Validation of a food frequency questionnaire in older South Africans

The International Society for Burns Injuries (ISBI) has published guidelines for the management of multiple or mass burns casualties, and recommends that 'each country has or should have a disaster planning system that addresses its own particular needs.' The need for a national burns disaster plan integrated with national and provincial disaster planning was discussed at the South African Burns Society Congress in 2009, but there was no real involvement in the disaster planning prior to the 2010 World Cup; the country would have been poorly prepared had there been a burns disaster during the event. This article identifies some of the lessons learnt and strategies derived from major burns disasters and burns disaster planning from other regions. Members of the South African Burns Society are undertaking an audit of burns care in South Africa to investigate the feasibility of a national burns disaster plan. This audit (which is still under way) also aims to identify weaknesses of burns care in South Africa and implement improvements where necessary

Physical activity, change in blood pressure and predictors of mortality in older South Africans - a 2-year follow-up study

Objective. A 2-year follow-up study of a cohort of 200 historically disadvantaged older South Africans was conducted to: (i) characterise current levels of habitualphysical activity; (ii) relate physical activity to current risk factors for chronic disease; and (iii) identify risk factors associated with 2-year mortality. The baseline sample, drawn in 1993, was found to have a high prevalence of hypertension (71.7%).Research design. Retrospective cohort study.Methods. A baseline sample of 200 persons aged ≥ 65 years, resident in the Cape Peninsula, was randomly drawn by means of a two-stage cluster design. Baseline measurements included: anthropometry, waist/hip ratio, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), serum albumin, serum ferritin, haemoglobin and fasting plasma glucose levels, plasma lipid profiles, oral glucose tolerance test and self-reported health status. Subjects were revisited after 2 years, at which time an adapted version of the Yale Physical Activity Survey was administered and measurements of blood pressure and anthropometry were repeated.Statistical analyses. Spearman's rank-order correlations were used to describe relationships between various current risk factors and physical activity. Logistic regression was used to detennine predictors of 2-year mortality from baseline data.Results. At follow-up, 142 of the SUbjects (66 men, 76 women) were traced and measurements collected. Thirty-two subjects were reported to have died by relatives living in the same household (22 men, 10 women). Levels of reported physical activity in the survivors were two-thirds lower than those reported in a sample of North Americans of similar age. There was an inverse association between age and physical activity (r = -0.31; P < 0.0005) and a positive association between BMI and physical activity  (r = -0.29; P < 0.0005). There was, however, no association between physical activity and systolic or diastolic blood pressure. In men, BMI in the lower tertile (P = 0.07) and serum albumin levels were positively associated with increased mortality. Serum albumin levels were protective over the 2-year follow-up period (OR = 0.85; P < 0.05). In women, being diabetic (OR =4.88; P =0.06) and having a waist/hip ratio in the upper tertile (OR =3.26; P =0.06) were associated with mortality.Conclusions. Physical activity levels in this sample of older historically disadvantaged South Africans were habitually low. Simple anthropometric assessments incorporating weight and waistlhip ratio, together with serum albumin measurements, may be useful to screen general health risk for older adults at primary care level and provide indications for social or medical intervention. Further, strategies for earlier detection and effective management of diabetes, particularly in older women, may reduce premature mortality in this population

Usability of Food and Beverage Packs in Hospital - Experiences from the Renal Ward

Abstract presented at The 21st IAPRI World Conference on Packaging, 19-22 June 2018, Zhuhai, Chin

Artefacts and influence in curriculum policy enactment: Processes, products and policy work in curriculum reform

© The Author(s) 2020. Artefacts are an important part of policy work, and a means of representation, translation, re-negotiation, and resistance of policy. While research has established their integral role in policy enactment, little research has examined the production and/or dissemination of artefacts by teacher educators. This paper reports and analyses the production and re-production of a specific set of artefacts, arising from the policy work of four teacher educators seeking to influence the interpretation and enactment of the Australian Curriculum in Health and Physical Education (AC HPE). Analysis and discussion pursue: the rationale for producing a set of artefacts focusing on a particular feature of the AC HPE; the processes of artefact production; actions designed to activate and re-present the artefacts; and emerging evidence of uptake and impact. The relationship of artefacts to policy work is shown to be strategically significant for teacher educators, teachers and others invested in new curriculum developments, and is characterised as both fluid and generative. We argue that artefacts have important performative policy potential and play a key role in supporting and shaping curriculum policy enactment

Physical activity, change in blood pressure and predictors of mortality in older South Africans - a 2-year follow-up study

Objective. A 2-year follow-up study of a cohort of 200 historically disadvantaged older South Africans was conducted to: (i) characterise current levels of habitual physical activity; (ii) relate physical activity to current risk factors for chronic disease; and (iii) identify risk factors associated with 2-year mortaJity. The baseline sample, drawn in 1993, was found to have a high prevalence of hypertension (71.7%). Research design. Retrospective cohort study. Methods. A baseline sample of 200 persons aged ;:;.. 65 years, resident in the Cape Peninsula, was randomly drawn by means of a two-stage cluster design. Baseline measurements included: anthropometry, waist/hip ratio, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), serum albumin, serum ferritin, haemoglobin and fasting plasma glucose levels, plasma lipid profiles, oral glucose tolerance test and self-reported health status. SUbjects were revisited after 2 years, at which time an adapted version of the Yale Physical Activity Survey was administered and measurements of blood pressure and anthropometry were repeated. Statistical analyses. Spearman\u27s rank-order correlations were used to describe relationships between various current risk factors and physical activity. Logistic regression was used to detennine predictors of 2-year mortality from baseline data. Results. At follow-up, 142 of the SUbjects (66 men, 76 women) were traced and measurements collected. Thirtytwo subjects were reported to have died by relatives liVing in the same household (22 men, 10 women). Levels of reported physical activity in the survivors were two-thirds lower than those reported in a sample of North Americans of similar age. There was an inverse association between age and physical activity (r = --{).31; P \u3c 0.0005) and a positive association between BMI and physical activity (r = 0.29; P \u3c 0.005). There was, however, no association between physical activity and systolic or diastolic blood pressure. In men, BMI in the lower tertile (P = 0.07) and serum ferritin levels were positively associated with increased mortality. Serum albumin levels were protective overthe 2-year follow-up period (OR = 0.85; P \u3c 0.05). In women, being diabetic (OR =4.88; P =0.06) and having a waistlhip ratio in the upper tertile (OR =3.26; P =0.06) were associated with mortality. Conclusions. Physical activity levels in this sample of older historically disadvantaged South Africans were habitually low. Simple anthropometric assessments incorporating weight and waistlhip ratio, together with serum albumin measurements, may be useful to screen general health risk for older adults at primary care level and provide indications for social or medical intervention. Further, strategies for earlier detection and effective management of diabetes, particularly in older women, may reduce premature mortality in this population

Psychosocial Measures and Outcomes Among Caregivers of Children With Tracheostomies: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVE: Children with tracheostomies have complex medical issues that require long-term technology dependence and continuous medical care at home. Parents of tracheostomy-dependent children often assume the majority of their child\u27s home care leading to a shift in family dynamics and a decrease in caregiver quality of life. This systematic review sought to identify instruments to measure caregiver psychosocial outcomes after their child\u27s tracheostomy and report on the findings. DATA SOURCES: A systematic review was performed using Medline, CINAHL, and EMBASE. REVIEW METHODS: Studies that evaluated psychosocial outcomes in caregivers of tracheostomy-dependent children were included. RESULTS: We screened a total of 1286 nonduplicate records to include a total of 12 studies assessing the psychosocial outcomes of parents of tracheostomy-dependent children. Fourteen instruments were identified. Caregivers reported lower quality of life when compared to other chronic caregiver groups. They experienced high degrees of stress, struggled to cope individually and as a family unit, and experienced decision regret and conflict. CONCLUSION: Findings from this review suggest a significant impact on caregiver psychosocial well-being, but few quantitative studies investigated this dynamic with measures validated in this caregiver population. This review demonstrates the need for longitudinal studies using validated tools to assess the long-term impacts and outcomes of caregivers of the tracheostomy-dependent child

Exile Vol. XXXIII No. 2

POETRY Seams by Jennie Dawes 7 The Milky Blue Water by Mark Livengood 8-9 Patchwork by Mark Livengood 10 Belle Epoque by Karen J. Hall 21 Ballad by Zachary Smith 22-23 My Grandmother\u27s House by Karen J. Hall 24 Ghost by Jennie Dawes 27 What\u27s for Dessert? by Jennifer H. Miller 28 Dreams by Kent Lambert 31 Postmarked Fort Hill by Jennifer H. Miller 32 FICTION A Fostoria Tale by Debra Benko 13-18 The Pile by Jeff Montgomery 35-40 ARTWORK untitled by Lauren Kronish (cover) Standing by Heidi Rubin 3 Home, Part I by Heidi Rubin 4 Untitled by Dan Kirk 19 Infra-red (untitled) by Woody Woodroof 26 Florence, Italy (untitled) by Eliza Brown 29 Mwanafunzi by David Bloch 33 Joshua Tree by Susan McLain 41 CONTRIBUTOR\u27S NOTES 43 Editors share equally all editorial decisions. -2 NOTE: the artwork Home, Part I by Heidi Rubin does not appear to have been published, although it is listed in the table of contents for this issue and so is included here

Waist circumference predicts clustering of cardiovascular risk factors in older South Africans

Objecti~'eand design. A cross-sectional analytical study to determine the cardiovascular risk factor profile of older residents of fishing villages on the West Coast of South Africa, and to det.ermine which anthropometric measures are associated with risk factors. Subjects. A convenient community-based sample of 152 subjects of mixed ancestry aged 55 years and over was recruited door-to-door using an address list of ageeligible subjects provided by the local public health care clinics. Methods. Cardiovascular relationships were im'estigated between: (i) number of risk factors (hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, diabetes) and body mass index (8MI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist circumference; and (ii) continuous cardiovascular risk factor variables and physical activity, smoking, dietary intake, and 24-hour urinary sodium and potassium concentrationS. Results. The prevalence of hypertension (~ 160/95 mmHg) was 74.3% (95% CI: 67.2 - 81.4%). Neither 24- hour urinary sodium nor potassium concentrations was associated with blood pressure (BP). Past, but not present, moderate-intensity physical activity, particularly that associated with occupation, was negatively associated with systolic BP (r = -0.24, P < 0.05). The prevalence of diabetes and hypercholesterolaemia (serum cholesterol ~ 6.5 mmolll) was 24.6% (95% CI: 17.2 - 32%) and 40% (95% CI: 31.8 - 48.2%),respectively. The percentage of subjects with 0, 1, or 2 or more cardiovascular risk factors was 13.4%,44.1% and 42.5%, respectively. Subjects with a waist circumference ~ 92 em had a significantly higher number of cardiovascular risk factors than those with a waist circumference < 92 cm (Xl =9.29, P < 0.01), and this association remained significant even after controlling for age, sex and smoking (P < 0.05). Neither 8MI tertiles according to sex, nor a 8MI cut-point ~ 30, was significantly associated with a clustering of risk factors. COllclusioll. In a sample of older South Africans of ntlxed ancestry at high risk of cardiovascular disease, waist circumference ~ 92 em predicts clustering of risk factors, Independentl)' of BMI. This simple, populationspecific reference value may provide a useful screening tool to identify at-risk Individuals for targeted prevention for coronary heart disease and associated metabolic disorders