Creating Effective, Evidence-Based Video Communication of Public Health Science (COVCOM Study): Protocol for a Sequential Mixed Methods Effect Study

Background: The nonlinear nature of contagious diseases and the potential for exponential growth can be difficult to grasp for the general public. This has strong implications for public health communication, which needs to be both easily accessible and efficient. A pandemic is an extreme situation, and the accompanying strict societal measures are generally easier to accept if one understands the underlying reasoning behind them. Bringing about informed attitude change and achieving compliance to strict restrictions requires explanations of scientific concepts and terminologies that laypersons can understand. Objective: The aim of the project is to develop effective, evidence-based modes of video communication for translating complex, but important, health messages about pandemics to both the general population and decision makers. The study uses COVID-19 as a case to learn and prepare society for handling the ongoing and future pandemics, as well as to provide evidence-based tools for the science communication toolbox. Methods: The project applies a mixed methods design, combining qualitative methods (eg, interviews, observational studies, literature reviews) and quantitative methods (eg, randomized controlled trials [RCTs]). The project brings together researchers from a wide range of academic fields, as well as communication industry professionals. Results: This study has received funding from the Trond Mohn Foundation through the Research Council of Norway’s “COVID-19 Emergency Call for Proposals” March 2020. Recruitment and data collection for the exploratory first phase of the project ran from February 2021 to March 2021. Creative communication work started in May 2021, and the production of videos for use in the RCTs in the final phase of the project started in September 2021. Conclusions: The COVCOM project will take on several grand challenges within the field of communicating science and provide evidence-based tools to the science communication toolbox. A long-term goal of the project is to contribute to the creation of a more resilient health care system by developing communication responses tailormade for different audiences, preparing society for any future pandemic. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/3427

Hearing and dementia

Hearing deficits associated with cognitive impairment have attracted much recent interest, motivated by emerging evidence that impaired hearing is a risk factor for cognitive decline. However, dementia and hearing impairment present immense challenges in their own right, and their intersection in the auditory brain remains poorly understood and difficult to assess. Here, we outline a clinically oriented, symptom-based approach to the assessment of hearing in dementias, informed by recent progress in the clinical auditory neuroscience of these diseases. We consider the significance and interpretation of hearing loss and symptoms that point to a disorder of auditory cognition in patients with dementia. We identify key auditory characteristics of some important dementias and conclude with a bedside approach to assessing and managing auditory dysfunction in dementia

Microextraction flotamicroextraction flotation concentration and determination of chloroacetic acids in watertion concentration and determination of chloroacetic acids in water

Предложен метод флотационного выделения экстракта при дисперсионном жидкостно-жидкостном микроэкстракционном концентрировании (ДЖЖМЭ) моно-, ди- и трихлоруксусных кислот (ХУК). В качестве экстрагента использован метил-трет-бутиловый эфир (МТБЭ), его эмульгирование осуществляли с помощью ультразвукового воздействия. Концентрирование проводили в ампуле объемом 27 мл, которая оснащена капиллярами для отбора микроколичеств экстракта и отводом для барботирования воздуха. Пропускание воздуха через эмульсию экстрагента осуществлено с применением восьмиканального капиллярного барботера. Для уменьшения растворимости МТБЭ в воде и повышения эффективности концентрирования ХУК использовали высаливающую добавку (Na2SO4). Для ионохроматографического определения ХУК проводили замену органической матрицы экстракта на водную. Показаны преимущества флотационного способа деэмульсификации перед центрифужным: достигнуты коэффициенты концентрирования хлоруксусных кислот в 2-3 раз большие, а пределы обнаружения ХУК в воде понижены до 5·10-4 − 4·10-3 мг/л, время выделения экстракта уменьшено более чем в три раза. Правильность определения примесей ХУК в воде подтверждена методом добавок. Показана статистическая незначимость систематической погрешности по сравнению со случайной. Разработанная методика концентрирования в сочетании с ионной хроматографией позволяет определять концентрации ХУК в 40-1250 раз меньшие, чем нормированные СанПиН и ВОЗ. Это дает возможность проводить высокочувствительное определение ХУК в воде задолго до наступления критических экологических состояний.The flotation-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction method of mono-, di -, and trichloroacetic acids (CAAs) has been developed. Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) was used as an extractant. The emulsification was performed by the ultrasonic irradiation. The microextraction procedure was carried out in a 27 ml special tube. It was equipped with the capillaries for sampling the extract and an air outlet. A salting-out additive (Na2SO4) was used to reduce the solubility of MTBE in water and to increase the extraction efficiency of CAAs. The air passage through the emulsion of the extractant was carried out using the eight-channel capillary bubbler. The organic matrix replacement was applied for ion chromatographic determination of CAAs with the conductivity detection. Current study showed the advantages of the flotation-assisted demulsification over the centrifugal one. The concentration factors of chlorinated acetic acids were 2-3 times higher. The detection limits of CAAs in water were reduced to (5·10-4 - 4·10-3 mg/l). The extraction time was reduced by more than three times. The trueness of the determination of HUC impurities was confirmed by the addition method. The statistical insignificance of the systematic error in comparison with the random error was shown. The developed method of preconcentration in combination with ion chromatography made it possible to determine the concentrations of CAAs 40-1250 times lower than the normalized SanPiN and WHO. This allowed conducting a highly sensitive determination of CAAs in water long before the onset of the critical ecological state

Psychiatric patients’ attitudes towards being hospitalized: a national multicentre study in Norway

Background The aim of the study was to explore patients’ attitudes towards voluntary and involuntary hospitalization in Norway, and predictors for involuntary patients who wanted admission. Methods A multi-centre study of consecutively admitted patients to emergency psychiatric wards over a 3 months period in 2005–06. Data included demographics, admission status (voluntary / involuntary), symptom levels, and whether the patients expressed a wish to be admitted regardless of judicial status. To analyse predictors of wanting admission (binary variable), a generalized linear mixed modelling was conducted, using random intercepts for the site, and fixed effects for all variables, with logit link-function. Results The sample comprised of 3.051 patients of witch 1.232 (40.4%) were being involuntary hospitalised. As expected 96.5% of the voluntary admitted patients wanted admission, while as many as 29.7% of the involuntary patients stated that they wanted the same. The involuntary patients wanting admission were less likely to be transported by police, had less aggression, hallucinations and delusions, more depressed mood, less use of drugs, less suicidality before admission, better social functioning and were less often referred by general practitioners compared with involuntary patients who did not want admission. In a multivariate analysis, predictors for involuntary hospitalization and wanting admission were, not being transported by police, less aggression and less use of drugs. Conclusions Almost a third of the involuntary admitted patients stated that they actually wanted to be hospitalized. It thus seems to be important to thoroughly address patients’ preferences, both before and after admission, regarding whether they wish to be hospitalized or not