Audit report on Starmont Community School District near Arlington, Iowa for the year ended June 30, 2010

Audit report on Starmont Community School District near Arlington, Iowa for the year ended June 30, 2010

Etude romande sur le jeu: une collaboration entre IUMSP et ISPA sur mandat du Programme Intercantonal de Lutte contre la Dépendance au Jeu (PILDJ)

En Suisse, l'offre en matière de jeu est très importante. Que ce soit pour les loteries ou les casinos, les revenus bruts des jeux (RBJ) ont augmenté considérablement au cours de ces dix dernières années. Une offre de prévention et de traitement s'est développée en Suisse romande et le nombre de joueurs qui consultent ne cesse d'augmenter. Toutefois, il n'en reste pas moins qu'il s'agit là d'une petite proportion des joueurs problématiques qui font appel aux services d'aide. Le Programme intercantonal de lutte contre la dépendance au jeu (PILDJ) vise en premier lieu à sensibiliser la population au problème du jeu excessif. Il prévoit pour cela, notamment, de faciliter l'accès à l'information et au traitement. Par ailleurs, il a aussi pour objectif de sensibiliser les professionnels, afin d'améliorer la détection et la prise en charge des joueurs pathologiques. Le PILDJ entend finalement centraliser les informations relatives aux actions menées dans les cantons afin d'améliorer l'échange d'expériences. La coordination de ce Programme a été confiée au Groupement romand d'études des addictions (GREA). Le PILDJ comprend la mise sur pied de 4 modules parmi lesquels figure l'Etude romande sur le jeu. Ce rapport présente les résultats des volets couverts par l'Etude romande sur le jeu. [résumé, p. 5]

Le refus scolaire [School refusal]

Pediatrician are often questioned by school refusal which relies on a wide range of psychopathological features and necessitates specific approaches. This disabling condition remains underestimated and is still increasing. A poor prognosis associated with a prolonged school absence is the common hallmark of school refusals, regardless of its heterogeneity. Its seriousness warrants early identification and prompt intervention by childhood healthcare professionals, teachers and social workers. A specialized treatment is needed, closely linked with families and school. Promising developments come from a functional rather than symptomatic concept of school refusal. They offer tailored interventions which fit the clinical diversity of school refusals. After a brief historical summary and current definitions of school refusal, the authors review the main clinical features and comorbidity before taking up treatment modalities.

La remédiation cognitive des schizophrènes : le programme RECOS : [guide pour praticiens]

La remédiation cognitive est devenue en quelques années un outil thérapeutique important dans le domaine des maladies psychiatriques, et plus particulièrement dans celui des troubles schizophréniques. Parmi les programmes utilisés, RECOS est l'un des seuls à proposer un entraînement qui tient compte du profil cognitif individuel, permettant ainsi de répondre de manière ciblée à la grande hétérogénéité des déficits observés. Cet ouvrage constitue le support de base indispensable à la formation délivrée aux futurs thérapeutes RECOS. Il se divise en deux parties. La première partie présente les données scientifiques actuelles sur les troubles cognitifs de la schizophrénie et les moyens d'y remédier. Le lien entre les performances cognitives et les capacités fonctionnelles permet de comprendre comment et pourquoi la remédiation cognitive favorise la réinsertion sociale et professionnelle. La deuxième partie fait office de manuel d'utilisation pour tous les thérapeutes (psychologues, psychiatres, infirmiers, ergothérapeutes) souhaitant utiliser RECOS. L'ouvrage décrit les pathologies psychiatriques visées par le programme, la schizophrénie n'étant pas la seule concernée. Il aborde ensuite les différentes étapes du traitement, en consacrant une place importante à 1 'évaluation cognitive et clinique ainsi qu'aux exercices de remédiation. Des cas cliniques illustrent la manière d'adapter le travail thérapeutique au profil cognitif de chaque participant. Afin que le lecteur puisse bénéficier d'un maximum d'informations et de documents pratiques, plusieurs outils nécessaires à 1 'utilisation du programme figurent en annexe de l'ouvrage.

Qualitative analysis of barriers and facilitators encountered by HIV patients in an ART adherence programme.

Background Medication adherence is a complex, dynamic and changing behaviour that is affected by a variety of factors, including the patient's beliefs and life circumstances. Studies have highlighted barriers to medication adherence (e.g., unmanaged side effects or a lack of social support), as well as facilitators of medication adherence (e.g., technical simplicity of treatment and psychological acceptance of the disease). Since August 2004, in Lausanne (Switzerland), physicians have referred patients who are either experiencing or are at risk of experiencing problems with their HIV antiretroviral treatment (ART) to a routine interdisciplinary ART adherence programme. This programme consists of multifactorial intervention including electronic drug monitoring (MEMS(TM)). Objective This study's objective was to identify the barriers and facilitators encountered by HIV patients with suboptimal medication adherence (≤90 % adherence over the study period). Setting The community pharmacy of the Department of Ambulatory Care and Community Medicine in Lausanne (Switzerland). Method The study consisted of a retrospective, qualitative, thematic content analysis of pharmacists' notes that were taken during semi-structured interviews with patients and conducted as part of the ART adherence programme between August 2004 and May 2008. Main outcome measure Barriers and facilitators encountered by HIV patients. Results Barriers to and facilitators of adherence were identified for the 17 included patients. These factors fell into three main categories: (1) cognitive, emotional and motivational; (2) environmental, organisational and social; and (3) treatment and disease. Conclusion The pharmacists' notes revealed that diverse barriers and facilitators were discussed during medication adherence interviews. Indeed, the results showed that the 17 non-adherent patients encountered barriers and benefited from facilitators. Therefore, pharmacists should inquire about all factors, regardless of whether they have a negative or a positive impact on medication adherence, and should consider all dimensions of patient adherence. The simultaneous strengthening of facilitators and better management of barriers may allow healthcare providers to tailor care to a patient's specific needs and support each individual patient in improving his medication-related behaviour.

Investigation of Earlham Community School District Employee’s Personal Use of a School Vehicle, July 6, 2012

We received a complaint in late September 2011 that an Earlham School District employee had borrowed a school vehicle for her personal use for one month, with the Superintendent’s permission. The school board had discussed the circumstances of the borrowed district vehicle in closed session. The complainant believed this was contrary to Iowa law and also believed no action had been taken against the school employee who borrowed the vehicle or the superintendent who allowed the personal use of the vehicle. He was aware the school district’s attorney reviewed the matter and determined the employee and superintendent violated no law or district policies. Since the school board discussed the matter only in closed session, it was unknown what, if any, discipline was taken against the employees and whether such actions were condoned by the district. We agreed to investigate to determine if the actions of school officials or employees violated Iowa law and if the response from the school board was appropriate.

Reaudit report on the Centerville Community School District for the period July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010

Reaudit report on the Centerville Community School District for the period July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010

2009-2010 Juvenile Court Services School Liaison Program Data, July 2010

Data are provided to CJJP through statistical summary forms completed by the JCSLs. Because forms are completed only when meaningful contact between a student and a liaison takes place, only a portion of the total population served is reported. Meaningful contact is defined as having at least five contacts within a 60-day period (at any point during the academic year) regarding at least one of the referral reasons supplied on the form. Data are entered into a web-based application by the liaisons and retrieved electronically by CJJP via the internet. Service information is submitted and uploaded only at the end of the academic year.

Extreme prematurity and intra uterine growth restriction effects in brain network topology at school age

Higher risk for long-term behavioral and emotional sequelae, with attentional problems (with or without hyperactivity) is now becoming one of the hallmarks of extreme premature (EP) birth and birth after pregancy conditions leading to poor intra uterine growth restriction (IUGR) [1,2]. However, little is know so far about the neurostructural basis of these complexe brain functional abnormalities that seem to have their origins in early critical periods of brain development. The development of cortical axonal pathways happens in a series of sequential events. The preterm phase (24-36 post conecptional weeks PCW) is known for being crucial for growth of the thalamocortical fiber bundles as well as for the development of long projectional, commisural and projectional fibers [3]. Is it logical to expect, thus, that being exposed to altered intrauterine environment (altered nutrition) or to extrauterine environment earlier that expected, lead to alterations in the structural organization and, consequently, alter the underlying white matter (WM) structure. Understanding rate and variability of normal brain development, and detect differences from typical development may offer insight into the neurodevelopmental anomalies that can be imaged at later stages. Due to its unique ability to non-invasively visualize and quantify in vivo white matter tracts in the brain, in this study we used diffusion MRI (dMRI) tractography to derive brain graphs [4,5,6]. This relatively simple way of modeling the brain enable us to use graph theory to study topological properties of brain graphs in order to study the effects of EP and IUGR on childrens brain connectivity at age 6 years old.

Audit report on Clarke Community School District in Osceola, Iowa for the year ended June 30, 2012

Audit report on Clarke Community School District in Osceola, Iowa for the year ended June 30, 2012

School Bus Safety Study: Kadyn’s Law, December 2012

In 2012, the Iowa legislature passed a bill for an act relating to school bus safety, including providing penalties for failure to obey school bus warning lamps and stop signal arms, providing for a school bus safety study and administrative remedies, and making an appropriation. The bill, referred to as Iowa Senate File (SF) 2218 or “Kadyn’s Law,” became effective March 16, 2012. A multiagency committee addressed three specific safety study elements of Kadyn’s Law as follows: * Use of cameras mounted on school buses to enhance the safety of children riding the buses and aid in enforcement of motor vehicle laws pertaining to stop-arm violations * Feasibility of requiring school children to be picked up and dropped off on the side of the road on which their home is located * Inclusion of school bus safety as a priority in driver training curriculum This report summarizes the findings for each of these topics.

Audit report on Starmont Community School District near Arlington, Iowa for the year ended June 30, 2011

Audit report on Starmont Community School District near Arlington, Iowa for the year ended June 30, 2011

Measuring alcohol-related consequences in school surveys: alcohol-attributable consequences or consequences with students' alcohol attribution.

In alcohol epidemiology surveys, there is a tradition of measuring alcohol-related consequences using respondents' attribution of alcohol as the cause. The authors aimed to compare the prevalence and frequency of self-attributed consequences to consequences without self-attribution using alcohol-attributable fractions (AAF). In 2007, a total of 7,174 Swiss school students aged 13-16 years reported the numbers of 6 alcohol-related adverse consequences (e.g., fights, injuries) they had incurred in the past 12 months. Consequences were measured with and without attribution of alcohol as the cause. The alcohol-use measures were frequency and volume of drinking in the past 12 months and number of risky single-occasion (> or =5 drinks) drinking episodes in the past 30 days. Attributable fractions were derived from logistic (> or =1 incident) and Poisson (number of incidents) regression analyses. Although relative risk estimates were higher when alcohol-attributed consequences were compared with nonattributed consequences, the use of AAFs resulted in more alcohol-related consequences (10,422 self-attributed consequences vs. 24,520 nonattributed consequences determined by means of AAFs). The likelihood of underreporting was higher among drinkers with intermediate frequencies than among either rare drinkers or frequent drinkers. Therefore, the extent of alcohol-related adverse consequences among adolescents may be underestimated when using self-attributed consequences, because of differential attribution processes, especially among infrequent drinkers.