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104 Background: Existing research describes numerous barriers to care for patients with cancer, including time constraints, cost, and additional health conditions. We sought to assess telehealth access and experience amongst a diverse patient population at an academic medical center. Methods: We administered a 60-question, cross-sectional, in-person survey to adult patients with a diagnosis of solid tumor or hematological malignancy on active treatment at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) in New York, NY between January 2023 and February 2024. The survey assessed access to and attitudes, beliefs and experience with telehealth as part of routine care and clinical trials. Demographics including age, gender, race/ethnicity, marital status, income, insurance type and education were self-reported. Results: The survey was administered to 100 patients with cancer (breast cancer, n=25; gastrointestinal cancer, n=25; genitourinary cancer n=25; and hematologic malignancy, n=25); 37% were actively enrolled or previously enrolled on a clinical trial. The mean age was 61 years; 51% were female; 45% non-White, and 23% Hispanic. The majority (63%) reported traveling >30 min to their treatment, with 48% reporting travel costs >$20 per visit. Six percent reported difficulty receiving treatment due to cost, and 23% reported difficulty getting to visits due to other conditions or disabilities. The majority (87%) reported having access to a computer or electronic device; 99% of those had internet access and 81% were comfortable using the internet. Of those who had prior video visits (59%), almost all (97%) reported that video visits addressed their issues/questions well. About a quarter of the patients who had not had a video visit reported that they would prefer to have video visits about a cancer-related issue rather than going into the office. For those who preferred a video visit (n=18), top reasons included elimination of travel, convenience, and not feeling rushed. Top barriers among those who expressed hesitance (n=23) included lack of access to necessary technology, not knowing how to use the technology, concern about getting the same level of care, or preference for in-person communication. Similar to video visits, 52% participants reported that they had a scheduled telephone visit with their oncologist instead of going to the office; 98% reported that their issues were either somewhat or very well addressed. Conclusions: In this cross-sectional study amongst a racially, ethnically and socioeconomically diverse population, we found that most patients with cancer on active treatment had access to telehealth and were satisfied with telehealth visits. Those who had not utilized telehealth were interested given convenience and elimination of travel. We found minimal barriers to telehealth access in this diverse urban population. Telehealth may offer an adjunct to reduce financial and logistic barriers to cancer care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seaward dipping reflectors (SDRs) are ubiquitous features of the offshore regions of volcanic rifted continental margins where they comprise wedge-shaped packages of mainly extrusive lava flows. However, their origin has been disputed with some workers suggesting they form by progressive subsidence of extended crust while others propose they are accommodated within the crust by one or more continent-dipping normal faults. We present here a simple model in which SDRs are formed by a succession of dykes which intrude and load the crust. These loads cause a surface flexure, which is subsequently infilled and loaded by volcanic material. The model, which does not require a bounding normal fault, explains the arcuate shape, limited offlap geometries and downdip thickening of SDRs as observed in seismic reflection profile data. By comparing observed and calculated dips we are able to constrain the elastic plate model type and the effective elastic thickness of extended lithosphere, T e. Results suggest a broken plate or significantly weakened continuous plate model is required to produce the characteristic arcuate shape. Decreasing the T e for successive loads as rifting progresses produces offlap of subpackages, while increasing the T e produces onlap. We have verified our results using process-oriented gravity modelling, in which the gravity effect of surface volcanic infill loads is calculated and combined with the gravity effect of buried dyke loads and the gravity effect of their isostatic compensation. Results from a case study in the Orange Basin, offshore Namibia show good general agreement between observed Airy isostatic anomalies and calculated gravity anomalies with T e in the range 1–3 km. The steep gradient that is often observed in the Airy isostatic gravity anomaly at rifted margins is therefore a useful proxy for the seaward edge of the dykes that intrude the crust prior to seafloor spreading, rather than a change in basement elevation at the boundary between oceanic and continental crust, as had been proposed by previous workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Description: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a group of governmental and private sector partners developed these evidence-based recommendations to increase the proportion of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected persons who know their status and are linked to appropriate care and treatment. The recommendations also address brief alcohol screening, as alcohol accelerates progression of liver disease among HCV-infected individuals. These recommendations augment CDC's 1998 and 1999 recommendations based on risk and medical indications and are not meant to replace those recommendations.Methods: These recommendations are based on systematic reviews of evidence published from 1995 through February 2012 in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Sociological Abstracts, and Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects. Selected studies included cross-sectional and cohort studies that addressed either prevalence of hepatitis C in the United States or clinical outcomes (for example, hepatocellular carcinoma and serious adverse events) among treated patients and systematic reviews of trials that assessed effectiveness of brief screening interventions for alcohol consumption. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation framework was used to assess quality of the evidence. RECOMMENDATION 1: Adults born during 1945-1965 should receive 1-time testing for HCV without prior ascertainment of HCV risk. (Grade: strong recommendation; moderate-quality evidence). RECOMMENDATION 2: All persons with identified HCV infection should receive a brief alcohol screening and intervention as clinically indicated, followed by referral to appropriate care and treatment services for HCV infection and related conditions (Grade: strong recommendation; moderate-quality evidence). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To increase the probabilities of successful employment, job seekers with disabilities require precision assessment of their skills in relation to the job's requirements. Assessment of job seeker characteristics in relation to job requirements has been referred to as job matching. Ideally, job matching should be predicated on identification of an individual's job preferences and yield a listing of preferred jobs in terms of degree of match. This article describes job preference assessment, one method for assessing degree of match across preferred jobs, and initial field evaluation. Results from 18 young adults with developmental disabilities indicate the web-based program may yield scores useful in assessing degree of job match. Results are discussed in terms of implications for job seekers with disabilities and the need for additional research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, employers with and without experience in hiring individuals with developmental disabilities were surveyed regarding their perceptions. Respondents were surveyed and their responses were divided based on location (small or large city), type and size of business, average length of employment, and educational qualifications. Most respondents with experience indicated the employment usually or sometimes worked well and they were likely to hire again. Many inexperienced respondents were also receptive to hiring. Experienced respondents identified advantages to employing individuals with disabilities at higher rates than inexperienced respondents. The most frequently identified advantages were consistent attendance, workforce diversity, long-term employment, and co-worker partnerships. Experienced respondents also identified more concerns than inexperienced respondents. The most frequently identified concern was safety. Implications of the research are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do individuals with developmental disabilities identify job preferences? They may first receive information on various jobs, then identify preferred ones. Preferences jobs could then be considered in relation to job skills, job requirements, resources, limitations, job availability, and other variables to make a job placement. This article describes a video-based job preference program developed for individuals with developmental disabilities. Using a computer and CD ROMs, individual participants and a facilitator (e.g., rehabilitation counselor, transition specialist) initially watch video to identify preferred working conditions. At this stage, an individual watches 20 jobs in 10 pairs matching preferred work conditions and identifies preferred jobs. After two sets of pairings involving the same 20 jobs, preferred ones are inferred based on repeated selection. The article reviews the program's development and initial reliability and validity research. Use of the program is discussed as part of the vocational assessment process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]