Psychosocial factors and quality of life in adults with cystic fibrosis

The life expectancy of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients continues to increase, and it is therefore important to understand more about the psychosocial aspects of CF in adulthood. The present study aims to compare a group of 30 adult CF patients with a healthy control group on a multidimensional quality of life measure (WHOQOL) and other measures assessing self-esteem, anxiety, depression, social support and body image. A clinical measure of severity was also included in the CF group as were objective measures of physical functioning. The experimental group were outpatients attending the CF centre, Edinburgh. Their mean age was 29 (range=18 - 49 years). Healthy controls were a community sample matched for age, sex and deprivation category. Adjustment to illness was also assessed in the CF group and additional qualitative data relating to CF specific quality of life was obtained during semistructured interviews with 19 of the CF subjects. Statistical analysis was conducted to test the prediction that there would be no significant between groups differences on psychological measures (anxiety, depression and self-esteem). Differences were predicted in certain aspects of quality of life such as mobility and ability to work. Social support networks and body image concerns were also predicted to vary between the groups. A thematic analysis of interview data was also conducted to explore specific issues of adjustment and quality of life within the CF group

Higher Education outreach to widen participation: toolkits for practitioners. Overview

The toolkits are a distillation of the learning, methods and resources developed by Aimhigher and the Lifelong Learning Network programmes to support the effective strategy, management and delivery of outreach work to encourage progression to higher education for under-represented groups. The toolkits recontextualise the learning from these programmes to fit the current higher education environment. The toolkits form a suite of four (see links to right). They include: • Toolkit 1 Partnership • Toolkit 2 Targeting • Toolkit 3 Programmes • Toolkit 4 Evaluation • Resources and glossary.This is the second and updated edition, the first edition of the Toolkits was published in December 2012.Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE

Case 3 : “School, Interrupted”

Due to the fact that there is currently no national youth mental health strategy, each jurisdiction is faced with managing and preventing mental health issues in their communities. Through school-based mental health interventions public health professionals have the potential to impact a large portion of youth in their community in a setting with which youth are already familiar. Susan Miller, a health promoter with the Great Lakes Public Health Unit, has been tasked with making recommendations about what type of mental health intervention should be implemented in the local elementary and high schools. The main objective of this mental health intervention will be to enhance protective factors among youth as well as to decrease the risk factors that can lead to developing further mental health issues in adulthood

First records of the little sleeper shark, somniorum rostratus, in Maltese fisheries' landings

In 2011, two little sleeper sharks, Somniosus rostratus, were captured from the Central Mediterranean, making them the first two records of this shark species landed in the Maltese Islands. These records fall within the outer most eastern distribution range of the speciespeer-reviewe

THE INFLUENCE OF GASTROINTESTINAL CONDITIONS ON WELLBEING: A PSYCHOSOCIAL ANALYSIS

Gastrointestinal (GI) conditions such as (irritable bowel syndrome (IBS); inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)) are increasingly prevalent (Molodecky et al., 2012). The global prevalence of IBS ranges between 3 to 22% of the population (Basandra & Bajaj, 2014). The prevalence of IBD exceeds 0.3% globally (Ng et al., 2017). The biomedical model has been the dominant framework to explore health conditions; its suitability for GI conditions is limited because it ignores psychological and social factors within health. Two biopsychosocial models (Engel, 1977; Drossman, 2016) were implemented in this thesis to evaluate the influence of GI conditions on wellbeing. Research questions aimed to address psychosocial aspects of GI conditions, including psychosocial factors and wellbeing outcomes, and how these may vary across active/remission stages. Three studies comprised the thesis construction, which used mixed methods. Study 1 was a scoping review to understand the breadth of existing literature and knowledge of IBS and IBD on psychosocial factors and wellbeing outcomes. Study 2 was a series of interviews with individuals diagnosed with IBS or IBD; it aimed to understand their lived experiences of these conditions. Study 2 outcomes informed the hypotheses guiding study 3, which required participants to complete published survey measures of SWB, negative emotions, HRQOL, coping and social support to further explore participant’s experiences. Study 3 also explored the emotion recognition ability of those with IBS and IBD and how this may relate to social support. Findings supported the use of the biopsychosocial model as a theoretical lens for the investigation and explication of IBS and IBD. The unique contribution to the existing 17 evidence base surrounding knowledge of GI conditions were the focus on presently under-researched areas within the field. These included the remission experiences of those with IBS and IBD, and potential links between social support and relationships on emotion recognition. Recommendations from this research include increased workplace support for individuals with GI conditions, greater focus on psychosocial experiences during remission, and future research is co-produced with those affected by GI conditions. The outcomes of this research will be of potential importance to individuals with IBS and IBD, health researchers and health practitioners in relation to extending knowledge and raising awareness of the study outcomes

Gender, inequality and Depo-Provera: Constraints on reproductive choice in Nicaragua

21 pages. Published in Global Public Health, found at: https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2016.1168468This article examines the sociocultural determinants of Nicaraguan women’s use of Depo-Provera as a means of contraception. The prevalence of Depo-Provera in Nicaragua is high and increasing compared to other Central American countries. Drawing on data from structured interviews with 87 women and from focus groups with 32 women, we show how women’s preference for Depo is shaped by both gendered inequalities and socioeconomic constraints. We employ basic statistical tests to analyse correlations between women’s marital status and socioeconomic status (SES) with contraceptive use. Our statistical findings show significant associations between use of Depo and both marital status and SES, such that women who are married or in conjugal unions and women with lower SES are more likely to use Depo. To help explain women’s use of Depo-Provera in Nicaragua, we situate our findings within the context of gender, culture, and power, reviewing the contested history of Depo-Provera in the developing world and dynamics of gender inequality, which constrain women’s contraceptive choices. We conclude with suggestions for reproductive health programming in Nicaragua and beyond, arguing that gender equity and addressing socioeconomic barriers to family planning remain priorities for the achievement of global reproductive health

The Association of Parasitic Infections in Pregnancy and Maternal and Fetal Anemia: A Cohort Study in Coastal Kenya

Background: Relative contribution of these infections on anemia in pregnancy is not certain. While measures to protect pregnant women against malaria have been scaling up, interventions against helminthes have received much less attention. In this study, we determine the relative impact of helminthes and malaria on maternal anemia. Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in coastal Kenya among a cohort of pregnant women who were recruited at their first antenatal care (ANC) visit and tested for malaria, hookworm, and other parasitic infections and anemia at enrollment. All women enrolled in the study received presumptive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, iron and multi-vitamins and women diagnosed with helminthic infections were treated with albendazole. Women delivering a live, term birth, were also tested for maternal anemia, fetal anemia and presence of infection at delivery. Principal Findings: Of the 706 women studied, at the first ANC visit, 27% had moderate/severe anemia and 71% of women were anemic overall. The infections with highest prevalence were hookworm (24%), urogenital schistosomiasis (17%), trichuria (10%), and malaria (9%). In adjusted and unadjusted analyses, moderate/severe anemia at first ANC visit was associated with the higher intensities of hookworm and P. falciparum microscopy-malaria infections. At delivery, 34% of women had moderate/severe anemia and 18% of infants' cord hemoglobin was consistent with fetal anemia. While none of the maternal infections were significantly associated with fetal anemia, moderate/severe maternal anemia was associated with fetal anemia. Conclusions: More than one quarter of women receiving standard ANC with IPTp for malaria had moderate/severe anemia in pregnancy and high rates of parasitic infection. Thus, addressing the role of co-infections, such as hookworm, as well as under-nutrition, and their contribution to anemia is needed

ALMA High-frequency Long Baseline Campaign in 2021: Highest Angular Resolution Submillimeter Wave Images for the Carbon-rich Star R Lep

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) was used in 2021 to image the carbon-rich evolved star R Lep in Bands 8-10 (397-908 GHz) with baselines up to 16 km. The goal was to validate the calibration, using band-to-band (B2B) phase referencing with a close phase calibrator J0504-1512, 1.2 deg from R Lep in this case, and the imaging procedures required to obtain the maximum angular resolution achievable with ALMA. Images of the continuum emission and the hydrogen cyanide (HCN) maser line at 890.8 GHz, from the J=10-9 transition between the (1110) and (0400) vibrationally excited states, achieved angular resolutions of 13, 6, and 5 mas in Bands 8-10, respectively. Self-calibration (self-cal) was used to produce ideal images as to compare with the B2B phase referencing technique. The continuum emission was resolved in Bands 9 and 10, leaving too little flux for self-cal of the longest baselines, so these comparisons are made at coarser resolution. Comparisons showed that B2B phase referencing provided phase corrections sufficient to recover 92%, 83%, and 77% of the ideal image continuum flux densities. The HCN maser was sufficiently compact to obtain self-cal solutions in Band 10 for all baselines (up to 16 km). In Band 10, B2B phase referencing as compared to the ideal images recovered 61% and 70% of the flux density for the HCN maser and continuum, respectively.Comment: 37 pages, 12 figures, 9 tables, accepted by ApJ (Aug 30, 2023