Explore the vast range of titles available.

Background This commentary explores the lessons learned during implementation of a peer-facilitated hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing and treatment access project called the Live Hep C Free (LHCF) project in contributing to micro-elimination efforts. Case presentation The LHCF project aims to facilitate access to on-the-spot HCV testing, treatment, and care in priority settings through partnership between a peer worker (PW) and a clinical nurse. Since the start of the project in January 2018, 4515 people were engaged about HCV and encouraged to access on-site HCV health care, and over 1000 people were screened for HCV and liver health, while almost 250 people accessed HCV treatment through the project. This commentary is intended to prompt discussion about incorporating peer-centred HCV health programs into priority sites. HCV care-delivery models such as the LHCF project can continue to contribute to micro-elimination of HCV in key settings to increase treatment uptake amongst high prevalence and/or marginalised populations and support progress toward national elimination targets. Conclusions The LHCF project has been able to highlight the benefits of incorporating trustworthy, efficient, and convenient peer-centred health services to engage and support vulnerable populations through HCV testing and treatment, particularly individuals who have historically been disconnected from the health care system. Additional attention is needed to ensure ongoing funding support to sustain the project and deliver at scale and in expanding evaluation data to examine the operation and outcomes of the project in more detail.

Background Telephone support services are a viable means of providing population-level support to reduce health risk behaviours. While research exists on the effectiveness of Quitlines to reduce smoking, there is limited other research investigating whether telephone services can provide effective behaviour change support for people with a mental health condition for behaviours including physical activity, healthy eating, and weight management. The aims of this trial were to evaluate the effectiveness of referral of people with a mental health condition to a population-level telephone coaching service to improve health risk behaviours and increase attempts to do so. Methods A parallel-group randomised controlled trial was conducted. Participants with a mental health condition ( N  = 681) were assigned to a control (health information pack) or intervention group (information pack and referral by the research team to a coaching program). Data were collected via telephone surveys at baseline and six months post-recruitment. Primary outcomes were: (1) weekly minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, (2) daily fruit serves, (3) daily vegetable serves, and (4) attempted behaviour change/weight loss (yes/no; composite measure). Secondary outcomes included weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), and attempts to change each health behaviour individually. Results Intention-to-treat analyses found no significant differential change between groups from baseline to six months for primary or secondary outcomes. By follow-up, 242/549 (44%) of intervention participants had enrolled in coaching and completed at least one call, with 16/242 having completed the program, 79 ongoing, and 147 withdrawn. Per-protocol analyses found attempting to improve at least one health behaviour/lose weight was significantly greater in enrolees (OR = 3.7, 95% CI 1.03—13.23) than the control group. Conclusions Referral to the program did not improve risk behaviours or weight/BMI but did support behaviour change attempts. Contributing factors may include low program completion by follow-up and impact of COVID-19. Further research is required to better understand participation in and benefits of telephone coaching services for people with a mental health condition. Trial registration Registered retrospectively with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12620000351910).

The efficacy of lifestyle interventions for reduced gestational weight gain (GWG) is established, but evidence of their effectiveness is limited. The Get Healthy in Pregnancy (GHiP) program is a telephone health coaching program supporting healthy GWG delivered state-wide in New South Wales, Australia. This evaluation explores the impact of GHiP on behavioural outcomes and GWG, analysing GHiP participant data (n = 3702 for 2018–2019). We conducted McNamar’s tests to explore within-individual change for behavioural outcomes and logistic regression to assess associations between demographic characteristics, participant engagement and behavioural and weight outcomes for women who completed the program. Participants who completed ten coaching calls made significant improvements (all p < 0.001) in more health-related behaviours (walking, vigorous physical activity, vegetable consumption, takeaway meals and sweetened drink consumption) than those who completed fewer calls. Among women with valid weight change data (n = 245), 31% gained weight below, 33% gained weight within, and 36% gained weight above GWG guidelines. Pre-pregnancy BMI was the only factor significantly associated with meeting GWG guidelines. Women with pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity had lower odds than those with a healthy weight of having GWG within the guidelines. The majority of these women did not gain weight above the guidelines. A higher proportion of women with pre-pregnancy obesity gained weight below the guidelines (33.8%) than above the guidelines (28.5%). GHiP has the potential to support all pregnant women, including those with pre-pregnancy obesity, to achieve a healthier pregnancy.

This case study, conducted during the 2014-2015 school year, examined the reading comprehension instruction and assessment practices at an elementary school implementing the Response to Intervention (RtI) framework. Observed assessment practices were compared to what the International Literacy Association (ILA) deems appropriate assessment standards for literacy achievement. 3 educators from an elementary school (~ 750 students) participated in this case study. The participants included females of various backgrounds; a school administrator, lead teacher, and fourth grade classroom teacher. 3 research questions guided this case study: (1) What does reading comprehension assessment look like in a school implementing RtI?; (2) What is the relationship between reading comprehension instruction and assessment in a school implementing RtI?; (3) In what ways are reading comprehension assessment practices in a school implementing RtI consistent or inconsistent with ILA assessment guidelines that focus on multiple dimensions of literacy, new literacies and using assessment to improve teaching and learning? Initial and follow-up interviews were conducted as well as observations, and artifacts were examined in relation to reading comprehension instruction, assessment, and RtI. Data were analyzed at 2 levels – the school and classroom. From this analysis 4 themes were identified regarding the nature of assessments: (a) Administrators valued and required teachers to use multiple summative assessments to track students’ progression and make decisions regarding students’ remediation; (b) Teachers’ reading instruction decisions were heavily influenced by district, state, and national education mandates; (c) Teachers used formative assessment data to inform reading instruction, but questioned its validity and the quality of their instruction when results contradicted summative assessment data; and (d) The school’s assessment practices were not reflective of the International Literacy Association’s Assessment Standards. Results also included the role of the federal initiative Response to Intervention (RtI) and its impact on assessment practices. The findings of the study suggest implications for school and district administrators, classroom teachers, and teacher educators.

Media law reflections from the 2022 midterm elections A September Gallup poll showed trust in the U.S. Supreme Court at record lows, with a record-high 58% disapproval of the high court's job performance. [...]the Court ruled 6-3 on June 30 to restrict the Environmental Protection Agency's power to impose carbon emission caps under the 1970 Clean Air Act. [...]some precedents needed to be tossed into history's trash can.

Rather than punish the journalists, the Kentucky appellate court hearing the case blamed readers for the arguably salacious coverage of the trial: \"...the public everywhere were interested in all of its details - and the newspapers of the country, to gratify this desire, however depraved it might have been, published full accounts of it.\" In 1909, the Society of Professional Journalists, formerly called Sigma Delta Chi, was founded at DePauw University. 1909 was a comparative calm in front of a gathering storm that within a couple of decades included World War I, a world-wide flu pandemic and the Great Depression. [...]that's getting ahead of 1909 - the year that the newly formed Society of Professional Journalists exhorted members to \"work to safeguard the flow of information from all sources to the public, so that it has access to the truths required to make democracy function and to protect our freedoms.\"

In Miami Herald Publishing Co v. Tornillo (1974), the US Supreme Court struck down a right-to-reply statute for political candidates criticized by newspapers. The owner of the press determines the paper's content, the Court ruled. It also said that a responsible press is an undoubtedly desirable goal, but press responsibility is not mandated by the Constitution and, like many other virtues, it cannot be legislated. No, press responsibility cannot be legislated, but perhaps it can be taught. Since 1908, the University of Missouri School of Journalism has endeavored to produce responsible journalists through use of the Missouri Method. The University of Missouri School of Journalism teaches, among other things, ethics, responsibility, and avoiding conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts of interest, as well as how to communicate by telling a good, inverted-pyramid story.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette should rethink appealing its January 15 loss in PG Publishing Co v. Aichele, in which the Third Circuit upheld dismissal of the newspaper's lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania's election law that all persons, with some exceptions, must remain at least 10 feet from polling places during voting. If the Supreme Court rules against the paper's appeal, it could also overturn the 2004 Sixth Circuit decision in Beacon Journal Publishing Co v. Blackwell, which permits reporters inside Ohio polling places. Relying on the legislature to fix the problem instead of taking the case to the Supreme Court may seem like choosing between Scylla and Charybdis. But a Supreme Court ruling against the Pennsylvania press could spell trouble for reporters all over this country.

[...]I feel the EIQ formula is invalid scientifically because the numbers involve subjective human value judgement: 1=least toxic, 3=more toxic, 5= most toxic.

[...]I feel the EIQ formula is invalid scientifically because the numbers involve subjective human value judgement: 1=least toxic, 3=more toxic, 5= most toxic.