Co-establishing an infrastructure for routine data collection to address disparities in infant mortality: planning and implementation

Background Efforts to address infant mortality disparities in Ohio have historically been adversely affected by the lack of consistent data collection and infrastructure across the community-based organizations performing front-line work with expectant mothers, and there is no established template for implementing such systems in the context of diverse technological capacities and varying data collection magnitude among participating organizations. Methods Taking into account both the needs and limitations of participating community-based organizations, we created a data collection infrastructure that was refined by feedback from sponsors and the organizations to serve as both a solution to their existing needs and a template for future efforts in other settings. Results By standardizing the collected data elements across participating organizations, integration on a scale large enough to detect changes in a rare outcome such as infant mortality was made possible. Datasets generated through the use of the established infrastructure were robust enough to be matched with other records, such as Medicaid and birth records, to allow more extensive analysis. Conclusion While a consistent data collection infrastructure across multiple organizations does require buy-in at the organizational level, especially among participants with little to no existing data collection experience, an approach that relies on an understanding of existing barriers, iterative development, and feedback from sponsors and participants can lead to better coordination and sharing of information when addressing health concerns that individual organizations may struggle to quantify alone.

Co-establishing an infrastructure for routine data collection to address disparities in infant mortality: Planning and implementation

Background Efforts to address infant mortality disparities in Ohio have historically been adversely affected by the lack of consistent data collection and infrastructure across the community-based organizations performing front-line work with expectant mothers, and there is no established template for implementing such systems in the context of diverse technological capacities and varying data collection magnitude among participating organizations. Methods Taking into account both the needs and limitations of participating community-based organizations, we created a data collection infrastructure that was refined by feedback from sponsors and the organizations to serve as both a solution to their existing needs and a template for future efforts in other settings. Results By standardizing the collected data elements across participating organizations, integration on a scale large enough to detect changes in a rare outcome such as infant mortality was made possible. Datasets generated through the use of the established infrastructure were robust enough to be matched with other records, such as Medicaid and birth records, to allow more extensive analysis. Conclusion While a consistent data collection infrastructure across multiple organizations does require buy-in at the organizational level, especially among participants with little to no existing data collection experience, an approach that relies on an understanding of existing barriers, iterative development, and feedback from sponsors and participants can lead to better coordination and sharing of information when addressing health concerns that individual organizations may struggle to quantify alone.

Designing Evidence-Based Preventive Interventions That Reach More People, Faster, and with More Impact in Global Contexts

This article demonstrates the substantial similarities globally among preventive, evidence-based interventions (EBIs) designed to address HIV by providing four examples: an HIV family-focused intervention, the Community Popular Opinion Leader intervention, a South African maternal/child health program, and an EBI for sex workers in India. Each identified the key problems in the target population, utilized well-established social cognitive theories, created processes for engaging the target population, set standards for staff accountability, and included routine data collection to facilitate iterative program improvements over time. Building EBIs based on these common, robust features is an alternative design strategy to replication with fidelity. These components provide a road map for researchers, especially those using new technologies, and for local providers seeking to deliver EBIs that match their clients’ and communities’ needs. Technology platforms and community organizations may serve as resources for designers of the next generation of EBIs, offering an alternative to repeatedly validating the same interventions and replicating them with fidelity.

A Multisemester, Curriculum-Embedded Undergraduate Research Experience (MS-CURE) in the Geosciences: Contextual Factors Influencing Student Motivation for Pursuing Research

This study undertakes an unusual approach to the course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) by engaging students in an ongoing research project that is embedded across two years of required coursework, including four geology courses and a capstone summer field experience. The authors describe the curriculum, note the importance of scaffolding and feedback, and assess out-comes in a rural population of students from an economically depressed area relative to a non-CURE comparison group using a mixed-methods approach. The results show the multisemester CURE students preferred fieldwork, routine data collection, and other hands-on skills consistent with a broad interest in college as workforce preparation. The authors highlight the importance of contextual factors as a motivation for pursuing research, including the nature of the academic discipline and student demographics.

An automated platform for in situ serial crystallography at room temperature

Direct observation of functional motions in protein structures is highly desirable for understanding how these nanomachineries of life operate at the molecular level. Because cryogenic temperatures are non-physiological and may prohibit or even alter protein structural dynamics, it is necessary to develop robust X-ray diffraction methods that enable routine data collection at room temperature. We recently reported a crystal-on-crystal device to facilitate in situ diffraction of protein crystals at room temperature devoid of any sample manipulation. Here an automated serial crystallography platform based on this crystal-on-crystal technology is presented. A hardware and software prototype has been implemented, and protocols have been established that allow users to image, recognize and rank hundreds to thousands of protein crystals grown on a chip in optical scanning mode prior to serial introduction of these crystals to an X-ray beam in a programmable and high-throughput manner. This platform has been tested extensively using fragile protein crystals. We demonstrate that with affordable sample consumption, this in situ serial crystallography technology could give rise to room-temperature protein structures of higher resolution and superior map quality for those protein crystals that encounter difficulties during freezing. This serial data collection platform is compatible with both monochromatic oscillation and Laue methods for X-ray diffraction and presents a widely applicable approach for static and dynamic crystallographic studies at room temperature.

Green Health Partnerships in Scotland; Pathways for Social Prescribing and Physical Activity Referral

Increased exposure to green space has many health benefits. Scottish Green Health Partnerships (GHPs) have established green health referral pathways to enable community-based interventions to contribute to primary prevention and the maintenance of health for those with established disease. This qualitative study included focus groups and semi-structured telephone interviews with a range of professionals involved in strategic planning for and the development and provision of green health interventions (n = 55). We explored views about establishing GHPs. GHPs worked well, and green health was a good strategic fit with public health priorities. Interventions required embedding into core planning for health, local authority, social care and the third sector to ensure integration into non-medical prescribing models. There were concerns about sustainability and speed of change required for integration due to limited funding. Referral pathways were in the early development stages and intervention provision varied. Participants recognised challenges in addressing equity, developing green health messaging, volunteering capacity and providing evidence of success. Green health interventions have potential to integrate successfully with social prescribing and physical activity referral. Participants recommended GHPs engage political and health champions, embed green health in strategic planning, target mental health, develop simple, positively framed messaging, provide volunteer support and implement robust routine data collection to allow future examination of success.

Determining child drowning mortality in the Sundarbans, India: applying the community knowledge approach

BackgroundThe Sundarbans in India is a rural, forested region where children are exposed to a high risk of drowning due to its waterlogged geography. Current data collection systems capture few drowning deaths in this region.MethodsA community-based survey was conducted in the Sundarbans to determine the drowning mortality rate for children aged 1 to 4 years and 5 to 9 years. A community knowledge approach was used. Meetings were held with community residents and key informants to identify drowning deaths in the population. Identified deaths were verified by the child’s household through a structured survey, inquiring on the circumstances around the drowning death.ResultsThe drowning mortality rate for children aged 1 to 4 years was 243.8 per 100 000 children and for 5 to 9 years was 38.8 per 100 000 children. 58.0% of deaths were among children aged 1 to 2 years. No differences in rates between boys and girls were found. Most children drowned in ponds within 50 metres of their homes. Children were usually unaccompanied with their primary caretaker engaged in household work. A minority of children were treated by formal health providers.ConclusionsDrowning is a major cause of death among children in the Sundarbans, particularly those aged 1 to 4 years. Interventions keeping children in safe spaces away from water are urgently required. The results illustrate how routine data collection systems grossly underestimate drowning deaths, emphasising the importance of community-based surveys in capturing these deaths in rural low- and middle-income country contexts. The community knowledge approach provides a low-resource, validated methodology for this purpose.

Training Teachers in Inclusive Classrooms to Collect Data on Individualized Child Goals

The progress-monitoring data collection is an essential skill for teachers serving children for whom the general curriculum is insufficient. As the field of early childhood education moves toward tiered service provision models, the importance of routine data collection is heightened. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of a training package on preschool teachers’ implementation of progress-monitoring strategies to collect data on children in need of supports beyond those provided through the general curriculum. This study employed a single-case experimental design in which generalized teacher behavior was collected within the context of the design. In addition, masked reliability data collectors were used throughout the study and an analysis of bias was conducted by a researcher unaffiliated with the study. Social and ecological validity data were collected using a multi-method approach.

Species composition and size distribution of sharks and rays caught in Bali Strait and its surrounding area and its relation to fisheries management

Muncar is one of the shark production centers in Java, where the fishing ground in Bali Strait and its surrounding area. Routine data collection was carried out from May 2018 to April 2019 at the Brak Fish Market and the Muncar Coastal Fishing Port (PPP), Banyuwangi to determine the species composition and size distribution of sharks and rays caught in Bali Strait and its surrounding area. Data collection was done by census and almost of all individuals were identified to species level and and measured. During the study, 3.551 individuals of sharks and rays were landed in this port, consisting of 75 species from 25 families (48 species of sharks, one species of ghost shark and 26 rays species). The most common types of sharks belong to Carcharhinidae and for the rays was Dasyatidae. Among these, thirteen species were listed in Appendix II CITES, i.e. Carcharhinus falciformis, Alopias pelagicus, A. superciliosus, Isurus oxyrhinchus, I. paucus, Sphyrna lewini, S. zygaena, Mobula mobular, M. tarapacana, M. thrustoni, Glaucostegus typus, Rhynchobatus australiae and Rhyna ancylostoma. Most of sharks and rays caught were juvenile to adolescent and at immature or maturing stages.