OBJECTIVE The Florida Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program aims to minimize the occurrence of adverse maternal and child health outcomes for mothers deemed at-risk during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth. This study sought to understand the needs of and challenges faced by immigrant families in accessing health care through the perspective of Florida MIECHV ...

The sense of agency, i.e., the sense that "I am the one who is causing an action", and mentalizing, the ability to understand the mental states of other individuals, are key domains of social cognition. It has been hypothesized that an intact sense of agency is an important precondition for higher-level mentalizing abilities. A substantial body of evidence shows that both processes rely on simi...

The increased usage of online cancer support groups as a resource for health-related information and social support has sparked numerous discussions about the role of online support in healthcare. However, little is known about the role of social-networking groups focused on supporting adolescents and young adults (AYAs) dealing with cancer. The current investigation report findings from a cont...

BACKGROUND The concept of assertion and conceptual/practical methods of assertion (assertiveness) training were originally developed in the United States and Europe. These principles were embraced and adapted in Japan in 1970's. However, only a few studies relating to assertion (assertiveness) have been undertaken thus far in Japan, especially so in the domain of nursing students in comparison ...

This paper considers the use of online focus groups as a method for conducting qualitative research in the social sciences. Researchers have increasingly utilised online focus groups involving live, synchronous chat room interactions. However, to date there has been little insight and a lack of discussion as to the applicability of online focus groups in the social sciences. Reflecting on a stu...

The increasing prominence of the Internet in everyday life has prompted methodological innovations in qualitative research, particularly the adaptation of established methods of data collection for use online. The alternative online context brings with it both opportunities and challenges. To date the literature on online focus groups has focused mainly on the suitability of the method for qual...

Acknowledgements We gratefully acknowledge the support of our funders – the Nuffield Foundation – and the members of our project advisory group. The Nuffield Foundation is an endowed charitable trust that aims to improve social wellbeing in the widest sense. It funds research and innovation in education and social policy and also works to build capacity in education, science and social science ...

The Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRGs), is a method that identifies patients with similar resources use, based on statistical evaluation of hospital records. Statistics provide the Diagnosis related consumed resources and, thus, they enable the calculation of an average patient’s case-cost. On the basis of the Hospital activity levels and case mix, the health authorities can allocate the annual ho...

OBJECTIVE To analyze organizational characteristics of support groups that represent rheumatic patients in the Brazilian states. METHODS Initially a mapping of the desired universe was made. Contact was attempted with all organizations and they were asked to answer a structuralized electronic questionnaire with the purpose of understanding the profile of these organizations (developed initiat...

This paper is the first in a series presenting findings from a wider ethnography study of players from There.com and what they did when this virtual world closed on March 9th, 2010. Studies of online games and virtual worlds (or cyberworlds, as I prefer to call them) tend to focus in player activities during the time these spaces are open, assuming them as timeless places. But what happens when...