Limited studies have examined mobile bullying in South African schools in general and in rural schools in particular. The focus on rural schools is important to our understanding of the nature and forms of bullying. Studies conducted in other parts of the world suggest that bullying differs among urban, suburban, and rural schools. Evidence from studies on physical violence suggests that violence also takes place in many rural schools. Since rural areas are reported to have the highest level of mobile phone usage in South Africa, it is possible that mobile bullying may be more predominant in the rural communities and its implications severe. Using a survey of 984 students, the present study investigated the nature of mobile bullying in 7 rural high schools of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It sought to identify the factors that mainly predict this aggression and the data was analysed using quantitative methods. The findings show that males are more involved in mobile bullying than females. Gender, mobile victimization, frequent usage of the mobile phone and retaliation were the main predictors of mobile bullying. This study also revealed that the influence of anonymity of the bully on mobile bullying is not necessarily direct. This influence is moderated by other factors such as the safety risk and the economic environment of school.

Background: Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) is a component of childhood nephrotic syndrome occurring in 10%-20% of all cases. Over time, 25%-50% of children with FSGS develop kidney failure disease. We followed a cohort of children with FSGS in order to delineate the risk profile of progression to kidney failure (KF). Methods: We evaluated patient data collected from 1977 to 2002 at a regional mid-Atlantic nephrology center in the United States. KF was defined primarily for those patients whose serum creatinine (SCr) value doubled compared with the SCr value from a previous visit. Patients who received dialysis or a kidney transplant were also defined as having KF. We analyzed patient data for those who had at least two visits with SCr values recorded. Various baseline characteristics of patients who had developed KF and those with no kidney failure (NKF) were compared. Hazard ratios and correlation were used to further investigate potential risk factors of the kidney failure. We also compared the inverse SCr trend for KF and NKF patients using weighted linear regression. Results: Thirty-four of 43 FSGS patients had adequate follow-up data. About 60% of the patients developed KF over the study period. The average age of the KF patients at diagnosis of FSGS was 9 years, and that of NKF patients 12 years (P=0.05). FSGS patients with KF had a significantly higher mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) at baseline, compared to those with NKF (P<0.0001). Other baseline characteristics including race, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, urinary protein/creatinine ratio and calculated glomerular filtration rate (cGFR) were not significantly different. Baseline DBP was a significant risk factor in progression to KF (HR: 1.03; 95%CI: 1.01-1.06). Inverse SCr values were significantly decreased over time in KF patients (P=0.01). Conclusions: The data of this study indicate that children diagnosed with FSGS who are younger than 10 years and have elevated baseline DBP are more likely to develop kidney failure. The non-significant hazard ratios for other baseline characteristics including gender, race, and BMI are not instrumental risk factors. These results may help understand what may affect progression towards kidney failure in children with FSGS.

Background: Globally, studies have established that 40-50% of psychiatric patients with SMDs are readmitted within one year of discharge from the acute hospital admission. Lowand middle-income countries (LMICs) such as Malawi have also reported high rates of psychiatric readmissions. This poses challenges when providing psychiatric care to patients. Most of Malawi`s health institutions, including Saint John of God Psychiatric Hospital (SJOG), rely primarily on donor funding. In order to maximise the available donor funding, there is a need to reduce readmissions resulting from modifiable or controlled factors. There are no studies in Malawi which have investigated these risk factors. The study aimed to establish the frequency of readmissions and the associated factors among patients at SJOG Psychiatric Hospital in Mzuzu, Malawi. The specific areas examined were sociodemographic and clinical-related factors associated with readmission. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort case record review study. Two hundred and seventy five clinical files of patients admitted for the first time at SJOG Psychiatric Hospital Mzuzu, Malawi between 1 January, 2014 and 31 December, 2015 were extracted. Data on socio-demographics and clinical information were collected using an extraction sheet at 3, 6 and 12 months post-discharge from the acute (first) hospital admission. Logistic regression models were developed to investigate the associations between socio-demographics, clinicalrelated factors and readmissions. Ethical approval for this study was granted by the Faculty of Health Sciences Human Research Ethics Committee at the University of Cape Town. Approval to conduct this research in Malawi was obtained from the National Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee. Results: Readmission rates of 1.5%, 4.4%, and 11.3% were found within the 3, 6 and 12 months of discharge from the acute hospital admission respectively. None of the independent variables predicted readmission within the 3 month of discharge from the acute hospital admission. In the unadjusted logistic regression model, having children (OR=0.26, 95% C.I 0.07-0.96) protected against readmissions within the 6 month of follow-up period. In the unadjusted logistic regression model, having children (OR= 0.40, 95% C.I 0.18-0.88), staying outside the hospital catchment area (OR=0.44, 95% C.I 0.20-0.96), and having insight (OR=0.22, 95% C.I 0.10-0.49) into their illness were protective factors to readmission, while taking SGAs (OR=4.67, 95% C.I 1.33-16.39) predicted readmission within the 12 month follow-up period. After adjusting for age and gender in the multivariable analysis, staying outside catchment area (OR=0.33, 95% C.I 0.14-0.79) and having insight (OR=0.19, 95% C.I 0.08-0.46) to their illness were protective factors, while taking SGAs (OR=5.29, 95% C.I 1.43-19.51) remained a predictor of readmission within 12 months of discharge from the acute admission. Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrated that readmissions are associated with socio-demographic and clinical factors such as catchment area, patient insight into their condition and type of antipsychotics. The study identifies the need to develop interventions targeting the groups at risk of being readmitted.

The prevalence of obesity in the United States was stable at 17% from 2011-2014 among approximately 13 million children and adolescents 12-19 years of age, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nutritional counseling has been recommended, and while most physicians agree that it is necessary, it is not happening consistently. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between dietary intake, physical activity, and body mass index (BMI) characteristics of youth 12-17 years old in California and the receipt of nutritional counseling. Social cognitive theory guided this quantitative cross-sectional analysis of archived data from 814 youth in the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) 2015-2016. Independent variables included demographics (age, gender, and race), BMI, unhealthy and healthy foods, physical activity and being sedentary; the dependent variable was receipt of nutritional counseling. Findings showed that 73.5% of children who were obese or overweight received counseling. BMI was the strongest predictor of dietary counseling. Independent of diet, physical activity, age, gender, and race, youth who were obese (BMI, kg/m2, -?¥95th percentile) were almost 100% more likely to talk to their doctor compared to children of normal weight (multivariable-adjusted OR=1.98, 95% CI: 1.23, 3.20). The number of cans of sweet fruit/sports drinks was significantly associated with the outcome (p=0.04). There was no significant association between fruit and vegetable consumption (adjusted OR=1.02, 95% CI: 0.95, 1.10) or physical activity (adjusted OR=0.99, 95% CI: 0.71, 1.39) and nutritional counseling. The implications of the study findings for social change include potential improvements in obesity screening and counseling to improve adolescent health outcomes. Addressing weight issues and diet /lifestyle education earlier in life, could reduce chronic disease in the youth.

Approximately 11% of patients diagnosed with a stroke or a transient ischemic attack are readmitted to the hospital, creating a cost burden of nearly $2 billion per year for Medicare beneficiaries. Because researchers and policy makers consider hospital readmission for patients with strokes or transient ischemic attack to be an indicator for the delivery of quality care, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has imposed financial penalties of up to 3% of a hospital's Medicare reimbursement in 1 year for excessive readmissions, potentially impacting the financial sustainability of various healthcare organizations. The ecological systems theory allows for the understanding of how microsystems, mesosystems, exosystems, macrosystems, and chronosystems impact the development, influence, and predictability characteristics of a specific population serviced in a healthcare setting. This quantitative study analyzed cross-sectional data from the 2016 National Hospital Ambulatory Care Survey, using cross-tabulations with chi-square followed by multiple regression analyses. Overall, this study addressed the gap in the existing literature by examining admission rates for patients with the diagnoses of strokes or TIA and the association between ancillary service use, insurance status, and provider level evaluation. The study concluded that few predictors that exist between the independent and dependent variables, with the exception of the amount of laboratory tests ordered. Maintaining the financial reasonability by avoiding penalties for stroke or transient ischemic attack unnecessary admission from value-based purchasing, the implication for social change is maintaining access to care for patients by avoiding hospital closures.

The purpose of this research was to develop and test a group of predictors that could be used by fundraisers to determine potential corporate support for environmental and recreational programs. Local surveys were conducted to determine environmental and recreational needs for Cache Valley and twenty interviews were held with local corporate managers. The information gathered in these interviews and the literature review provided a list of approximately 20 variables which were narrowed down to 10 to predict both the potential for giving and the level of giving. A proposal for a youth training project was developed and local Forest Service personnel agreed to administer and supervise the program. The proposal was sent to the twenty corporations previously interviewed. Before asking them for a commitment, each corporation was rated on their potential for giving and level of giving. Results were analyzed using the Chi Square and Pearson coefficient and validated the hypothesis.

The purpose of the present study was to determine if perceptions of improved family functioning following a behavioral parenting program could be predicted by educational background, income, and pretest knowledge of behavioral principles. Subjects for the study were parents of elementary-school-aged children who volunteered for the parenting classes. Parents who perceived their families as dysfunctional, as measured by the pretest FACES II, were selected as subjects for the study. Parents whose perceptions of their families improved after the parenting class were then compared with parents who did not perceive improvement in their families on the predictor variables. The results demonstrated that parents whose perceptions of their families improved were not significantly differentiated by income, education, or their knowledge of behavioral principles. These variables were not found to be as predictors to determine which parents would be positively impacted by the parenting program. The majority of parents did increase their knowledge of behavioral principles from pretest to posttest; however, this was not related to improvement in perceptions of family functioning. Further research is recommended to ascertain what characteristics of parents predict change following parent training.

Drug use has become an epidemic in our nation, filling our jails and prisons with nonviolent offenders. Studies have shown that adult drug courts are a good alternative to the prison system by being successful in reducing recidivism and long term costs. To date, however, few studies have looked specifically at the effectiveness of juvenile drug courts and their cost effectiveness. Further, the possible benefits of lower attrition rate and cost benefit are being overshadowed by the low attrition rate among juvenile drug court participants. Nearly half of all juvenile drug court participants do not complete the juvenile drug court program. Additionally, studies have shown that juvenile participants who do graduate have lower attrition rates and other benefits. Due to the benefits of juveniles who graduate from a juvenile drug court program, understanding the difference between those who graduate and those who do not can add significant understanding on how juvenile drug courts can be modified in order to help juveniles successfully graduate from the drug court program. This study will shed light on specific pre-drug court demographics and behaviors that were different among juveniles who successfully graduate and those who are unsuccessful in graduating from the juvenile drug court program. The Idaho Supreme Court, which oversees the JDC program in Idaho, collaborated in this effort by providing a statewide juvenile drug court data set, drawn from the Idaho Statewide Trial Court Automated System (ISTARS). The data set included all information that was gathered for drug court participants during the January 2004 - December 2005 period, for who had completed the program either successfully or unsuccessfully. Subsequent analysis of the data clarified the difference between groups of those who graduated and those who did not graduate, specifically that a significant difference was found between groups in the following characteristics: gender, school attendance, and in-treatment drug tests.

The diploma thesis focuses on attitudes towards euthanasia and summarizes the influential factors for its evaluation. It is crucial to understand these predictors in the context of the ongoing public debate on its legalization. The content of the theoretical part is a brief definition of used terms, an overview of some countries with legislation allowing assisted dying and its alternatives. There is a part devoted to methodological aspects of research and consistency of attitudes. The empirical part presents a research that is focused on the impact of individual factors on the level of acceptability of euthanasia in hypothetical cases. The factors examined were mainly type of disease, type and degree of suffering, type of euthanasia, person performing euthanasia, age of the patient, prognosis of their disease, respondent's country of origin and respondent's personality characteristics. Demographic correlates were monitored and respondents answered additional questions about the cases. The results show a significant difference in evaluation between the type of euthanasia and the person involved in the process. It also depended on patient's age and life expectancy. Moral evaluation also varied significantly in comparison of the country of origin, political orientation, and respondent's religiosity....

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