Factors associated with injuries among first-division Rwandan female soccer players

Background: Female soccer has grown tremendously in the last decade. Studies have suggested that female soccer players are more susceptible to injuries than their male counterparts, and their vulnerability is due mainly to intrinsic factors such as their anatomical and physiological structure. Objectives: To establish factors associated with soccer injuries among first-division Rwandan female soccer players. Methods: In a descriptive cross-sectional study, self-administered questionnaires were used to investigate factors associated with injuries among soccer players. Results: Almost half of the 300 participants (45%) indicated having been injured in the three seasons prior to the study. More than half (52.6%) were recurrent injuries. The ankle was the most common body part injured. Intrinsic factors associated with injuries were age, excessive ankle range of motion, pre-menstrual symptoms, and previous injury (p-value < 0.05). Extrinsic factors associated with injuries were use of oral contraceptive pills, (OCP), competition level, use of protective equipment, and player’s position. Conclusions: The large number of recurring injuries was notable, emphasizing the importance of prevention strategies and access to adequately trained medical personnel as research has shown a significant reduction in the prevalence of recurring injuries after the introduction of effective prevention programmes

Revascularization and cardioprotective drug treatment in myocardial infarction patients: how do they impact on patients' survival when delivered as usual care

BACKGROUND: Randomized clinical trials showed the benefit of pharmacological and revascularization treatments in secondary prevention of myocardial infarction (MI), in selected population with highly controlled interventions. The objective of this study is to measure these treatments' impact on the cardiovascular (CV) mortality rate among patients receiving usual care in the province of Quebec. METHODS: The study population consisted of a "naturalistic" cohort of all patients ≥ 65 years old living in the Quebec province, who survived a MI (ICD-9: 410) in 1998. The studied dependant variable was time to death from a CV disease. Independent variables were revascularization procedure and cardioprotective drugs. Death from a non CV disease was also studied for comparison. Revascularization procedure was defined as percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). The exposure to cardioprotective drugs was defined as the number of cardioprotective drug classes (Acetylsalicylic Acid (ASA), Beta-Blockers, Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitors, Statins) claimed within the index period (first 30 days after the index hospitalization). Age, gender and a comorbidity index were used as covariates. Kaplan-Meier survival curves, Cox proportional hazard models, logistic regressions and regression trees were used. RESULTS: The study population totaled 5596 patients (3206 men; 2390 women). We observed 1128 deaths (20%) within two years following index hospitalization, of them 603 from CV disease. The CV survival rate at two years is much greater for patients with revascularization, regardless of pharmacological treatments. For patients without revascularization, the CV survival rate increases with the number of cardioprotective drug classes claimed. Finally, Cox proportional hazard models, regression tree and logistic regression analyses all revealed that the absence of revascularization and, to a lower extent, absence of cardioprotective drugs were major predictors for CV death, even after adjusting for age, gender and comorbidity. CONCLUSION: Considering usual care management of MI in the province of Quebec in 1998, CV survival is positively correlated to the presence of a revascularization procedure and to the intensity of cardioprotective pharmacological treatment. These results are coherent with data from randomized control trials

Experiences of sexual well-being interventions in males affected by genitourinary cancers and their partners: an integrative systematic review.

Sexual well-being has been identified as an unmet supportive care need among many individuals with genitourinary (GU) cancers. Little is known about the experiences of using sexual well-being interventions among men and their partners. This review was reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and followed a systematic review protocol. Data extraction and methodological quality appraisal were performed, and a narrative synthesis was conducted. A total of 21 publications (reporting on 18 studies) were included: six randomised control trials, seven cross-sectional studies, three qualitative studies, and five mixed methods studies. Sexual well-being interventions comprised medical/pharmacological and psychological support, including counselling and group discussion facilitation. The interventions were delivered using various modes: face-to-face, web-based/online, or telephone. Several themes emerged and included broadly: (1) communication with patient/partner and healthcare professionals, (2) educational and informational needs, and (3) timing and/or delivery of the interventions. Sexual well-being concerns for men and their partners were evident from diagnosis and into survivorship. Participants benefited from interventions but many articulated difficulties with initiating the topic due to embarrassment and limited access to interventions in cancer services. Noteworthy, all studies were only representative of men diagnosed with prostate cancer, underscoring a significant gap in other GU cancer patient groups where sexual dysfunction is a prominent consequence of treatment. This systematic review provides valuable new insights to inform future models of sexual well-being recovery interventions for patients and partners with prostate cancer, but further research is urgently needed in other GU cancer populations

L’INDUSTRIE D’ASSURANCE ET SON ROLE D’INTERMEDIATION FINANCIERE DANS LE DEVELOPPEMENT ECONOMIQUE, CAS DU RWANDA : EVALUATION DE 2008 A 2012

An insurance company is considered as a seller of the insurance product to the buyer who is called policyholder. With its main economic principles like a large number of homogeneous exposure units, affordable premium and limited risk of catastrophically large losses among others, the insurance industry is counted among big financial intermediaries as confirmed by some researchers like Bencivenga and Smith quoted by André Besson and Picard (1995), and CHICHTI Jamel Eddine, (2001) as well.Being the life or non life insurance intermediation, the three traditional important roles in economic sector are effectively played within insurance activity: Firstly the role of being economic agent, secondly the role of financial intermediary in being institutional investor in one hand and participating to the transformation of savings on the other hand; and thirdly the role of being a relay for economic policies. In underwriting operation, the insurer and insured have an agreement through their contract to pay a premium in first stage and as consequence to have a financial assistance throughout a process of compensation based on statistics and pre calculation of risk likelihood. Such operations in insurance industry are done in intermediation environment where an insurer is obliged to invest the money received from insured in order to multiply the financial means gained. Doing so, an insurer shall be able to give indemnities and have at the same time the remuneration of the capital as financial profit for shareholders.In this regard the importance of reinsurance operations can be mentioned in the contribution to the economic development in conjunction with the traditional insurance activity that it reinforce on the high level.As confirmed by researchers like Karl Borch (1968), the traditional role of insurance industry as an institutional investor and through the concept of supply and demand is shown herein. In fact, the reinforcement of the economic development through capitals and technical reserves put into economy is obvious. According to various financial ratios of the insurance industry in the Rwandan financial system, the assessment shows that the importance of this industry in the economy through premiums and claims paid and injected into economy in one hand, and reinsurance financial transactions on the other hand, is confirmed.The contribution of the industry in financial services and in economic development is obvious through the percentage of its share in GDP which is important in regards with the little penetration rate of insurance market; this being a result of lack of insurance culture among African people in general and Rwandans particularly: this rate is assessed around 5% only.If the penetration were improved, then the share of the insurance services in the GDP would be obviously - things being equal- more important

Identifying the supportive care needs of people affected by non-muscle invasive bladder cancer: an integrative systematic review.

To understand supportive care needs among people with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). An integrative systematic review was reported using the Preformed Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Seven electronic databases were searched for relevant studies, including all quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies, irrespective of research design. The review process was managed by Covidence systematic review software. Two reviewer authors independently performed data extraction using eligibility criteria. Quality appraisal was conducted, and a narrative synthesis was performed. A total of 1129 articles were screened, of which 21 studies met the inclusion criteria. The findings revealed that the frequency of supportive care needs reported by NMIBC participants included psychological/emotional (16/21:76%), physical (16/21:76%), practical (8/21:38%), interpersonal/intimacy (7/21:33%), family-related (7/21:33%), health system/information (5/21:23%), social (4/21:19%), patient-clinician communication (3/21:14%), spiritual (1/21:5%) and daily needs (1/21:5%). People affected by NMIBC experience anxiety, depression, uncertainty, and fear of recurrence. The physical symptoms reported included urinary issues, pain, sleeping disorders and fatigue. These supportive care needs persist throughout the participants' treatment trajectory and can impact their quality of life. Identifying supportive care needs within the NMIBC population will help inform future interventions to provide patient-centred care to promote optimal well-being and self-efficacy for people diagnosed with NMIBC

Comparison of Abdominopelvic CT Diagnoses at Academic Teaching Hospitals in Rwanda and the United States

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the disease processes encountered on abdominal and pelvic CT examinations at academic teaching hospitals in Rwanda and the United States and to highlight how these differences may impact a global radiology collaboration. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, we included 130 patients (mean 59 +/-17 years, range 20-91, F:M 74:56) who underwent abdominal/pelvic CT examinations between April 1st-12th, 2019. CT examinations were prospectively encountered in clinical work at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Kigali or University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK) in Kigali, Rwanda, where the radiology report impression, patient age, gender, study indication, CT protocol, and clinical diagnosis were recorded when available. Abdominal/pelvic CT examinations at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston, Massachusetts, United States were then retrospectively reviewed for the same information. Patient age and gender were compared using Student’s t-test and Chi-square statistic. Frequency of formal recommendations in radiology reports, available comparison of CT examinations, presence of known diagnoses, and intravenous and oral contrast media use were compared using Fisher’s exact test. Diagnostic categories were qualitatively compared. Results: A wide variety of pathology was encountered by abdominal/pelvic CT at both sites of imaging, with qualitative differences observed in cancer types, infectious agents, and how imaging guides care. Patients in Rwanda were older (p=0.0017), more likely to receive intravenous (p \u3c 0.05) and positive oral contrast (p \u3c 0.05) media and less likely to receive a formal recommendation in their radiology report (p \u3c 0.05). Patients in the United States were more likely to have an available prior abdominal/pelvic CT (p \u3c 0.05), to present for follow-up of a known diagnosis (p \u3c 0.05), and to receive a formal recommendation in their radiology report (p \u3c 0.05). Conclusion: Participation in global radiology collaborations is beneficial for radiologists by broadening exposure to pathologies and practice different from their own institution and region

Effect of migrant parents' bodyweight perception on children's body bodyweight:A longitudinal analysis of population cohort study

Children of migrants in Australia are disproportionally affected by overweight/obesity. Their parents, however, are likely to put little effort into lifestyle changes if unable to recognise their children's suboptimal bodyweight. We examined the potential impact of migrant parents' bodyweight perception on their children's bodyweight over time and whether the region-of-birth of parents and acculturation to the host nation's way of life moderated the relationship, as very little is known about these in the Australian context. We analysed a sample of 2046 children of migrant parents drawn from 8 waves of population-based cohort data, the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, capturing their lived experience from ages 2 to 17. After controlling for child, parent, family, and neighbourhood factors influencing children's bodyweight, multilevel models showed higher children's bodyweight in subsequent waves if their parents perceived children's bodyweight as lower than their actual bodyweight (i.e., underestimation). However, the rate of increase in children's bodyweight attenuated over time. The effect of migrant parents' underestimation on children's subsequent bodyweight differed by region-of-birth, with higher children's bodyweight in successive waves if their parents were from the Americas, compared to migrant parents from North/West Europe. Parents' acculturation, however, did not have a discernible effect. Although migrant parents' bodyweight perception of their children's bodyweight status influenced children's bodyweight in subsequent waves, this factor was not enough to explain the extent of disparities in children's bodyweight observed in the Australian migrant population. Further research is needed to assess the effects of other types of perception (such as perceptions of healthy weight and physical exercise) on bodyweight disparities in children of migrants

Factors associated with sports injuries among first division female soccer players in Rwanda

Magister Scientiae (Physiotherapy) - MSc(Physio)The aim of this study was to establish the factors associated with sports injuries among first division Rwandan female soccer players. Conclusion: Advocacy about the safety and improvement of Rwandan female soccer through workshops and trainings involving players, coaches and team owners need to be emphasised.South Afric