hearing by age in a nationally representative sample of U.S.

Hearing care in low-resourced and humanitarian settings: findings from a pilot study in South Sudan.

Objectives: This longitudinal experimental study aimed to profile audiometric hearing loss, explore the feasibility and efficacy of low-cost hearing devices, and examine their social and emotional impact on participants in South Sudan, a low-resource humanitarian setting.

Design: We performed pure tone hearing screenings on adults with self-reported hearing disability, randomly providing eligible participants with one of two inexpensive devices-Asana Pro 800, a non-customizable hearing device fit unilaterally, or the Super Ear SE9000, a hand-held amplifier with headphones given one per individual.

Study Sample: Between October 2022 and January 2023, 142 adults underwent hearing screening at the Juba Teaching Hospital ENT clinic, of whom 19 eligible individuals were provided with hearing devices.

Association of Self-Recognition of Hearing Loss With Hospitalizations in Older Adults in the United States.

Background: Hearing loss is highly prevalent and associated with increased health care utilization. Recognition of hearing loss may play an important role in self-advocacy in difficult communication situations and prevent negative outcomes.

Objectives: To investigate the associations between self-recognition of hearing loss and hospitalization outcomes.

Insights from social media into public perspectives on investigative genetic genealogy.

Social media sites like X (formerly Twitter) increasingly serve as spaces for the public to discuss controversial topics. Social media can spark extreme viewpoints and spread biased or inaccurate information while simultaneously allowing for debate around policy-relevant topics. The arrest of Joseph J.

Long somatic DNA-repeat expansion drives neurodegeneration in Huntington's disease.

In Huntington's disease (HD), striatal projection neurons (SPNs) degenerate during midlife; the core biological question involves how the disease-causing DNA repeat (CAG) in the huntingtin (HTT) gene leads to neurodegeneration after decades of biological latency. We developed a single-cell method for measuring this repeat's length alongside genome-wide RNA expression. We found that the HTT CAG repeat expands somatically from 40-45 to 100-500+ CAGs in SPNs.

Associations of Traumatic Brain Injury and Hearing: Results From the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS).

Objective: To examine associations of traumatic brain injury (TBI) with self-reported and clinical measures of hearing function.

Setting: Four US communities.

Participants: A total of 3176 Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study participants who attended the sixth study visit in 2016-2017, when hearing was assessed.

Disparities in Mortality Outcomes Among Older Adults With Communication Disabilities Using the National Health and Aging Trends Study.

Objective(s): To examine whether a nationally representative population of older adults with communication disabilities (CDs) has a higher risk of mortality than older adults without these disabilities, independent of sociodemographic, health, and other disability characteristics.

Design: Retrospective, cohort study. We conducted a survival analysis using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression, adjusting for sociodemographic, health, and other disability characteristics.

What psychological interventions are effective for individuals with prolonged post-concussion symptoms of at least 12 months following mild traumatic brain injury? A systematic review.

For some, post-concussion symptoms following a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) are prolonged in nature, lasting for a minimum of 12 months and up to many years. There remains limited insight into the effectiveness of psychological interventions for the treatment of prolonged post-concussion symptoms (PrPCS). This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of psychological interventions for PrPCS (>12 months post mTBI).

Challenges in developing response evaluation criteria for peptide receptor radionuclide therapy: A consensus report from the European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society Advisory Board Meeting 2022 and the ENETS Theranostics Task Force.

Assessing the response to systemic therapy in neuroendocrine tumors (NET) is challenging since morphological imaging response is often delayed and not necessarily reflective of clinical benefit. Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) has a complex mechanism of action, further complicating response assessment. In response to these challenges, the European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (ENETS) Theranostics Task Force conducted a statement-based survey among experts to identify the current landscape and unmet needs in PRRT response assessment.

Report of a SPEAC webinar 22 september 2023: Sensorineural hearing loss, lassa virus disease and vaccines.

Lassa virus (LASV) belongs to the Arenavirus family. LASV is endemic in several West Africa countries and causes viral hemorrhagic fevers. The Nigeria CDC has reported that an outbreak in 2024 in 28 states has resulted in 7767 suspected cases of Lassa fever, 971 confirmed cases and 166 confirmed deaths up to 11 August.

A Hearing Intervention and Health-Related Quality of Life in Older Adults: A Secondary Analysis of the ACHIEVE Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Health-related quality of life is a critical health outcome and a clinically important patient-reported outcome in clinical trials. Hearing loss is associated with poorer health-related quality-of-life in older adults.

Objective: To investigate the 3-year outcomes of hearing intervention vs health education control on health-related quality of life.

The Buddy Program: High school students inform the design of a school-based peer support program for concussion.

Prior research provides little guidance on how to support return to school post-concussion. Peer support may be one strategy to enable adolescents to return to school post-concussion. The purpose of this study was to explore what high school students preferred in a school-based peer support program post-concussion.

Ecological implications of row width and cultivar selection on rice (Oryza sativa) and barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli).

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) producers in the Mid-south are experiencing difficulties with herbicide-resistant weeds such as barnyardgrass [Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P.