La vie professionnelle et la santé des infirmières depuis la transformation du réseau de la santé

Depuis quelques années, le réseau de la santé québécois traverse une période de transformation importante qui vise la réduction des coûts et une meilleure efficience. La présente étude avait comme objectif de décrire les effets de la transformation du réseau sur la vie professionnelle et la santé des infirmières de l'agglomération de Québec. Malgré Ie devis transversal de l'étude qui ne permet pas de faire des liens de cause à effet et malgré le fait qu'elle ne s'adressait qu'aux infirmières qui étaient toujours à l'emploi des établissements, la recherche montre une augmentation de la prévalence d'un niveau élevé de détresse psychologique chez les infirmières depuis le début de la transformation. Des interventions dans les milieux de travail devraient s'appuyer sur les facteurs professionnels identifiés par de nombreuses infirmières de l'étude comme étant problématiques.Over the last years, the Quebec health system has gone through a period of transformation aimed at cost reduction and better efficiency. The present study describes the effects of the transformation on the professional life and on the health of nurses in the Quebec City urban area. Despite a cross-sectional study not allowing links from cause to effect and despite the fact that the study only includes nurses who were still employed by institutions, the research shows an increase of the prevalence of a higher level of psychological distress in nurses since the beginning of the transformation. Interventions in the work place should be geared to professional factors that nurses identify as problematical.Desde hace algunos anos, la red de servicios de salud del Quebec atraviesa un periodo importante de tranformaciones, cuyos objetivos son la reducciôn de costos y una mayor eficacia. Este estudio tiene como objetivo describir los efectos de estas transformaciones en la vida profesional y en la salud de las enfermeras de la aglomeraciôn de Quebec. A pesar de la estimaciôn transversal del estudio que no permite establecer lazos de causa a efecto, y a pesar del hecho de que solamente se dirigiô a las enfermeras que todavia eran empleadas de los establecimientos, la investigaciôn muestra un aumento de la prevalencia de un nivel elevado de angustia psicolôgica en las enfermeras, desde el inicio de la transformaciôn. Las intervenciones en los medios de trabajo deberïan apoyarse en los factores profesionales identificados como problemâticos por las enfermeras

Substance use risk profiles and associations with early substance use in adolescence

We examined whether anxiety sensitivity, hopelessness, sensation seeking, and impulsivity (i.e., revised version of the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale) would be related to the lifetime prevalence and age of onset of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use, and to polydrug use in early adolescence. Baseline data of a broader effectiveness study were used from 3,783 early adolescents aged 11–15 years. Structural equation models showed that hopelessness and sensation seeking were indicative of ever-used alcohol, tobacco or cannabis and for the use of more than one substance. Furthermore, individuals with higher levels of hopelessness had a higher chance of starting to use alcohol or cannabis at an earlier age, but highly anxiety sensitive individuals were less likely to start using alcohol use at a younger age. Conclusively, early adolescents who report higher levels of hopelessness and sensation seeking seem to be at higher risk for an early onset of substance use and poly substance use

Evolution of the surface temperature of pianists' arm muscles using infrared thermography

Musculoskeletal disorders are very frequent among musicians. Diagnosis is difficult due to the lack of objective tests and the multiplicity of symptoms. Treatment is also problematic and often requires that the musician stop playing. Most of these disorders are inflammatory in nature, and therefore involve temperature changes in the affected regions. Temperature measurements were recorded with an infrared camera. In this paper we present an overview of the temperature measurements made in the arms of 8 pianists during regular piano practice sessions

Youth Understanding of Healthy Eating and Obesity: A Focus Group Study

Introduction. Given the high prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States, we aimed to investigate youth's understanding of obesity and to investigate gaps between their nutritional knowledge, dietary habits, and perceived susceptibility to obesity and its co-morbidities. Methods. A marketing firm contracted by Children's Healthcare of Atlanta facilitated a series of focus group discussions (FGD) to test potential concepts and sample ads for the development of an obesity awareness campaign. Data were collected in August and September of 2010 with both overweight and healthy weight 4th-5th grade and 7th-8th grade students. We conducted a secondary analysis of the qualitative FGD transcripts using inductive thematic coding to identify key themes related to youth reports of family eating habits (including food preparation, meal frequency, and eating environment), perceived facilitators and barriers of healthy diet, and knowledge about obesity and its complications. Results. Across focus group discussions, mixed attitudes about healthy eating, low perceived risk of being or becoming obese, and limited knowledge about the health consequences of obesity may contribute to the rising prevalence of obesity among youth in Georgia. Most youth were aware that obesity was a problem; yet most overweight youth felt that their weight was healthy and attributed overweight to genetics or slow metabolism. Conclusions. Our analysis suggests that urban youth in Georgia commonly recognize obesity as a problem, but there is less understanding of the link to lifestyle choices or the connection to future morbidities, suggesting a need for education to connect lifestyle behaviors to development of obesity