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Purpose: A large number of patients attend for radiotherapy daily. Primary nurses in the study settings aim to individualize care for their patients. The individual characteristics of patients may determine their perceptions of nursing care, and provide guidance in tailoring their care. This study aimed to assess patients' personal characteristics on their perceptions of individualized care (IC) provided by nurses during a course of radiotherapy, and to determine predictor variables that may inform nursing practice.Methods: This cross-sectional, exploratory study was conducted in three radiotherapy departments in Australia. Patients (n = 250) completed the Individualized Care Scale_Patient (ICS_P). Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, univariate analysis, and multiple regression analysis.Results: Males reported significantly higher perceptions of IC than females in 7/9 subscales. Patients with head and neck and prostate cancer, as well as those requiring hospitalization during radiotherapy, scored significantly higher in 5/9 subscales. Courses > 30 days, those not receiving chemotherapy, and partnered patients reported greater IC across all subscales. Gender and hospitalization were the main predictor variables for IC.Conclusion: Patients reported moderately high levels of IC during their radiotherapy; however, standard demographic information may provide limited insight into improving care for the individual. Patient characteristics routinely chosen, such as age, gender, and education may not predict how patients perceive their care or support the tailoring of interventions to improve IC. Researching a range of related patient characteristics may prove a more useful concept for future nursing studies aiming to predict outcomes to tailor nursing practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education is back in the spotlight, with post-2015 sustainable development goals emphasising equality of access. In this paper, we highlight the long distance still to travel to achieve the goal of equal access to higher education for all, with a focus on poorer countries which tend to have lower levels of enrolment in higher education. Analysing Demographic and Health Survey data from 35 low- and middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, we show wide wealth inequalities in particular, with few if any of the poorest gaining access to higher education in some countries. We further identify that wealth and gender inequalities interact and tend to be wider in countries where levels of higher education are higher. This implies that expansion in access to higher education may predominantly benefit the rich, unless measures are taken to tackle inequalities. We find that that the rates of increase necessary for the attainment of the equal access goal by 2030 are particularly high. They pose a particularly difficult challenge given the access inequalities present from primary and secondary education in a wide majority of countries in our analysis. We therefore suggest that any measures aimed at attaining the goal need to tackle inequalities in access within a system-wide approach, focusing on the level of education at which inequalities initially manifest, alongside higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research on the effects of COVID-19 on school closures has mainly focused on primary and secondary education, with extremely limited attention to early childhood education (ECE). To address this gap, we identify the extent to which parents and caregivers with pre-primary school-aged children were engaged in their children's learning during school closures in Ethiopia. Our focus on Ethiopia is of particular relevance given that ECE provision has expanded dramatically in recent years, aimed at ensuring children are prepared for primary school. Using data collected through a phone survey with 480 parents and caregivers, the results revealed that learning disruption due to COVID-19 school closures is likely to be substantial and will probably widen existing inequalities further. Many poorer households and those where parents or caregivers are not literate, are less likely to have child-oriented learning resources, and home learning activities between parents and children in these households are limited. The study highlights that greater attention needs to be paid to mitigate the threats of COVID-19 on Ethiopia's recent gains in ECE, to prevent the pandemic from further reinforcing inequalities between children from advantaged and disadvantaged households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]