Incorporating Active-Learning Techniques and Competency Assessment into a Critical Care Elective Course

Objective. To design, implement, and measure the effectiveness of a critical care elective course for second-year students in a 3-year accelerated doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) program.Design. A critical care elective course was developed that used active-learning techniques, including cooperative learning and group presentations, to deliver content on critical care topics. Group presentations had to include a disease state overview, practice guidelines, and clinical recommendations, and were evaluated by course faculty members and peers.Assessment. Students’ mean scores on a 20-question critical-care competency assessment administered before and after the course improved by 11% (p < 0.05). Course evaluations and comments were positive.Conclusion. A critical care elective course resulted in significantly improved competency in critical care and was well-received by students.     

A Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy Elective Course to Enhance Pharmacy Students�� Literature Evaluation Skills and Ability to Apply Clinical Evidence

Objectives. To design and implement a cardiovascular pharmacotherapy elective course to enhance pharmacy students’ ability to evaluate medical literature and apply clinical evidence.Design. In weekly class sessions, students were provided an overview of the important literature supporting therapeutic guidelines for the management of major cardiovascular diseases. Students worked in groups to complete outside-of-class assignments involving a patient case and then discussed the case in class. During the semester, each student also independently completed a literature search on an assigned topic, summarized the studies found in table format, and presented 1 of the studies to the class.Assessment. Students’ grades on weekly patient case assignments steadily increased over the semester. Also, the average grade on the final examination was higher than the grade on the midterm take-home examination. On the course evaluation, students rated the course favorably in terms of improvement of confidence in evaluating the primary literature and applying it to practice.Conclusion. Completion of the cardiovascular pharmacotherapy elective increased pharmacy students’ level of confidence in evaluating literature and applying clinical evidence in making patient care decisions.     

Assessing the economic benefits of vaccines based on the health investment life course framework: A review of a broader approach to evaluate malaria vaccination

BackgroundEconomic evaluations have routinely understated the net benefits of vaccination by not including the full range of economic benefits that accrue over the lifetime of a vaccinated person. Broader approaches for evaluating benefits of vaccination can be used to more accurately calculate the value of vaccination.MethodologyThis paper reflects on the methodology of one such approach – the health investment life course approach – that looks at the impact of vaccine investment on lifetime returns. The role of this approach on vaccine decision-making will be assessed using the malaria health investment life course model example.ResultsWe describe a framework that measures the impact of a health policy decision on government accounts over many generations. The methodological issues emerging from this approach are illustrated with an example from a recently completed health investment life course analysis of malaria vaccination in Ghana. Beyond the results, various conceptual and practical challenges of applying this framework to Ghana are discussed in this paper.Discussion and conclusionsThe current framework seeks to understand how disease and available technologies can impact a range of economic parameters such as labour force participation, education, healthcare consumption, productivity, wages or economic growth, and taxation following their introduction. The framework is unique amongst previous economic models in malaria because it considers future tax revenue for governments. The framework is complementary to cost-effectiveness and budget impact analysis. The intent of this paper is to stimulate discussion on how existing and new methodology can add to knowledge regarding the benefits from investing in new and underutilized vaccines.     

基于xMOOC模式的校园公开课程参与者角色剖析

以目前国内外MOOC建设中存在的问题为切入点,结合校园公开课程在线学习的特殊性,采用文献综述及理论分析的方法对高校校园公开课程开展的xMOOC模式进行了探讨,重点剖析了学习者、教师、执行体系以及观察者这四种参与角色,发现存在角色定位不准确甚至缺失的情况,并对高校校园公开课xMOOC开展提出了建议。     

Neighbourhood disadvantage and individual adversities in adolescence and total alcohol consumption up to mid-life—Results from the Northern Swedish Cohort

This study tests if neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage and family social and material adversities during adolescence are independently related to total alcohol consumption from adolescence through to mid-life. Self-reports from the Northern Swedish Cohort (effective sample=950) at ages 16, 18, 21, 30 and 42 was combined with register data on the socioeconomic composition of neighbourhoods at age 16. Total volume of alcohol consumed between age 16–42 was estimated based on the five survey waves, and self-reported social and material adversities were computed as composite variables. Neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage at age 16 was associated with alcohol consumption age 16–42 for men but not for women. Social adversities at age 16 were associated with alcohol consumption age 16–42 for both women and men, but material adversity or parental class was not. In conclusion, neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage in adolescence has a significant relationship with later alcohol consumption among men, even independently from individual factors. On family level, social factors but not socioeconomic factors in adolescence independently predict later alcohol consumption.     

14例食管癌放疗后复发再程放疗的疗效观察

目的:观察食管癌放疗后复发再程放疗的疗效.方法:对14例再程放疗的食管癌患者采用Varian 23EX电子直线加速器适形放疗,1.2Gy/次,2次/日,总剂量DT33~62Gy,放疗2~3周.结果:10例病变消退(8例食道黏膜恢复,2例癌性狭窄,采用球囊扩张扩大食道,可正常进食),无效3例病灶扩大,1例发生呕血,死亡;未发生放射性脊髓炎,有不同程度放射性食管炎;1年存活率50.00%、2年存活率28.57%.结论:放疗后复发再程放疗,有助于消除食管癌复发症状,改善患者生存质量,安全可靠,但仍有部分患者难获显著疗效.     

Environmental exposures,breast development and cancer risk: Through the looking glass of breast cancer prevention

This review summarizes the report entitled: Breast Cancer and the Environment: Prioritizing Prevention, highlights research gaps and the importance of focusing on early life exposures for breast development and breast cancer risk.