Health literacy support for Australian home-based care recipients: A role for homecare workers?

© 2019, © 2019 Taylor & Francis. Clear links have been established between low health literacy (HL) levels and poor health outcomes. One means of improvement may be found in the rapidly growing paid home care workforce, whose direct and frequent contact with aged/disabled care recipients positions them to provide HL support. This study examines Australian homecare worker (HCW) experiences in HL when providing assistance to their care recipients. A self-reported cross-sectional survey collected data from 75 HCWs. They reported concerns about their clients’ HL, yet were cautious about providing support in this area. HL levels of the HCWs themselves were unconvincing, and the majority requested targeted education and training. Further research is needed into HL levels of both HCWs and care recipients, client demographics, the types of HL support being requested of HCWs, a more detailed scoping of the HCW role, and the curriculum and pedagogies which may comprise a HL education and training program for HCWs

Glycaemic control and its associated factors in patients with type 2 diabetes in the Middle East and North Africa: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIMS: To examine the patient-related factors that have been linked to glycaemic control in people living with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Middle Eastern countries. DESIGN: A systematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES: A computerized search was conducted using the databases MEDLINE (via PubMed and Ovid), EMBASE, Scopus and CINAHL to identify peer-reviewed articles published in English between 1 January 2010 and 21 May 2020. On 28 June 2021, the search was updated with the same keywords and databases; however, no further relevant studies were identified. REVIEW METHODS: Extracted data were analysed using Review Manager 5.4. RESULTS: The final sample consisted of 54 articles with a total of 41,079 participants. Pooled data showed an increased risk of inadequate glycaemic control in smokers [OR = 1.26, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05, 1.52; p = .010], obese patients (OR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.10, 1.54; p = .002), patients with elevated waist to hip ratio (OR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.16, 2.26; p = .004) and longer disease duration (OR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.64, 2.48; p < .001). A lower risk of inadequate control was associated with physical activity (OR = 0.40, 95% CI: 0.24, 0.67; p < .001) and self-management (OR = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.29, 0.82; p = .006). CONCLUSION: These findings highlight the opportunity to address factors to improve glycaemic control. Further longitudinal studies are required to better understand these variations, to assess all predictors of glycaemic control in participants with type 2 diabetes, and to provide a strong basis for future measures to optimize glycaemic control

D-dimensional metrics with D-3 symmetries

Hidden symmetry transformations of D-dimensional vacuum metrics with D-3 commuting Killing vectors are studied. We solve directly the Einstein equations in the Maison formulation under additional assumptions. We relate the 4-dimensional Reissner-Nordstr\"om solution to a particular case of the 5-dimensional Gross-Perry metric.Comment: 8 page

Cell division and DNA segregation in Streptomyces: how to build a septum in the middle of nowhere?

Microbial Biotechnolog

Diversity and health inequalities: the role of the practice nurse

General Practice Nurse (GPN) practice is becoming increasingly diverse, due to a changing patient base and political climate which impacts upon their role. Over the last decade there has been an increase in the number of foreign born individuals living in the UK, the number of individuals identifying as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender (LGBQT) as well as the number of people living with a long term health condition or disability. Yet all of these groups also experience greater health inequalities, despite increasing political drives in the UK and internationally to address this. General Practice Nurses are ideally placed to address health inequalities by facilitating health access for diverse groups however in order to do this they have to recognise and respond to the cultural values of the patient they are working with

Generalization Of The Gross-Perry Metrics

A class of SO(n+1) symmetric solutions of the (N+n+1)-dimensional Einstein equations is found. It contains 5-dimensional metrics of Gross and Perry and Millward.Comment: 9 page

Visuo-spatial ability in colonoscopy simulator training

Visuo-spatial ability is associated with a quality of performance in a variety of surgical and medical skills. However, visuo-spatial ability is typically assessed using Visualization tests only, which led to an incomplete understanding of the involvement of visuo-spatial ability in these skills. To remedy this situation, the current study investigated the role of a broad range of visuo-spatial factors in colonoscopy simulator training. Fifteen medical trainees (no clinical experience in colonoscopy) participated in two psycho-metric test sessions to assess four visuo-spatial ability factors. Next, participants trained flexible endoscope manipulation, and navigation to the cecum on the GI Mentor II simulator, for four sessions within 1 week. Visualization, and to a lesser degree Spatial relations were the only visuo-spatial ability factors to correlate with colonoscopy simulator performance. Visualization additionally covaried with learning rate for time on task on both simulator tasks. High Visualization ability indicated faster exercise completion. Similar to other endoscopic procedures, performance in colonoscopy is positively associated with Visualization, a visuo-spatial ability factor characterized by the ability to mentally manipulate complex visuo-spatial stimuli. The complexity of the visuo-spatial mental transformations required to successfully perform colonoscopy is likely responsible for the challenging nature of this technique, and should inform training- and assessment design. Long term training studies, as well as studies investigating the nature of visuo-spatial complexity in this domain are needed to better understand the role of visuo-spatial ability in colonoscopy, and other endoscopic techniques

Augmented versus Virtual Reality Laparoscopic Simulation: What Is the Difference?: A Comparison of the ProMIS Augmented Reality Laparoscopic Simulator versus LapSim Virtual Reality Laparoscopic Simulator

BACKGROUND: Virtual reality (VR) is an emerging new modality for laparoscopic skills training; however, most simulators lack realistic haptic feedback. Augmented reality (AR) is a new laparoscopic simulation system offering a combination of physical objects and VR simulation. Laparoscopic instruments are used within an hybrid mannequin on tissue or objects while using video tracking. This study was designed to assess the difference in realism, haptic feedback, and didactic value between AR and VR laparoscopic simulation. METHODS: The ProMIS AR and LapSim VR simulators were used in this study. The participants performed a basic skills task and a suturing task on both simulators, after which they filled out a questionnaire about their demographics and their opinion of both simulators scored on a 5-point Likert scale. The participants were allotted to 3 groups depending on their experience: experts, intermediates and novices. Significant differences were calculated with the paired t-test. RESULTS: There was general consensus in all groups that the ProMIS AR laparoscopic simulator is more realistic than the LapSim VR laparoscopic simulator in both the basic skills task (mean 4.22 resp. 2.18, P <0.000) as well as the suturing task (mean 4.15 resp. 1.85, P <0.000). The ProMIS is regarded as having better haptic feedback (mean 3.92 resp. 1.92, P <0.000) and as being more useful for training surgical residents (mean 4.51 resp. 2.94, P <0.000). CONCLUSIONS: In comparison with the VR simulator, the AR laparoscopic simulator was regarded by all participants as a better simulator for laparoscopic skills training on all tested feature