Occupational Therapists' Role in Maternal Health in the Home Environment After Cesarean Section.

Cesarean sections (c-sections) are the most commonly performed surgery in the United States, and the country is currently facing a maternal health crisis. Surprisingly, women do not receive rehabilitation services to support the acute stages of c-section recovery. When someone undergoes a knee or hip replacement, it is standard practice for the physician to order home health services, including occupational therapy, for a client before they are discharged from the hospital.

Management of T cell responses by anesthetic drugs-propofol & isoflurane in perioperative breast cancer patients: A prospective hospital-based study.

Background & objectives The choice of anesthetic for better perioperative conservation of immune responses has always been contentious. This study investigated the differential impact of the intravenous anesthetic, propofol, and the volatile anesthetic, isoflurane on the T cell immune responses, if any, among individuals going through perioperative breast cancer. Methods Perioperative blood samples (preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative) collected from participants with breast cancer in two arms namely isoflurane arm (n=50) and the propofol arm (n=50) were analyzed for T cell immune response using flow cytometry and ELISA.

What If…The Impact of Institutional Accreditation on PA Programs Transitioning to an Entry-Level Professional Doctorate Degree.

Introduction: There are several ramifications of a potential degree transition to an entry-level doctoral degree for Physician Assistant (PA) programs. The purpose of this article is to investigate the impact on institutional accreditation and transitioning to an entry level doctoral degree. To understand the potential impact on racial diversity, a subset of programs was further reviewed.

A Modified Delphi Process to Achieve Consensus on Social/Administrative Science Topics in Pharmacy Curricula.

Objective: This study aimed to identify a consensus among pharmacy educators regarding relevant social and administrative science (SAS) topic areas and their priorities within pharmacy curricula.

Methods: A modified Delphi process was conducted with members of selected American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy affinity groups as the expert panel. A total of 83 potential topic areas across 12 domains were gathered via an informal literature review.

Research Priorities for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response: An Interdisciplinary Delphi Study.

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is a multisensory experience most often associated with feelings of relaxation and altered consciousness, elicited by stimuli which include whispering, repetitive movements, and close personal attention. Since 2015, ASMR research has grown rapidly, spanning disciplines from neuroscience to media studies but lacking a collaborative or interdisciplinary approach. To build a cohesive and connected structure for ASMR research moving forwards, a modified Delphi study was conducted with ASMR experts, practitioners, community members, and researchers from various disciplines.

Assessing Professional Behaviors of Physician Assistant Students in Objective Structured Clinical Examinations: A Scoping Review.

Introduction: Professionalism in physician assistant (PA) students is an essential behavior to assess during formative medical education. Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) provide an opportunity to evaluate PA students performing professional behaviors within simulated clinical settings. This scoping review aims to explore insights the existing literature offers regarding evaluating the professional behaviors of PA students using an OSCE.

Methadone metabolism and cytochrome P450 polymorphisms: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Confusion regarding methadone metabolism exists, hampering optimal clinical use. A systematic review was conducted to assess the impacts of cytochrome P450 (CYP) genetic polymorphisms on methadone outcomes.

Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and CENTRAL were searched to identify studies reporting methadone dose-adjusted plasma concentrations, clearance, maintenance dose, or treatment response in relation to polymorphisms in humans.

A Nursing Home Clinician Survey to Explain Gabapentinoid Increases.

Objectives: Survey nursing home (NH) clinicians about the indications for NH gabapentinoid use, the factors driving increased prescribing, and their experiences with gabapentinoid deprescribing.

Design: Online clinician survey.

Setting And Participants: NH clinicians prescribing gabapentinoids in US NHs.

CYP3A5 pharmacogenetic testing for tacrolimus in pediatric heart transplant patients: a budget impact analysis.

Background: Pharmacogenomic testing can optimize drug efficacy and minimize adverse effects. CYP3A5 polymorphisms affect the metabolism of tacrolimus. We sought to estimate the budget impact of preemptive pharmacogenomic testing for CYP3A5 in pediatric heart transplantation patients from an institutional perspective.

Budget impact analysis of TPMT and NUDT15 pharmacogenomic testing for 6-mercaptopurine in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients.

Background: Pharmacogenomic testing identifies gene polymorphisms impacting drug metabolism, aiding in optimizing treatment efficacy and minimizing toxicity, thus potentially reducing healthcare utilization. 6-Mercaptopurine metabolism is affected by thiopurine methyltransferase ( TPMT ) and nudix hydrolase 15 ( NUDT15 ) polymorphisms. We sought to estimate the budget impact of preemptive pharmacogenomic testing for these genes in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients from an institutional perspective.

The Role of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Pharmacy Education and Practice.

A current major topic of conversation in academic pharmacy is "curricular hoarding," the overloading of the curriculum due to the steady addition of required knowledge and skills without a concomitant subtraction of existing content. It can be tempting to consider addressing hoarding by just reducing content in the foundational biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences or by shifting some foundational content into prerequisites for admission into the Doctor of Pharmacy program. The health care education literature suggests that this approach would negatively impact the development of the critical and clinical thinking skills needed by a modern pharmacist.

Predictive Factors of State Licensure Board Disciplinary Actions in Occupational Therapy.

Importance: One primary function of occupational therapy state licensure boards (SLBs) is the discipline of ethical misconduct by licensed occupational therapy practitioners. However, SLB sanctioning is poorly understood by practitioners, regulators, and the public.

Objective: To identify predictors of occupational therapy practitioner sanctioning outcomes in the United States.

Randomized Controlled Trial of the Behavioral Intervention for Increasing Physical Activity in Multiple Sclerosis Project: Fidelity Monitoring and Outcomes.

Treatment fidelity is a key component for assessing the reliability and validity of clinical trials in behavioral medicine. This manuscript reports on the outcomes of a pre-planned fidelity monitoring protocol for a Phase-III clinical trial, project Behavioral Intervention for Physical Activity in Multiple Sclerosis (BIPAMS). The fidelity monitoring protocol included the five areas of the National Institutes of Health Behavior Change Consortium with primary data sources including: coaching call checklists, coaching logs, auditing of coaching calls by experts, behavioral resource bank within the treatment group, review of participant website log-ins, review of participant self-monitoring, and team meetings for discussing participant progress and protocol adherence.

Understanding Pandemic Increases in Long-Stay Psychotropic Prescribing for Dementia Symptoms: A Survey of Nursing Home Clinicians.

To explore the perceptions of nursing home (NH) clinicians regarding factors underpinning known increases in psychotropic prescribing over the COVID-19 pandemic. : Three iterative online surveys were fielded to Virginia NH prescribing clinicians (11/2021-6/2022) to assess their perspectives regarding factors driving pandemic increases in NH psychotropic use. Existing literature and emerging survey data informed survey content.

Exploring the Impact of Generation Status on Pharmacy Admissions: A Comparative Study of First-Generation and Continuing-Generation College Students.

Objective: First-generation college students (FGCSs) comprise a large demographic of health professions programs. Although FGCSs in pharmacy education have been studied, robust data describing FGCSs who pursue a Doctor of Pharmacy degree are sparse. The objective of this study was to describe the FGCS applicant population within pharmacy education from 2017 to 2023 and compare them with continuing-generation college student (CGCS) applicants.

The Effect of IVF Treatments for Infertility on Occupational Balance.

The utilization of assisted reproductive technologies (ART), including in vitro fertilization (IVF), has doubled in the past decade. The occupational balance of women undergoing infertility and its treatments is unknown. A qualitative study to investigate the occupational balance of women undergoing IVF for infertility was completed.

Understanding Long-Stay Gabapentin Use Increases: A National Nursing Home Clinician Survey on Prescribing Intent.

Objectives: Explore the indications for long-stay gabapentin use and elucidate the factors spurring the rapid increase in gabapentin prescribing in nursing homes (NHs).

Methods: National cross-sectional survey of NH prescribers distributed anonymously using SurveyMonkey. Sampling for convenience was obtained through crowdsourcing, leveraging collaborations with NH clinician organizations.

Long COVID management: a mini review of current recommendations and underutilized modalities.

Long COVID is a condition that develops in a subset of patients after COVID-19 infection comprising of symptoms of varying severity encompassing multiple organ systems. Currently, long COVID is without consensus on a formal definition, identifiable biomarkers, and validated treatment. Long COVID is expected to be a long-term chronic condition for a subset of patients and is associated with suffering and incapacity.

Quality Gap in Long-Stay Antipsychotic Quality Measure Performance Widens Over the Pandemic, Reversing Past Gains.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) grades nursing home performance in antipsychotic prescribing quarterly, publishing findings as a quality measure. While scores have improved since 2011, marked performance variation between facilities persists. To assess quality gap changes between best- and worst-performing deciles, we compared quarterly prescribing changes between these groups pre-pandemic (April 2011 to March 2020) and during the pandemic (April 2020 to March 2022).

Philosophical Reflections on Music Therapy Musicianship.

This philosophical inquiry critically examines music therapy musicianship in order to reconceptualize the ways in which musicianship is conceived of and taught in education and training programs in the United States. Through a constructive and critical interaction with historical and extant literature, we seek to create space for the uniqueness of musicianship in our field. We challenge the relevance of the conservatory model, the primacy of the work concept, and the focus on fine art often found in educational settings.

Vocal Pedagogues Training Dysphonic Voices: Treatment Seeking Approaches and Practices.

Objective: This study examined the practices of current professional voice teachers' management of voice disorders.

Type Of Study: Survey.

Methods: An online survey was developed and made available to vocal educators who had membership in organizations within the field of voice.