Comparative assessment of quality of life of patients with schizophrenia attending a community psychiatric centre and a psychiatric hospital

Background: Over the past few decades, there has been an emphasis on the de-institutionalisation of psychiatric care with a focus on community care. With Quality of Life (QoL) as an outcome measure, this study compared the QoL of patients with schizophrenia attending a psychiatric hospital and a community psychiatric centre.Design: This was a cross-sectional study in two psychiatric facilitiesMethods: Data were obtained through a socio-demographic and clinical questionnaire; the QoL was assessed with the WHOQOL-BREF and patient satisfaction with care with CPOSS. Total and domain scores of WHOQOL-BREF for each group were calculated and compared with each other and other group characteristics. Diagnosis of schizophrenia was based on ICD-10.Results: Participants from the two centres did not differ significantly on any of the socio-demographic characteristics measured. Similarly, there was no significant difference in their overall mean WHOQOL-BREF scores as well as the mean WHOQOL-BREF of domain scores. However, the married and females from both centres significantly had higher mean WHOQOL-BREF scores than their male counterparts. Patients in remission for more than two years or those on a single type of medication (either oral or depot preparation) from both centres significantly had higher mean WHOQOL-BREF score compared with those who had less than two years of remission or on both oral and depot preparations.Conclusion: Overall QoL of patients managed at the two centres was comparable, with similar socio-demographic as well as clinical variables influencing QoL. This suggests that patients with schizophrenia can be well managed at community psychiatric centres.Keywords: schizophrenia, quality of life, community psychiatric care, psychiatric hospital, patient satisfaction, treatment outcomesFunding: None declared

Degree of Integrated Water Resources Management Implementation in Context of Climate Change in a Watershed: Case of Oueme Basin, Benin (West Africa)

This study is based on the hypothesis that the implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) tools in the Oueme watershed has not led to a systematic improvement in the degree of IWRM implementation in the Oueme Valley in Benin. Methodologically, data were collected through a semi-structured survey of stakeholder families in the study area using snowball sampling. The tool used was the form developed by the United Nations to collect data to assess the level of IWRM implementation. The four (4) assessment criteria, each covering a key component of IWRM, are the enabling environment, institutions and participation, management tools and financing. The results obtained per criteria according to the stepwise methodology adopted reveal on average a degree of implementation of 40 on a scale of 0 to 100 in the Oueme basin. This value varies according to the geographical area and the factors considered. This study, which is a decision-making tool, provides a guide for governments to monitor the progress of integrated water resources management in their territory

The blue economy - cultural livelihood - ecosystem conservation triangle : the African experience

Publications costs were supported by the University of St Andrews to IO-Y and the New England Aquarium-Marine Conservation and Action Fund (MCAF) to NK.The concept of Blue Economy (BE) is recognised as central for sustainable development that incorporates socio-economic benefits and ecological conservation. However, in Africa, much of the emphasis on BE is placed on economic gains; as a result, traditional livelihoods and small-scale local operations are outcompeted by international corporations and government initiatives, with little or no regard for social inclusion and environmental sustainability. We argue that successful BE initiatives in Africa accentuate the involvement of local communities and promote sustenance of the natural ecosystem. We define success in terms of the sustainability balance among ecological, social and economic aspects. Drawing on extensive expert experiences, observational data and literature review of case studies across the African continent, we highlight two critical findings. First, large scale BE initiatives prioritise economic gains at the expense of environmental degradation and the exclusion of local communities. Second, using the full spectrum sustainability (FSS) evaluation, we show that successful BE interventions considered ecological, economic, socio-cultural and institutional objectives. Drawing on these case studies, we propose the adoption of a collaborative framework which amalgamates the top-down and bottom-up approaches to BE management. Achieving the goal of successful blue growth in Africa is now even more challenged by the implications of COVID-19 on the BE sectors. Reimagining and rebuilding a resilient BE in Africa post-coronavirus will require a strong political commitment to promoting a balance between economic, social and environmental benefits in line with the African Union's Agenda 2063 and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Practical actions to strengthen capacity for deep-water research in Africa

While Africa's deep marine biodiversity offers economic prospects it also supports crucial ecosystem services and sustainable development is dependent on knowledge of these systems. Building understanding of deep-water ecosystems is key, but there are substantial discrepancies in countries' abilities to achieve this. Coinciding with the 2024 Ocean Decade Conference, the Challenger 150 African Network of Deep-water Researchers is pleased to release a report on “Practical Actions to Strengthen Capacity for Deep-water Research in Africa”. Through a series of online workshops, the ANDR brought together 98 individuals from 19 African nations to discuss challenges for deep-water research in Africa, identify solutions to overcome these and propose practical actions going forward

COVIDiSTRESS diverse dataset on psychological and behavioural outcomes one year into the COVID-19 pandemic

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVIDiSTRESS Consortium launched an open-access global survey to understand and improve individuals’ experiences related to the crisis. A year later, we extended this line of research by launching a new survey to address the dynamic landscape of the pandemic. This survey was released with the goal of addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion by working with over 150 researchers across the globe who collected data in 48 languages and dialects across 137 countries. The resulting cleaned dataset described here includes 15,740 of over 20,000 responses. The dataset allows cross-cultural study of psychological wellbeing and behaviours a year into the pandemic. It includes measures of stress, resilience, vaccine attitudes, trust in government and scientists, compliance, and information acquisition and misperceptions regarding COVID-19. Open-access raw and cleaned datasets with computed scores are available. Just as our initial COVIDiSTRESS dataset has facilitated government policy decisions regarding health crises, this dataset can be used by researchers and policy makers to inform research, decisions, and policy. © 2022, The Author(s).U.S. Department of Education, ED: P031S190304; Texas A and M International University, TAMIU; National Research University Higher School of Economics, ВШЭThe COVIDiSTRESS Consortium would like to acknowledge the contributions of friends and collaborators in translating and sharing the COVIDiSTRESS survey, as well as the study participants. Data analysis was supported by Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) Research Grant, TAMIU Act on Ideas, and the TAMIU Advancing Research and Curriculum Initiative (TAMIU ARC) awarded by the US Department of Education Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program (Award # P031S190304). Data collection by Dmitrii Dubrov was supported within the framework of the Basic Research Program at HSE University, RF

Factors affecting job-site productivity of construction workers in lagos state

Productivity is one of the most important factors affecting the overall performance of any organisation whether large or small organisation. It is on the basis of this that the study assess the factors that affect job-site productivity in Lagos State with consideration on recruitment policy, types of training and factors that affect quality of workers and their contribution to the various organisations surveyed. This is done through the self administration of 100 structured questionnaires to elicit information from the respondents using convenience sampling method. The results showed that 64.7% of the respondents used on the job training for their workers and 54.3% of the respondents conduct training for their staff as required. Experience of workers was ranked 1st while age of workers was ranked 14th out of 16 factors. Furthermore, improvements are needed in the areas of developing people (42%), safety consciousness (34%) and planning effectiveness (26%). It is however suggested among others that efforts should be made by the firms to invest in developing its work force (ability to select, train and appraise personnel, set standard of performance) so that on the long run, this will yield positive improvement on the overall productivity

Iliocostalis Muscle Rotational Flap: A Novel Flap for Esophagopleural Fistula Repair

Intrathoracic fistulas present major challenges to reconstructive surgeons. Reconstruction with muscle flaps have been shown to improve patient outcomes; however, there are patients for whom one or more of the commonly used muscle flaps is not available for several reasons. We describe the use of an iliocostalis muscle rotational flap for the repair of a caudally located esophagopleural fistula in the setting of definitive chemoradiotherapy for treatment of nonsmall-cell lung cancer and reirradiation with photons for local recurrence 5 years later. Our repair remained intact through the nearly 12-month follow-up period during which the patient tolerated a regular diet. This report demonstrates that the iliocostalis lumborum muscle is a viable option for repair of intrathoracic fistulas that are located in the distal esophagus, even in the setting of previous thoracotomy and radiation, and should be part of the reconstructive surgeon\u27s armamentarium in the management of intrathoracic fistulas

The blue economy - cultural livelihood - ecosystem conservation triangle:the African experience

The concept of Blue Economy (BE) is recognised as central for sustainable development that incorporates socio-economic benefits and ecological conservation. However, in Africa, much of the emphasis on BE is placed on economic gains; as a result, traditional livelihoods and small-scale local operations are outcompeted by international corporations and government initiatives, with little or no regard for social inclusion and environmental sustainability. We argue that successful BE initiatives in Africa accentuate the involvement of local communities and promote sustenance of the natural ecosystem. We define success in terms of the sustainability balance among ecological, social and economic aspects. Drawing on extensive expert experiences, observational data and literature review of case studies across the African continent, we highlight two critical findings. First, large scale BE initiatives prioritise economic gains at the expense of environmental degradation and the exclusion of local communities. Second, using the full spectrum sustainability (FSS) evaluation, we show that successful BE interventions considered ecological, economic, socio-cultural and institutional objectives. Drawing on these case studies, we propose the adoption of a collaborative framework which amalgamates the top-down and bottom-up approaches to BE management. Achieving the goal of successful blue growth in Africa is now even more challenged by the implications of COVID-19 on the BE sectors. Reimagining and rebuilding a resilient BE in Africa post-coronavirus will require a strong political commitment to promoting a balance between economic, social and environmental benefits in line with the African Union's Agenda 2063 and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals