El papel de los síndromes culturales y los remedios tradicionales mexicanos en la promoción de salud de los niños

Purpose: To describe the context in which culture-bound syndromes that mothers of Mexican descent believed affected child wellness and describe how they restored health when these syndromes affected their children. Design: The findings of this come from a larger study that focused on the health promotion and protection practices used by mothers of Mexican descent in urban Texas A naturalistic design, using Spradley’s ethnographic interview techniques and participant observations, was selected to explore and describe the child health promotion and protection practices, including culture-bound syndromes, used by mothers of Mexican origin.   Method: Data collection consisted of 21 ethnographic interviews enhanced by focused home observations with nine Spanish speaking mothers.   Results: To these group of mothers, the culture-bound syndromes of empacho, fright and evil eye could affect children’s eating and sleep patterns, thereby causing an imbalance in a child’s wellbeing. Therefore the participants believed that they had be mindful of culture-bound syndromes that affected their children’s health and take care of those syndromes by using folk remedies to restore balance in their children’s’ wellbeing. Conclusion: The findings of this study provide an in-depth description of culture-bound syndromes and the folk remedies which mother of Mexican descent used to promote and protect the health of their preschool children. This knowledge provides a framework for healthcare professionals to use when working with mothers of Mexican descent who may be using folk healing to promote and protect the health of their children.Objetivo: Describir el contexto en el que los síndromes culturales de las madres de ascendencia mexicana creían que afectaban a la salud infantil y describir cómo ellas mejoraban la salud cuando estos síndromes afectaban a sus hijos. Diseño: Los resultados de este estudio se basan en una amplia investigación que se centró en la promoción de la salud y las prácticas de protección usadas por las madres de ascendencia mexicana en la ciudad de Texas. Se seleccionó un diseño naturalista, mediante las técnicas de entrevistas etnográficas de Spradley y observaciones de los participantes,  para explorar y describir la promoción de la salud infantil y las prácticas de protección, incluyendo los síndromes culturales usados por las madres de origen mexicano. Método: La recopilación de los datos consistió en 21 entrevistas etnográficas mejoradas por el enfoque de las observaciones en hogares con 9 madres de habla hispana. Resultados: Para este grupo de mujeres, los síndromes culturales del “empacho”, “mal de ojo” y “susto” podían provocar trastornos alimenticios y del sueño, causando un desajuste en el bienestar del niño. Además, las participantes creían que ellas tenían que ser conscientes de los síndromes culturales que afectaban a la salud de sus hijos y cuidar aquellos síndromes usando remedios tradicionales para promocionar y proteger la salud de sus niños. Conclusión: Los resultados de este estudio ofrecen una descripción en profundidad de los síndromes culturales y los remedios tradicionales que las madres de ascendencia mexicana usaban para promocionar y proteger la salud de sus niños. Este conocimiento ofrece un marco para que los profesionales de la salud lo usen cuando trabajen con madres de ascendencia mexicana que pueden estar usando este tipo de medios para cuidar a sus hijos

EVALUATION OF COMADRES DE SALUD-A CULTURALLY SENSITIVE OBESITY PREVENTION INTERVENTION FOR LATINAS

Title: EVALUATION OF COMADRES DE SALUD-A CULTURALLY SENSITIVE OBESITY PREVENTION INTERVENTION FOR LATINAS Authors: Martina R. Gallagher, PhD, MSN1, RN, Tracey Ledoux, PhD, RD2, McClain Sampson, PhD3 Affiliations: 1School of Nursing, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 2Texas Obesity Research Center, Department of Health and Human Performance, University of Houston, 3College of Social Work, University of Houston Purpose: The aim was to conduct a formative assessment of a community-based obesity prevention intervention, “Comadres de Salud” (Kin Sisters in Health). Based on the Social Cognitive Theory, Comadres de Salud is a multicomponent intervention aimed at improving diet and physical activity in low-income Latino mothers and their preschool children. This intervention is unique in that 1) it incorporates the cultural Latino scripts of familism, collectivism, simpatia and gender roles to enhance cultural sensitivity; and 2) it includes education on sleep hygiene as a way of enhancing adherence to dietary and physical activity changes. Methods: Latino women between the ages of 21-35, from the north side of Houston, TX, who were mothers of preschool children, were recruited for the intervention study. Two focus groups (n=11) were conducted, and acceptability surveys were administered at the end of the intervention. Data from the focus groups was recorded and transcribed. Qualitative description was used to analyzed the focus group data. Descriptive and frequency analysis was be performed on survey data. Results: For this group of women, participation in the intervention study was facilitated by having intervention sessions at a time that meet their needs and the interaction with other women. Some of the difficulties they encountered during the study were achieving their goals and following some of the study protocols, such as keeping track of their food intake. The participants suggested that involving other family members and increasing opportunities to learn about exercise would improve the study. The survey data reflected that the participants enjoyed the intervention and would recommend the intervention to other women. Conclusion: The formative assessment of this pilot study served as a useful tool to provide insight into the participants’ perceptions of an intervention and its delivery. Including other family members during the intervention enhances the incorporation of familism, which will increase the cultural sensitivity of the intervention. Goal setting was challenging for this group of women. Further research to examine the how to enhance adherence to goals with this group of women is needed. Funded by the PARTNERS Research Grant, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston-School of Nursing. Key Words: Latino, Obesity, Sleep, Women, Culture Learning Objectives: After reviewing the presentation the viewer will: Identify cultural scripts that enhance cultural sensitivity of research studies in Latino communities. Describe how sleep hygiene can be incorporated as a way of enhancing dietary and physical activity changes in interventions that address obesity. Identify issues that participants found challenging while being part of an intervention study that focused on weight reductio

Negative body image is related to overeating among overweight pregnant women

Background: Overeating and pre-pregnancy obesity increase risks for complications during pregnancy. According to Social Cognitive Theory, individual and environmental factors influence health behaviors. Purpose: This study’s purpose was to determine whether social norms (environmental factor) and body image (individual factor) regarding pregnancy weight control were related to overeating behaviors among overweight/obese (OW/Ob) pregnant women. Methods: Baseline data from an ongoing prospective study to identify predictors of excess gestational weight gain were used in this study. Pregnant women are being recruited from an obstetric clinic to complete a questionnaire, and research assistants are obtaining gestational weight gain data from medical records. For this study, baseline survey data on overeating behaviors (EBPQ; Schlundt et al., 2007), social norms (Courneya & Friedenreich, 1999), and body image (Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire version 6; Fairburn et al., 2009) among OW/Ob women were assessed using linear regression. Results: Data for 164 OW/Ob pregnant women with an average age of 25 (5.8 SD) and BMI of 33 (7.1 SD) were used in this study. 31% (n=50) were Hispanic/Latina, 19% (n=29) White, and 63% (n=97) African American among others (n=29, 19%). 52% (n=84) had at least some college, 36% (n=59) had a high school degree and 12% (n=20) had no high school degree. Income was \u3c $25K for 71.5$25-$50K for 34$50K for 8% (n=12). The model was significant (R2=.067, p=.014); body image was uniquely significantly related to overeating (std Beta=.225, p=.005); social norms were not (p\u3e.05). Conclusions: Improving body image among OW/Ob pregnant women may reduce overeating behaviors during pregnancy; thereby reducing obesity-related risks to pregnancy

Suitability Of Nitisinone In Alkaptonuria 1 (SONIA 1): an international, multicentre, randomised, open-label, no-treatment controlled, parallel-group, dose-response study to investigate the effect of once daily nitisinone on 24-h urinary homogentisic acid excretion in patients with alkaptonuria after 4 weeks of treatment.

BACKGROUND: Alkaptonuria (AKU) is a serious genetic disease characterised by premature spondyloarthropathy. Homogentisate-lowering therapy is being investigated for AKU. Nitisinone decreases homogentisic acid (HGA) in AKU but the dose-response relationship has not been previously studied. METHODS: Suitability Of Nitisinone In Alkaptonuria 1 (SONIA 1) was an international, multicentre, randomised, open-label, no-treatment controlled, parallel-group, dose-response study. The primary objective was to investigate the effect of different doses of nitisinone once daily on 24-h urinary HGA excretion (u-HGA24) in patients with AKU after 4 weeks of treatment. Forty patients were randomised into five groups of eight patients each, with groups receiving no treatment or 1 mg, 2 mg, 4 mg and 8 mg of nitisinone. FINDINGS: A clear dose-response relationship was observed between nitisinone and the urinary excretion of HGA. At 4 weeks, the adjusted geometric mean u-HGA24 was 31.53 mmol, 3.26 mmol, 1.44 mmol, 0.57 mmol and 0.15 mmol for the no treatment or 1 mg, 2 mg, 4 mg and 8 mg doses, respectively. For the most efficacious dose, 8 mg daily, this corresponds to a mean reduction of u-HGA24 of 98.8% compared with baseline. An increase in tyrosine levels was seen at all doses but the dose-response relationship was less clear than the effect on HGA. Despite tyrosinaemia, there were no safety concerns and no serious adverse events were reported over the 4 weeks of nitisinone therapy. CONCLUSIONS: In this study in patients with AKU, nitisinone therapy decreased urinary HGA excretion to low levels in a dose-dependent manner and was well tolerated within the studied dose range. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: EudraCT number: 2012-005340-24. Registered at ClinicalTrials.gov: NCTO1828463