What Might It Mean to Embrace Emancipatory Pedagogy in Medical Education?

An emerging and important goal of professional health training and education is to develop a workforce that is equipped to address patients' social and structural determinants of health and to contribute to health equity. However, current medical education does not adequately achieve this vision. Emancipatory teaching, as described by scholars such as Paulo Freire and bell hooks, equips students with tools to identify and challenge oppressive systems. It helps students achieve freedom for themselves, thereby contributing to more emancipatory and humanistic patient care. Changing teaching in this way would help reverse implicit curricular values that tend to enshrine hierarchy and oppression. Humanities and bioethics scholars working within health professional schools thus should promote a more critical, emancipatory pedagogy in their institutions.

A Scoping Review of the Literature on the Relationship Between Social and Structural Determinants of Health and Neurosurgical Outcomes

In the present study, we performed a scoping review of the social and structural determinant of health (SSDOH)-related academic literature from neurosurgery. To identify the studies to include or consider for our systematic review, we worked with a medical librarian to develop detailed search strategies for each database. The search was limited to studies reported from January 1, 1990 to December 3, 2020. All reports retrieved from the database searches were exported and stored in EndNote X.9 bibliographic and reference manager (Clarivate, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA). The reports were screened by title and abstract independently by two of the co-authors (G.G. and A.O.). Any disagreements between the 2 reviewers were resolved by a third reviewer, who was unaware of the decisions of the primary reviewers. The search resulted in 5940 studies. After exclusions during data extraction, 99 studies remained for the final analysis. From the 99 included studies, 6 social determinants were analyzed, with 3 studies evaluating the highest level of educational attainment, 14 studies evaluating gender, 52 studies evaluating race, and 41 studies evaluating economic stability. Studies referencing SSDOH were found in 8 subspecialties, with 40 studies in spine surgery, 4 studies in functional neurosurgery, 14 studies in vascular neurosurgery, 27 studies in cranial oncology, 5 studies in spinal oncology, 5 studies in pediatric neurosurgery, 1 study in trauma, and 3 studies in general/unspecified subspecialties. Research gaps included the remaining neurosurgical subspecialties and numerous other SSDOHs. These gaps should be areas of future study, with the goal of aligning research with new healthcare initiatives and ensuring consideration of SSDOHs.

Understanding Pediatric Caretakers' Views on Obtaining Medical Care for Low-acuity Illness

BACKGROUND

A significant proportion of low-acuity emergency department (ED) visits are by patients under 18 years of age. Results from prior interventions designed to reduce low-acuity pediatric ED use have been mixed or poorly sustained, perhaps because they were not informed by patient and caretakers' perspectives. The objective of this study was to explore caretaker decision-making processes, values, and priorities when deciding to seek care.

METHODS

We conducted semistructured interviews of caretakers in both emergency and primary care settings, incorporating stimulated recall methodology. We also explored receptiveness to two care delivery innovations: use of community health workers (CHWs) and video teleconferencing.

RESULTS

Interviews of 57 caretakers identified multiple barriers to accessing primary care for their children's acute illness, including transportation, work constraints, and childcare. Frequent ED users lacked reliable social supports to overcome barriers. Fear of unforeseen health outcomes and a lack of trust in unfamiliar providers also influenced decision-making, rather than lack of general knowledge about minor illness. Receptiveness to CHWs was mixed, reflecting concerns for privacy and level of expertise. The option of video teleconferencing for low-acuity care was well received by caretakers.

CONCLUSIONS

Caretakers who used the ED frequently had limited social support and reported difficulty accessing care when compared to other caretakers. Fear also motivated care seeking and a desire for immediate medical care. Teleconferencing for low-acuity visits may be a useful health care delivery tool to reduce access barriers and provide rapid reassurance without engaging the ED.

Standardized test mixture for the characterization of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography columns: the Phillips mix

A novel column characterization test mixture is developed for use in comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC x GC). This mixture has been named the "Phillips mix" in honor of the late professor John B. Phillips, the father of GC x GC. The mixture comprises a series of homologous compounds from structural groups that cover a volatility and polarity range that is similar to the Grob mix, and includes saturated hydrocarbons (alkanes), unsaturated hydrocarbons (alkenes and alkynes), carbonyls (ketones and aldehydes), primary alcohols, fatty acid methyl esters, alkyl ethers, carboxylic acids, aromatics, as well as other unique functional groups (such as amines, etc.). Similarly to the Grob mix in conventional one-dimensional GC, the Phillips mix can be used as a standardized test for performance characterization of GC x GC column sets. Unlike the Grob mix, however, the Phillips mix's most important use is as a practical guideline for column users. This paper addresses some qualitative aspects of the use of the Phillips mix through an investigation of the chromatographic fingerprints of two different GC x GC column combinations.