Towards evidence based psychosocial interventions to support workers in reducing the health and wellbeing impacts of working shifts

Shift work is becoming more prevalent as a working pattern, with current literature suggesting that working shifts may negatively impact on many aspects of health and wellbeing. Following requests from organisations for public health support in this area, a systematic review was completed to identify psychosocial interventions that may support shift workers. The systematic review highlighted the paucity of psychosocial interventions that have been developed for shift workers, which led to the development of this research study. This qualitative research investigated the challenges of shift work and health and wellbeing issues for staff and their managers working within an aeronautical organisation. Thematic analysis identified three themes and five sub-themes. The themes explored issues around isolation, gendered health norms and who is taking responsibility for the health of the shift workers. Potential psychosocial interventions that may support the shift workers are explored from a health psychology prospectiv

The Influence of New Communication Technologies on Undergraduate Preferences for Social Capital Formation, Maintenance, and Expenditure

This article reports on a survey measuring how university students communicate with various audiences and found that the use of technology centers on social (rather than work or task) functions. Results suggest that social capital involves a choice among various communication technologies. The preference for and attachment to cell phones, instant messaging, and e-mail and the willingness to use technology as a part of an approach to engaging in social capital formation, maintenance, and use marks college age individuals as unique. Results also suggest a collision of sorts in which individuals with very diverse approaches to social capital must find ways to come together, to adapt, and to cooperate to produce the very outcomes that many social capital theorists have lamented the loss of

The role of HIV infection in neurologic injury

The central nervous system (CNS) is a very challenging HIV-1 sanctuary, in which HIV-1 replication is established early on during acute infection and can persist despite potent antiretroviral treatments. HIV-1 infected macrophages play a pivotal role acting as vehicles for HIV-1 to spread into the brain, and can be the major contributor of an early compartmentalization. HIV-1 infection in CNS may lead to a broad spectrum of neurological syndromes, such as dementia, mild neurocognitive disorders, and asymptomatic impairment. These clinical manifestations are caused by the release of neurotoxins from infected cells (mainly macrophages), and also by several HIV-1 proteins, able to activate cell-signaling involved in the control of cellular survival and apoptosis. This review is aimed at highlighting the virological aspects associated with the onset of neurocognitive disorders and at addressing the novel therapeutic approaches to stop HIV-1 replication in this critical sanctuary