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Emerging technological advances hold potential to assist the long-term care (LTC) workforce in caring for an aging population in the home and LTC settings. Technology may alter workforce needs and mitigate rising workforce demand. This study identified and assessed emerging technologies that may assist, replace, and/or support recruitment and retention of the LTC workforce and identified barriers and facilitators to their implementation. We identified a variety of technologies with applications for LTC, created a taxonomy of technology types and functions across LTC settings, and conducted semi-structured interviews with a sample of company leaders to assess perceived impact of their products and services on the LTC workforce. Thematic analysis of those interviews found that technology is not currently positioned to replace the LTC workforce but may facilitate work and support worker recruitment and retention. More rigorous evaluation of technologies in LTC and financing mechanisms are needed to support widespread adoption.

The state's Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) system is a process by which physical and social environmental information concerning a proposed action is compiled so that these factors, along with traditional economic considerations, can be incorporated into government decision making. The various steps that make up the process require an expenditure in time and money that ultimately adds cost to a proposed action. The chief benefit of the EIS system is that it will yield better decisions and improve the quality of the physical, natural and social environment. However, a legitimate concern of policy-makers, and to a certain extent developers and the general public, is whether the present system is the best means of collecting and presenting environmental information. Periodic review and evaluation of the EIS system process is a means of addressing that concern. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the information gathering process created by the state's EIS law, chapter 343 HRS, and to make recommendations for improvements if needed. ; Office of Environmental Quality Control, Department of Health, State of Hawaii

In the ongoing discussion about the possible differences between mothering and fathering, tests of measurement invariance play an important role. However, there remains a need to investigate the measurement invariance of parental beliefs by gender. Mothers ( n = 2,236) and fathers ( n = 1,106) who attended parenting education courses reported on their beliefs using both original and validated measures. Using factor analytic techniques, we estimated a series of nested models that applied parameter constraints hierarchically to assess measurement invariance between mothers and fathers for these parenting beliefs. Results indicated strict invariance for some, but not all, constructs. Namely, beliefs regarding facilitating children's independence and beliefs regarding structure were invariant, whereas beliefs regarding connection showed levels of systematic difference between genders. Testing invariance allows researchers to shed light on which aspects of parenting are the same and which are different, and to what extent mothering and fathering can be directly compared.

ObjectiveTo identify different patterns of relationship beliefs, and examine how those patterns vary across participants attending classes through different venues: community, reemployment services, and jails.BackgroundAlthough there have been increased efforts to provide relationship education to underprivileged and underserved populations in diverse venues, there is little research on how the relationship education needs at different venues may vary.MethodFrom the perspective of relationship lay theory, the present study used latent class analysis to identify patterns, or classes, of relationship beliefs among participants in community settings (n = 1,144), reemployment services settings (n = 423), and jails (n = 242).ResultsFive classes of relationship beliefs emerged: Low Risk, Blind Love, Sliders, Blind Love Sliders, and Control Tolerates. Differences in class membership were observed across the three venues. Being single, having a history of divorce, and no prior relationship education were associated with membership in more risky classes.ConclusionDistinct patterns of risky relationship beliefs exist among participants in different venues of relationship education. The high prevalence of the Slider class and associated beliefs indicate those beliefs may be particularly prevalent across venues.ImplicationsThe findings point to educational needs of particular groups. For example, information on the issue of sliding is needed when teaching in any setting, but information on control tolerance and blind love sliding is particularly needed when teaching in jails, and to a lesser but still elevated degree in reemployment services.

Nearly 20% of South African youth experience forced or coerced sexual intercourse. Understanding the factors associated with forced sex is important for informing prevention programs aimed at reducing sexual violence and HIV and AIDS. Multilevel regression models test the association between sexual situation self‐efficacy and forced sex among 2,893 South African adolescents. Findings suggest that youth are more likely to experience forced sex after periods of time when their levels of self‐efficacy are lower than their average levels of self‐efficacy. Furthermore, youth who are lower on their self‐efficacy compared to their peers are more likely to experience forced sex. Implications for prevention research are discussed.

The objective of this study was to explore how home care workers and the agencies that employ them interact with their state's nurse practice act in the provision of care. Using a qualitative case study approach, we selected four states with varying levels of restrictiveness in their nurse delegation regulations. We conducted interviews ( N = 45) with state leaders, agency leaders, and home care workers to learn how these policies affect the home care workforce's ability to perform care tasks for their clients in order to allow clients to remain in their own homes. We found that increased training and input from registered nurses is needed to identify appropriate health maintenance tasks to delegate to home care workers and support development of training strategies. The federal government could support the development of evidence-based guidelines for training and competency testing as well as for appropriate delegation of health maintenance tasks.

BACKGROUND: Reducing breast cancer incidence and achieving equity in breast cancer outcomes remains a priority for public health practitioners, health care providers, policy makers, and health advocates. Monitoring breast cancer survival can help evaluate the effectiveness of health services, quantify inequities in outcomes between states or population subgroups, and inform efforts to improve the effectiveness of cancer management and treatment. METHODS: We analyzed breast cancer survival using individual patient records from 37 statewide registries that participated in the CONCORD-2 study, covering approximately 80% of the US population. Females were diagnosed between 2001 and 2009 and were followed through December 31, 2009. Age-standardized net survival at 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years after diagnosis was estimated by state, race (white, black), stage at diagnosis, and calendar period (2001-2003 and 2004-2009). RESULTS: Overall, 5-year breast cancer net survival was very high (88.2%). Survival remained remarkably high from 2001 through 2009. Between 2001 and 2003, survival was 89.1% for white females and 76.9% for black females. Between 2004 and 2009, survival was 89.6% for white females and 78.4% for black females. CONCLUSIONS: Breast cancer survival was more than 10 percentage points lower for black females than for white females, and this difference persisted over time. Reducing racial disparities in survival remains a challenge that requires broad, coordinated efforts at the federal, state, and local levels. Monitoring trends in breast cancer survival can highlight populations in need of improved cancer management and treatment. Cancer 2017;123:5100-18. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.