New York College of Health Professions

Patient reports of emotional harm during healthcare experiences require urgent action to center emotional safety as core to patient safety. We conducted a dimensional concept analysis to clearly define the dimensions of patient emotional safety. We propose a preliminary definition with dimensions that characterize patient emotional safety related to the experience of individual and structural dimensions of autonomy, human connectedness, practice of structural humility, and secure environment during healthcare interactions. This work serves as an initial step towards understanding patient emotional safety to inform future studies, education, practice, and advocacy to improve patient safety, quality of care, and health outcomes.

Abstract Black family caregivers of older adults living with dementia are at high risk for negative impacts of caregiving, including poor overall health. Culturally responsive evidenced-based caregiving support interventions are lacking and may help to meet the unmet needs of Black family caregivers of people living with dementia. The purpose of this study was to test the feasibility and acceptability of the Peer Support for Family Caregivers of Black Older Adults Living with Dementia (Pair 2 Care) Intervention. Pair 2 Care is a 6-month, flexible, virtual peer support intervention co-designed with Black current family caregivers, former family caregivers (care recipient is deceased), community leaders, and healthcare providers. This intervention leverages the experiences of trained former caregivers as mentors to current caregiver mentees. A total of 15 current caregiver mentees were mentored by 11 trained former caregivers; all were female and mostly daughters who were caring or cared for a parent living with dementia. Pair 2 Care was found to be feasible and acceptable. All participants were enrolled, mentors were trained, and mentees and mentors were paired within 10 weeks. Former caregiver mentors were retained at 90% and mentees at 93%. Both mentors and mentees rated their overall Pair 2 Care experience as very high (9/10). Qualitative feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with several participants requesting to continue the program. Pair 2 Care may provide an innovative approach to improving family caregiver health outcomes. This award-winning intervention is poised to become part of existing innovations in aging that promotes health equity.

Noncoding variants increase neuropsychiatric disease risk, but our understanding of their cell-type-specific role remains incomplete. We conducted large-scale chromatin accessibility profiling of neurons and non-neurons from 2 neocortical regions in 1,393 libraries. We observed substantial differences in neuronal chromatin accessibility between schizophrenia (SCZ) cases and controls, with upregulated open chromatin regions (OCRs) in neurons associated with SCZ risk loci. A comparison of SCZ-associated OCRs with fetal brain-specific OCRs revealed a strong correlation between upregulated changes in SCZ chromatin and openness in fetal cortical brains, linking disease-related chromatin alterations to neurodevelopment. Here we show that a prominent neuronal trans-regulatory domain containing upregulated OCRs consolidates key neurodevelopmental chromatin signatures and is enriched for immature glutamatergic neurons. These findings link altered adult cortical chromatin states to early developmental mechanisms in SCZ. This study provides a comprehensive cell-type-resolved chromatin accessibility resource for the human cortex and offers insights into the regulatory architecture underlying SCZ risk.

Common mental disorders (CMDs) are a leading cause of burden and disability globally. Approximately 75% of those living with CMDs reside in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and up to 90% of those needing mental health care do not receive it. The Friendship Bench is a task-sharing mental health intervention delivered by lay health workers (LHWs) that utilizes concepts of Problem-Solving Therapy. The aim of this systematic review is to identify and evaluate the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of research outcomes of the Friendship Bench and understand its systematic uptake to narrow the CMD treatment gap. We conducted a systematic review of articles that reported on the Friendship Bench in LMICs, CMDs, implementation research outcomes, and studies that utilized experimental, observational, or qualitative study designs. We identified articles using medical subject headings and keywords from APA PsycINFO, Cochrane, CINAHL, EMBASE, Global Health, OVID, PubMed/Medline, Science Direct, Web of Science, and Google Scholar in February 2023 and again in December 2023 to capture any additional articles. We screened 641 articles, and a total of 7 articles were included in the final analysis. All studies were conducted in Zimbabwe within the past 8 years, and across all the studies, all implementation research outcomes were reported. There is strong evidence that the Friendship Bench is acceptable, appropriate, and feasible to address the CMD treatment gap in Zimbabwe. Facilitators include that the Friendship Bench is culturally adaptable, utilizes trusted LHWs, and has relatively strong community and political buy-in. Conversely, barriers include a lack of a reliable mental health system, limitations in its ability to treat more serious mental conditions, and mental health stigma. There is an opportunity to explore the application of the Friendship Bench for CMDs in other countries and as a basis for novel task-sharing interventions for other health conditions.

Ultra-long-range genomic contacts, which are key components of neuronal genome architecture1-3, constitute a biochemical enigma. This is because regulatory DNA elements make selective and stable contacts with DNA sequences located hundreds of kilobases away, instead of interacting with proximal sequences occupied by the exact same transcription factors1,4. This is exemplified in olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs), in which only a fraction of LHX2-, EBF1- and LDB1-bound sites interact with each other, converging into highly selective multi-chromosomal enhancer hubs5. To obtain biochemical insight into this process, here we assembled olfactory receptor (OR) enhancer hubs in vitro with recombinant proteins and enhancer DNA. Cell-free reconstitution of enhancer hubs revealed that OR enhancers form nucleoprotein condensates with unusual, solid-like characteristics. Assembly of these solid condensates is orchestrated by specific DNA motifs enriched in OR enhancers, which are likely to confer distinct homotypic properties on their resident LHX2-EBF1-LDB1 complexes. Single-molecule tracking and pulse-chase experiments in vivo confirmed that LHX2 and EBF1 assemble OR-transcription-competent condensates with solid properties in OSN nuclei, under physiological concentrations of protein. Thus, homophilic nucleoprotein interactions that are influenced by DNA sequence generate new types of biomolecular condensate, which might provide a generalizable explanation for the stability and specificity of long-range genomic contacts across cell types.

For over 150 years, trade cards have been cherished as collector's items, with Victorian-era dental trade cards being particularly prized for their historical and artistic significance. Among the most notable collectors of these artifacts is Dr. Ted Croll, a distinguished pediatric dentist who has dedicated a half a century to curating an extensive collection. In 2024, he generously donated his entire assemblage to the NYU College of Dentistry, ensuring its preservation for future scholarship. This paper examined the distinctive nature of Croll's Collection, its systematic organization, and its enduring value in advancing historical research and understanding within the field of the history of dentistry.