'Birthing a Better Future': A mixed-methods evaluation of an exhibition on the early years of life

BACKGROUND: Our study aimed to evaluate to what extent Zero2 Expo's 'Birthing a Better Future', a co-created multimedia exhibition, was effective in raising awareness on the importance of the first 1001 days of life and explore what refinements would help to optimize the impact of future exhibitions. METHODS: We conducted a mixed-methods evaluation of the exhibition delivered in the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford. Through convenience sampling, 14 participants were selected to participate in 12 structured interviews and 19 participants completed a questionnaire. Interviews were thematically analysed alongside quantitative analysis of questionnaire responses through Likert scales. RESULTS: The majority (78.6%, n = 11/14) of participants who completed the questionnaire either agreed or strongly agreed that the exhibition raised their awareness about the first 1001 days of life. This was supported by the analysis of interviews. The use of art was found to provoke an emotional engagement from participants. Participants felt that the length of the written pieces and location of the exhibition were important factors for designers to consider in future exhibitions. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that multimedia exhibitions, combining science with art, may be an effective way to raise awareness of public health messages. Engaging with key stakeholders will be an essential step in order to improve future public health exhibitions. PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: When designing the study, the public reviewed the study tools, which were refined based on their feedback. At every phase of the study, members of the public who are artists co-created the exhibition content

A case study of locked-in-syndrome: psychological and personal perspectives

Objectives: Although patients with Locked-In-Syndrome (LIS) are often stated to have normal cognitive functioning, the few reports of neuropsychological assessment in these cases suggest this is not always true. This paper (a) reviews published reports of neuropsychological assessments of LIS patients, (b) presents a detailed neuropsychological assessment of a patient to determine if she has normal cognitive functioning and (c) presents the views of the patient on what has happened to her. Methods and procedures: An in-depth single case report assessing the cognitive and emotional functioning of a young woman with LIS plus a personal account from the patient. Detailed assessments were carried out using standardized neuropsychological tests and questionnaires measuring emotional functioning, pain and quality-of-life. The patient also states her views of what happened and how she feels. Results: On most tests, cognitive functioning was average or above, but some impairments were found (consistent with published literature). No emotional problems were detected. Quality of life was satisfactory. Pain perception was normal. Conclusions: Although LIS patients have no severe cognitive deficits, some cognitive difficulties are common. Despite severe physical and communication problems and some mild cognitive deficits on visual reasoning tasks, this patient feels she has a reasonable quality-of-life

Does a regular Wessex Head Injury Matrix assessment identify early signs of infections in people with Prolonged Disorders of Consciousness?

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Patients with brain injury are at high risk for infections. Although infection and cognitive deterioration are established for people with dementia, this has not been shown for patients with a prolonged disorder of consciousness (PDOC). This study determines whether regular Wessex Head Injury Matrix (WHIM) assessments can identify early signs of infections in patients with PDOC. METHOD: Retrospective and prospective approaches were used to assess the WHIM scores of patients with a PDOC (N = 21 in the retrospective study and 22 in the prospective study). RESULTS: The WHIM total scores decreased due to infections in 17 of the 21 cases of infection (p < 0.001) in the retrospective study and 15 (p = 0.001) of the 22 prospective cases of infection. Patients in a minimally conscious state (MCS) showed a bigger proportion of change between their baseline score and the scores taken in the pre-infection stage in both the retrospective and prospective studies when compared to patients in a vegetative state (VS). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest the importance of serial WHIM assessments throughout the period of recovery, not only to measure cognitive changes but also to highlight underlying physical changes such as infections that will impact the response to rehabilitation and recovery

Does a regular Wessex Head Injury Matrix assessment identify early signs of infections in people with Prolonged Disorders of Consciousness?

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Patients with brain injury are at high risk for infections. Although infection and cognitive deterioration are established for people with dementia, this has not been shown for patients with a prolonged disorder of consciousness (PDOC). This study determines whether regular Wessex Head Injury Matrix (WHIM) assessments can identify early signs of infections in patients with PDOC. METHOD: Retrospective and prospective approaches were used to assess the WHIM scores of patients with a PDOC (N = 21 in the retrospective study and 22 in the prospective study). RESULTS: The WHIM total scores decreased due to infections in 17 of the 21 cases of infection (p < 0.001) in the retrospective study and 15 (p = 0.001) of the 22 prospective cases of infection. Patients in a minimally conscious state (MCS) showed a bigger proportion of change between their baseline score and the scores taken in the pre-infection stage in both the retrospective and prospective studies when compared to patients in a vegetative state (VS). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest the importance of serial WHIM assessments throughout the period of recovery, not only to measure cognitive changes but also to highlight underlying physical changes such as infections that will impact the response to rehabilitation and recovery

Radiographic assessment of extremity osseointegration for the amputee

Osseointegration (OI) is a bone-anchoring procedure that allows the direct skeletal attachment of a prosthesis through the use of an implant. Transcutaneous OI implants are similar to subcutaneous intramedullary joint implants with some exceptions. Particularly, OI implants are inserted at the distal aspect of the femur, while intramedullary implants are inserted at the proximal aspect of the femur. In this report, an additional adaptation of the radiographic zonal analysis used for intramedullary implants, known as Gruen zones, is introduced to include OI implants of extremity prosthetics. Radiographic zonal analyses and interpretations are proposed. Gruen zones are used for intramedullary implants, which are generally inserted from the proximal aspect of the bone. OI extremity implants are inserted from the distal end of the bone. Therefore, the zonal analysis is inverted. A radiographic zonal analysis has been introduced by the Osseointegration Group of Australia (OGA). This analysis is needed specifically for the clinical evaluation of extremity OI, as significant changes to the bone and OI implant have been reported and need to be clinically described. A classification technique is necessary for establishing treatment guidelines for the extremity osseointegrated implant. The OGA Zonal analysis addresses this need by adapting a common reference standard to osseointegration of the extremity amputee.6 page(s