The role of husbands in maternal health and safe childbirth in rural Nepal: a qualitative study

Background: The role of husbands in maternal health is often overlooked by health programmes in developing countries and is an under-researched area of study globally. This study examines the role of husbands in maternity care and safe childbirth, their perceptions of the needs of women and children, the factors which influence or discourage their participation, and how women feel about male involvement around childbirth. It also identifies considerations that should be taken into account in the development of health education for husbands. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted in four rural hill villages in the Gorkha district of Nepal. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with husbands (n = 17), wives (n = 15), mothers-in-law (n = 3), and health workers (n = 7) in Nepali through a translator. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using axial coding. Results: We found that, in rural Nepal, male involvement in maternal health and safe childbirth is complex and related to gradual and evolving changes in attitudes taking place. Traditional beliefs are upheld which influence male involvement, including the central role of women in the domain of pregnancy and childbirth that cannot be ignored. That said, husbands do have a role to play in maternity care. For example, they may be the only person available when a woman goes into labour. Considerable interest for the involvement of husbands was also expressed by both expectant mothers and fathers. However, it is important to recognise that the husbands’ role is shaped by many factors, including their availability, cultural beliefs, and traditions. Conclusions: This study shows that, although complex, expectant fathers do have an important role in maternal health and safe childbirth. Male involvement needs to be recognised and addressed in health education due to the potential benefits it may bring to both maternal and child health outcomes. This has important implications for health policy and practice, as there is a need for health systems and maternal health interventions to adapt in order to ensure the appropriate and effective inclusion of expectant fathers

Remote detection of invasive alien species

The spread of invasive alien species (IAS) is recognized as the most severe threat to biodiversity outside of climate change and anthropogenic habitat destruction. IAS negatively impact ecosystems, local economies, and residents. They are especially problematic because once established, they give rise to positive feedbacks, increasing the likelihood of further invasions and spread. The integration of remote sensing (RS) to the study of invasion, in addition to contributing to our understanding of invasion processes and impacts to biodiversity, has enabled managers to monitor invasions and predict the spread of IAS, thus supporting biodiversity conservation and management action. This chapter focuses on RS capabilities to detect and monitor invasive plant species across terrestrial, riparian, aquatic, and human-modified ecosystems. All of these environments have unique species assemblages and their own optimal methodology for effective detection and mapping, which we discuss in detail

Global, regional, and national burden of stroke and its risk factors, 1990-2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: Regularly updated data on stroke and its pathological types, including data on their incidence, prevalence, mortality, disability, risk factors, and epidemiological trends, are important for evidence-based stroke care planning and resource allocation. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) aims to provide a standardised and comprehensive measurement of these metrics at global, regional, and national levels. Methods: We applied GBD 2019 analytical tools to calculate stroke incidence, prevalence, mortality, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and the population attributable fraction (PAF) of DALYs (with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals [UIs]) associated with 19 risk factors, for 204 countries and territories from 1990 to 2019. These estimates were provided for ischaemic stroke, intracerebral haemorrhage, subarachnoid haemorrhage, and all strokes combined, and stratified by sex, age group, and World Bank country income level. Findings: In 2019, there were 12·2 million (95% UI 11·0–13·6) incident cases of stroke, 101 million (93·2–111) prevalent cases of stroke, 143 million (133–153) DALYs due to stroke, and 6·55 million (6·00–7·02) deaths from stroke. Globally, stroke remained the second-leading cause of death (11·6% [10·8–12·2] of total deaths) and the third-leading cause of death and disability combined (5·7% [5·1–6·2] of total DALYs) in 2019. From 1990 to 2019, the absolute number of incident strokes increased by 70·0% (67·0–73·0), prevalent strokes increased by 85·0% (83·0–88·0), deaths from stroke increased by 43·0% (31·0–55·0), and DALYs due to stroke increased by 32·0% (22·0–42·0). During the same period, age-standardised rates of stroke incidence decreased by 17·0% (15·0–18·0), mortality decreased by 36·0% (31·0–42·0), prevalence decreased by 6·0% (5·0–7·0), and DALYs decreased by 36·0% (31·0–42·0). However, among people younger than 70 years, prevalence rates increased by 22·0% (21·0–24·0) and incidence rates increased by 15·0% (12·0–18·0). In 2019, the age-standardised stroke-related mortality rate was 3·6 (3·5–3·8) times higher in the World Bank low-income group than in the World Bank high-income group, and the age-standardised stroke-related DALY rate was 3·7 (3·5–3·9) times higher in the low-income group than the high-income group. Ischaemic stroke constituted 62·4% of all incident strokes in 2019 (7·63 million [6·57–8·96]), while intracerebral haemorrhage constituted 27·9% (3·41 million [2·97–3·91]) and subarachnoid haemorrhage constituted 9·7% (1·18 million [1·01–1·39]). In 2019, the five leading risk factors for stroke were high systolic blood pressure (contributing to 79·6 million [67·7–90·8] DALYs or 55·5% [48·2–62·0] of total stroke DALYs), high body-mass index (34·9 million [22·3–48·6] DALYs or 24·3% [15·7–33·2]), high fasting plasma glucose (28·9 million [19·8–41·5] DALYs or 20·2% [13·8–29·1]), ambient particulate matter pollution (28·7 million [23·4–33·4] DALYs or 20·1% [16·6–23·0]), and smoking (25·3 million [22·6–28·2] DALYs or 17·6% [16·4–19·0]). Interpretation: The annual number of strokes and deaths due to stroke increased substantially from 1990 to 2019, despite substantial reductions in age-standardised rates, particularly among people older than 70 years. The highest age-standardised stroke-related mortality and DALY rates were in the World Bank low-income group. The fastest-growing risk factor for stroke between 1990 and 2019 was high body-mass index. Without urgent implementation of effective primary prevention strategies, the stroke burden will probably continue to grow across the world, particularly in low-income countries. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

"Monitoring of Insecticide Resistance in Anopheles Sacharovi (Favre, 1903) in Borderline of Iran, Armenia, Naxcivan and Turkey, 2001"

Malaria has recently been resurged in some parts of Iran which is bordered with Armenia, Naxcivan and Turkey. An attempt was made to asses the current status of insecticide resistance in the main malaria vector , An.sacharovi. Adult engorged mosquitoes were collected from dwellings during the seasonal activity of the vector, which is synchronized in summer 2001. Mosquitoes were subjected to the diagnostic dose of insecticides based on WHO method. Results showed that this species is still resistant to DDT, tolerant to dieldrin but susceptible to other insecticides such as, bendiocarb, propoxur, malathion, fenitothion, deltamethrin, permethrin, cyfluthrin, lambdacyhalothrin, and etofenprox with low frequency of tolerant gene in some population to some above mentioned insecticides

Gravidez na adolescência: valores e reações dos membros da família Embarazo en la adolescencia: valores y reacciones de los miembors de la familia Teen pregnancy: values and reactions of family members

Objetivo: Descrever as experiências dos membros da família a respeito da gravidez na adolescência. Métodos: Na pesquisa, desenvolvida com a abordagem qualitativa, utilizou-se a análise da narrativa para sistematizar os dados. Resultados: Das narrativas de 19 entrevistados emergiram três categorias descritivas: Valores familiares e orientações fornecidas; O recebimento da notícia e as providências tomadas e O suporte fornecido. Conclusões: A gravidez ocorreu em um contexto de organização familiar sólida e as trajetórias das mulheres adolescentes após o nascimento da criança foram marcadas por alianças e suporte da rede social. A constituição do novo núcleo familiar foi caracterizada pela existência de apoio material e afetivo dos membros da família.<br>Objetivo: describir las experiencias de los miembros de la familia respecto al embarazo en la adolescencia. Métodos: En la investigación, desarrollada con abordaje cualitativo, se utilizó el análisis de la narración para sistematizar los datos. Resultados: Entre las narraciones de 19 entrevistados emergieron tres categorías descriptivas: a) Valores familiares y orientaciones ofrecidas; b) La recepción de la noticia y las providencias tomadas y c) El soporte ofrecido. Conclusiones: El embarazo ocurrió en un contexto de organización familiar sólida y las trayectorias de las mujeres adolescentes después del nacimiento del niño fueron marcadas por alianzas y soporte de la red social. La constitución del nuevo núcleo familiar fue caracterizada por la existencia de apoyo material y afectivo de los miembros de la familia.<br>Objective: To describe the experience of 19 family members regarding teen pregnancy. Methods: This was a qualitative study using narrative analysis approach. Results: Three categories emerged: a) family values and sexual orientations given; b) receiving the pregnancy news and arrangements made; and, c) providing support tot eh pregnant teen. Conclusions: Teen pregnancy happened in a solid family organization context and the trajectory of teenager mothers after childbirth was characterized by family bonding and social network support. The new mother received material and psychoemotional support from her family members

CUIDADO DE ENFERMAGEM: PERCEPÇÃO DOS ENFERMEIROS ASSISTENCIAIS

Pesquisa descritiva, exploratória com abordagem qualitativa realizada em Hospital Universitário da Rede PúblicaFederal de Fortaleza, Ceará, Brasil. Teve como objetivos compreender a percepção dos enfermeiros assistenciaissobre o cuidado de enfermagem; conhecer as ações desenvolvidas pelos enfermeiros que são reconhecidas comoatividades de cuidado. Participaram oito enfermeiras da unidade de terapia intensiva pós-operatória. Utilizou-secomo instrumento de coleta de dados um questionário com perguntas abertas e análise ocorreu através da análisede conteúdo com formação de categorias temáticas e um quadro que permitiram a melhor visualização dos resultados.Evidenciou-se que embora conheçam e conceituem o cuidado de enfermagem, as enfermeiras têm dificuldadesem realizar o cuidado amplo, talvez por estarem sobrecarregadas por procedimentos técnicos realizados no ambientehospitalar