Kohti riippuvuuksista vapaata vanhemmuutta : työkirja päihde/muista riippuvuuksista kärsivien perheiden kuntouttamiseen

Opinnäytetyönä tuotettiin toiminnallinen työkirja Varsinais-Suomen lastensuojelukuntayhtymän perheyksikön käyttöön. Työkirjan tarkoituksena on toimia yksikön työntekijöiden työvälineenä. Työkirjan tavoitteena on kuntouttaa perheen vanhempaa/vanhempia päihde-/läheisriippuvuudesta. Lastensuojelun piirissä on paljon perheitä, joilla on erilaisia riippuvuusongelmia. Riippuvuuksien aiheuttamat toiminnallisuuden ongelmat näkyvät myös perheen arjessa, niin ettei lapsen turvallista kehitystä pystytä turvaamaan. Työkirja koostuu kolmesta osa-alueesta. Työkirjan aihealueet tulevat toimintaterapeuttien käsityksestä toiminnallisuudesta ja siitä mitkä asiat muodostavat toiminnallisuuden. Tarkempana teoreettisena viitekehyksenä toimii Inhimillisen toiminnan malli (Model of Human Occupation, MOHO). Inhimillisen toiminnan malli kuvaa ihmisen, toiminnan ja ympäristön vaikutusta toisiinsa. Työkirjan tehtävien tarkoituksena on vahvistaa motivaatiota, jotta ihmisellä herää halu muutokseen. Tehtävien tarkoitus on myös vahvistaa vanhempien tietoisuutta omasta toiminnastaan ja sen vaikutuksista omaan sekä lasten arkeen ja hyvinvointiin. Työkirjan tehtäviä voi tehdä erilaisten toiminnallisten menetelmien avulla. Tehtävät pohjautuvat teoriatietoon ja näyttöön riippuvuuksien vaikutuksista toiminnallisuuteen, sekä haastatteluun, jonka toteutimme perheyksikön työntekijöille. Haastattelun toteutimme puolistrukturoidulla teemahaastattelulla.This thesis is a functional guide intended for the use of the family unit of the child protection district of Southwest Finland. The purpose of the guide is to function as a tool for the personnel of the unit. The aim is to help parents recover from substance dependence and/or codependency. Many families suffer from a variety of problems relating to addiction. These addictions bring about issues in functionality that can be seen in the everyday life of said families in such a way, that a safe development of the children cannot be ensured. The guide consists of three sections. The thematic sections are based on the ideas of functionality as perceived by occupational therapists. The theoretical framework is provided by the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO). It describes the interaction between human, occupation and environment. The purpose of the exercises given in the guide is to reinforce motivation, so that the person in question will want to achieve change. The aim is also to raise the awareness of the parents of their actions and the effect that those actions have on the welfare of both the parents and their children. The exercises that are provided in the guide can be put into practice using different occupational methods. They are based on theoretical knowledge, research results on the effects of addiction and a semi-structured interview that was carried out among the personnel of the family unit

Multiple-Locus Variable-Number Tandem Repeat Analysis for Typing of Staphylococcus epidermidis

We applied a high-resolution PCR-based typing method, multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA), for discrimination of 30 multidrug-resistant clinical isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis. The results of MLVA were congruent with results obtained by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). MLVA generated discrete character data, and its discriminatory capacity was comparable to that of PFGE

High occurrence of Blastocystis sp subtypes 1-3 and Giardia intestinalis assemblage B among patients in Zanzibar, Tanzania

Background: Blastocystis is a common intestinal parasite with worldwide distribution but the distribution of Blastocystis and its subtypes in East Africa is largely unknown. In this study, we investigate the distribution of Blastocystis subtypes in Zanzibar, Tanzania and report the prevalence of intestinal parasites using both molecular methods and microscopy. Methods: Stool samples were collected from both diarrhoeic and non-diarrhoeic outpatients in Zanzibar. In addition to microscopy, real-time PCR for Blastocystis, Entamoeba histolytica and E. dispar, Giardia intestinalis, Cryptosporidium spp., and Dientamoeba fragilis was used. Blastocystis subtypes were determined by a conventional PCR followed by partial sequencing of the SSU-rRNA gene. Genetic assemblages of Giardia were determined by PCR with assemblage specific primers. Results: Intestinal parasites were detected in 85 % of the 174 participants, with two or more parasites present in 56 %. Blastocystis sp. and Giardia intestinalis were the most common parasites, identified by PCR in 61 and 53 % of the stool samples respectively, but no correlation between carriage of Blastocystis and Giardia was found. The Blastocystis subtype distribution was ST1 34.0 %, ST2 26.4 %, ST3 25.5 %, ST7 0.9 %, and 13.2 % were positive only by qPCR (non-typable). The Giardia genetic assemblages identified were A 6.5 %, B 85 %, A + B 4.3 %, and non-typable 4.3 %. The detection rate with microscopy was substantially lower than with PCR, 20 % for Blastocystis and 13.8 % for Giardia. The prevalence of Blastocystis increased significantly with age while Giardia was most prevalent in children two to five years old. No correlation between diarrhoea and the identification of Giardia, Blastocystis, or their respective genetic subtypes could be shown and, as a possible indication of parasite load, the mean cycle threshold values in the qPCR for Giardia were equal in diarrhoeic and non-diarrhoeic patients. Conclusions: Carriage of intestinal parasites was very common in the studied population in Zanzibar. The most commonly detected parasites, Blastocystis and Giardia, had different age distributions, possibly indicating differences in transmission routes, immunity, and/or other host factors for these two species. In the Blastocystis subtype analysis ST1-3 were common, but ST4, a subtype quite common in Europe, was completely absent, corroborating the geographical differences in subtype distributions previously reported