Knowledge Brokering: The missing link in the evidence to action chain?

Transferring health care research into policy and practice is a messy and complex process which both policymakers and researchers can struggle with. A potential solution is to use individuals or organisations as knowledge brokers. Using a range of literature, this paper explains the theory behind knowledge brokering, identifies three models of brokering and explores the challenges of brokering. We suggest that clarifying these factors is a significant step towards planning well designed and rigorously evaluated brokering interventions. We also suggest that a clearly defined theoretical framework could help us to find out more about how brokering works and its effectiveness.     

The Social Structuring of Mental Health over the Adult Life Course: Advancing Theory in the Sociology of Aging

The sociology of aging draws on a broad array of theoretical perspectives from several disciplines, but rarely has it developed its own. We build on past work to advance and empirically test a model of mental health framed in terms of structural theorizing and situated within the life course perspective. Whereas most prior research has been based on cross-sectional data, we utilize four waves of data from a nationally representative sample of American adults (Americans' Changing Lives Study) collected prospectively over a 15-year period and find that education, employment and marital status, as well as their consequences for income and health, effectively explain the increase in depressive symptoms after age 65. We also found significant cohort differences in age trajectories of mental health that were partly explained by historical increases in education. We demonstrate that a purely structural theory can take us far in explaining later life mental health.     

Objective Testing Procedures in Linear Models: Calibration of the p-values

Abstract.  An optimal Bayesian decision procedure for testing hypothesis in normal linear models based on intrinsic model posterior probabilities is considered. It is proven that these posterior probabilities are simple functions of the classical F -statistic, thus the evaluation of the procedure can be carried out analytically through the frequentist analysis of the posterior probability of the null. An asymptotic analysis proves that, under mild conditions on the design matrix, the procedure is consistent. For any testing hypothesis it is also seen that there is a one-to-one mapping – which we call calibration curve – between the posterior probability of the null hypothesis and the classical bi p -value. This curve adds substantial knowledge about the possible discrepancies between the Bayesian and the p -value measures of evidence for testing hypothesis. It permits a better understanding of the serious difficulties that are encountered in linear models for interpreting the p -values. A specific illustration of the variable selection problem is given.     

The carrying capacity of a region: A planning model

While traditional planning often assumes unlimited growth potential, in reality such growth has absolute limits in terms of resources available and maintenance of the ecosystem. These limits (the region's carrying capacity) can be modeled; one such model, the State-of-the-System (SOS) Model, is described in this paper and is designed to test various assumptions about the desired growth of an area under explicit side conditions or limitations. Such a model could be used to test the validity of establishing comprehensive plans, to identify critical growth constraints, and to weight policy choices.     

School anxiety and depression among immigrant youth in America: Differences by region of birth and language proficiency

This study sought to examine school anxiety and depression by parents’ immigrant status and identify differences by region of birth and language proficiency. Data were used from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study‐Kindergarten Cohort, a nationally representative and longitudinal study of students in the United States. The analytic sample included 6,156 youth. Linear regression models predicted school anxiety and depression of American eighth grade students from English proficiency and parents’ region of birth. Controlling for demographic covariates, there was no significant difference in school anxiety or depression between youth with American‐born parents and those with parents born in any major world region. With the inclusion of an interaction between language proficiency and region of birth, children with limited English proficiency from Europe (B = 2.86, 95% CI = 2.16, 3.55), Central America (B = 1.52, 95% CI = 0.73, 2.31), Asia (B = 1.48, 95% CI = 0.55, 2.40), and South America (B = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.08, 1.61) had significantly heightened school anxiety compared to native‐English speakers with native‐born parents. When considering sources of school anxiety, it was revealed that over 60% of these youth worried about doing well in school. Future research should explore interventions to increase English proficiency and ease school‐related stress among children of immigrants.     

Social support and social structure

The burgeoning study of social support in relation to social stress and health would benefit from increased attention to issues of social structure. Three aspects of social relationships, all often referred to as social support, must be more clearly distinguished—(1) their existence or quantity (i.e., social integration), (2) their formal structure (i.e., social networks), and (3) their functional or behavioral content (i.e., the most precise meaning of social support)—and the causal relationships between the structure of social relationships (social integration and networks) and their functional content (social support) must be more clearly understood. Research and theory are needed on the determinants of social integration, networks, and support as well as their consequences for stress and health. Among potential determinants, macrosocial structures and processes particularly merit attention.     

The Teaching of Hypnosis: Outline and Method

Abstract

In the past several years there has been a significant increase in the number of training programs in clinical hypnosis. There appears to be little information available regarding the actual method and content of such coursework. The authors gave a number of professionals and paraprofessionals a training program that included lectures, clinical inductions, and an opportunity for limited use of these methods in a supervised setting. The methods used were presented in a step-by-step fashion, drawing upon not only the authors' experience and expertise, but also requiring the active participation of those learning these clinical methods. In all, there were ten sessions with some required reading outside of the class time. Typical problems of resistance, problem solving, and various perspectives were discussed and employed.