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Objective: We identified associations between time spent watching television and time spent playing video or computer games or using computers and involvement in interpersonal violence, alcohol and drug use in a nationally representative sample of United States high school students.Methods: We analyzed data from the 2007 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Exposure variables were time spent watching television and time spent playing computer or video games or using computers (hereafter denoted as “computer/video game use”) on an average school day; outcome variables included multiple measures assessing involvement in violence and alcohol or drug use. Chi-square tests were used to identify statistically significant associations between each exposure variable and each of the outcome variables. We used logistic regression to obtain crude odds ratios for outcome variables with a significant chi-square p-value and to obtain adjusted odds ratios controlling for sex, race, and grade in school.Results: Overall, 35.4% (95% CI=33.1%-37.7%) of students reported frequent television (TV) use and 24.9% (95% CI=22.9%-27.0%) reported frequent computer/video game use. A number of risk behaviors, including involvement in physical fights and initiation of alcohol use before age 13, were significantly associated with frequent TV use or frequent computer/video game use, even after controlling for sex, race/ethnicity and grade.Conclusion: Findings highlight the need for additional research to better understand the mechanisms by which electronic media exposure and health-risk behaviors are associated and for the development of strategies that seek to understand how the content and context (e.g., watching with peers, having computer in common area) of media use influence risk behaviors among youth. [West J Emerg Med. 2011;12(3):310-315.]

Many sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY) experience bias-based bullying (i.e., bullying related to their minoritized social identities) at school. Compared to their straight and cisgender peers, SGMYs also report a disproportionately high prevalence of suicidal thoughts. This study used a sizeable, racially diverse, statewide sample of secondary-aged SGMY and straight/non-transgender peers (n = 74,501) drawn from 381 comprehensive high schools. We explored the moderating role of "covitality," a construct representing the co-occurrence of youth psychological strengths, in the relationship between suicidal thoughts and homophobic and gender-based bullying experiences among SGMY. Compared to all other groups, students with two minoritized identities (i.e., both transgender and sexual minority) report the highest rates of bias-based bullying and suicidal thoughts. Mixed-effects logistic regression analyses indicate that, for most SGMY groups, increases in covitality were associated significantly with decreases in the likelihood of suicidal thoughts. However, no significant moderating effects were found, suggesting that the psychological impacts of bias-based bullying are difficult to counteract through the cultivation of psychological strengths alone. We detail the relationship between bias-based bullying and suicidal thoughts as it varies across types of bias-based bullying experiences, levels of covitality and SGMY identities.

Local control has been a bedrock principle of public schooling in America since its inception. In 2013, the California Legislature codified a new local accountability approach for school finance. An important component of the new California Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) approach is a focus on English learners (ELs). The law mandates that every school district produce a Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) to engage the local community in defining outcomes and determining funding for ELs. Based on an exploratory analysis of a representative sample of LCAPs, we show that, although California's new approach offered an opportunity to support locally-defined priorities and alternatives to top-down accountability, few if any districts had yet taken full advantage of the opportunity. That is, the school districts in our sample had not yet engaged with the local community to facilitate significant changes to accountability or redistribution of funding and resources to support educational equity for ELs.

Maternal morbidity and mortality remain significant challenges in the United States, with substantial burden during the postpartum period. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in partnership with the National Association of Community Health Centers, began an initiative to build capacity in Federally Qualified Health Centers to (1) improve the infrastructure for perinatal care measures and (2) use perinatal care measures to identify and address gaps in postpartum care. Two partner health center-controlled networks implemented strategies to integrate evidence-based recommendations into the clinic workflow and used data-driven health information technology (HIT) systems to improve data standardization for quality improvement of postpartum care services. Ten measures were created to capture recommended care and services. To support measure capture, a data cleaning algorithm was created to prioritize defining pregnancy episodes and delivery dates and address data inconsistencies. Quality improvement activities targeted postpartum care delivery tailored to patients and care teams. Data limitations, including inconsistencies in electronic health record documentation and data extraction practices, underscored the complexity of integrating HIT solutions into postpartum care workflows. Despite challenges, the project demonstrated continuous quality improvement to support data quality for perinatal care measures. Future solutions emphasize the need for standardized data elements, collaborative care team engagement, and iterative HIT implementation strategies to enhance perinatal care quality. Our findings highlight the potential of HIT-driven interventions to improve postpartum care within health centers, with a focus on the importance of addressing data interoperability and documentation challenges to optimize and monitor initiatives to improve postpartum health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Less punitive alternatives to exclusionary discipline such as restorative justice are gaining in popularity in schools. These approaches take a more positive, relationship-based, problem-solving approach to discipline, focused on improving behavior by building community and belongingness, and eschewing exclusionary discipline for most infractions. However, if we fail to address implicit bias, we can expect the racial discipline gap to remain, regardless of the behavioral interventions put in place. We review a few promising studies that may help us to understand how to alleviate implicit bias in school decision-making.

The Zika Contraception Access Network (Z‐CAN) provided access to high‐quality client‐centered contraceptive services across Puerto Rico during the 2016–2017 Zika virus outbreak. We sent online surveys during May 2017–August 2020 to a subset of Z‐CAN patients at 6, 24, and 36 months after program enrollment (response rates: 55–60 percent). We described contraceptive method continuation, method satisfaction, and method switching, and we identified characteristics associated with discontinuation using multivariable logistic regression. Across all contraceptive methods, continuation was 82.5 percent, 64.2 percent, and 49.9 percent at 6, 24, and 36 months, respectively. Among continuing users, method satisfaction was approximately ≥90 percent. Characteristics associated with decreased likelihood of discontinuation included: using an intrauterine device or implant compared with a nonlong‐acting reversible contraceptive method (shot, pills, ring, patch, or condoms alone); wanting to prevent pregnancy at follow‐up; and receiving as their baseline method the same method primarily used before Z‐CAN. Other associated characteristics included: receiving the method they were most interested in postcounseling (6 and 24 months) and being very satisfied with Z‐CAN services at the initial visit (6 months). Among those wanting to prevent pregnancy at follow‐up, about half reported switching to another method. Ongoing access to contraceptive services is essential for promoting reproductive autonomy, including supporting patients with continued use, method switching, or discontinuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Undergraduate research experiences can have a positive impact on student retention and success in STEM, but are not widely available to community college students. Yet, the role of community colleges in producing STEM graduates, especially Latinx students, is overlooked and likely underestimated. A program designed to attract and retain Latinx STEM majors needs to do more than just provide opportunity and access. This study examines a successful community college undergraduate research experience designed with Latinx students in mind. We describe the program, provide evidence to document its efficacy, and identify essential components that draw, retain, and propel Latinx community college students in STEM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using citation analysis, this study identifies the most relevant journals in communication studies. The study analyzes citations from a representative list of 116 journals from subject areas within communication studies over a 30-year period and addresses research interests throughout the discipline. Results indicate that most journals cited in the literature were outside communication studies. This study provides an inclusive picture of where communication studies research is published by detailing the most-cited journals and provides evidence-based recommendations for collection management.

Purpose: Trust is a key component of successful schools. Although scholars widely agree that trust is multifaceted, there is less agreement about the number and nature of these factors. In the October 2016 issue of "Educational Administration Quarterly," C. M. Adams and Miskell (see EJ1112413) argued that their Teacher Trust of District Administration Scale provided evidence that trust is a single factor that cannot be unpacked, and that our three-factor theory of trust, which asserts that trust involves the discernment of benevolence, competence, and integrity, is invalid. We find multiple conceptual and methodological flaws in their reasoning. Method/Approach: We analyze data provided by C. M. Adams and Miskell that were used in their original 2016 article. The data set includes responses from 606 teachers in 72 schools to the 10 survey questions that comprise the Teacher Trust of District Administration Scale. We reproduce and critique the results of four models presented, and corrected, by C. M. Adams and Miskell, and present an alternative second-order model of trust with three first-order factors representing benevolence, competence, and integrity. Findings and Implications: Consistent with theory, we find that trust is more appropriately modeled as a multifactor construct. A multifactor model of trust is not merely an advance in measurement, it has important, actionable implications for research and practice. Measuring trust as a second-order factor, with first-order factors benevolence, competence, and integrity, positions us to make more nuanced judgements about trust, more easily diagnose problems, and prescribe interventions needed to develop, maintain, or repair trust in schools.

Objective(s): To identify barriers and facilitators related to reimbursement processes, device acquisition costs, stocking, and supply of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) from 27 jurisdictions (26 states/1 territory) participating in the Increasing Access to Contraception Learning Community from 2016 to 2018. Materials and Methods: A descriptive study using qualitative data collected through 27 semistructured key informant interviews was conducted during the final year of the learning community among all jurisdictional teams. Excerpts were extracted and coded by theme, then summarized as barriers or facilitators using implementation science methods. Results: Most jurisdictions (89%) identified barriers to reimbursement processes, device acquisition, stocking, and supply of LARC devices, and 85% of jurisdictions identified facilitators for these domains. Payment methodology challenges and lack of billing and coding processes were identified as the most common barriers to reimbursement processes. Device acquisition cost challenges and lack of delivery facility protocols for billing were the most common barriers to device acquisition, stocking, and supply of LARC. The most common facilitator of reimbursement processes was expanded payment methodology options, whereas supplemental funding for acquisition costs and protocol development were identified as the most common facilitators of device acquisition, stocking, and supply. Conclusion: Revised payment methodologies and broader health systems changes including additional funding sources and protocols for billing, stocking, and supply were used by learning community jurisdictions to address identified barriers. The learning community framework offers a forum for information exchange, peer-to-peer learning, and sharing of best practices to support jurisdictions in addressing identified barriers and facilitators affecting contraception access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]