Effects of post-abortion family planning services on contraceptive practices in China : protocol for a clustered randomized controlled trial

Study objectives: To determine whether integrating post-abortion services in hospital settings in China will increase the contraceptive use and decrease repeat abortion rates. Study design: Three-arms cluster randomised controlled trial in which the unit of randomisation is hospital. Participants: Women seeking induced abortion within 12 weeks of gestation age. Sites: Ninety hospitals from 30 provinces in China will be randomised to the three arms of the study stratified by province. In each province, eligible hospitals will be matched on the characteristics of abortion departments, especially the volume of abortions in the 2 months in the situation survey. Length of follow up: Six months. Intervention: Multiple interventions that aim to increase the use of more effective contraceptive methods, improve user adherence to reduce the unintended pregnancies and repeat induced abortions. Data collection: Data will be collected at four time points, one at baseline(month 0 at the time of enrolment) and twice during intervention (1st 3rd and 6th month after enrolment, respectively). Primary outcome: Unintended pregnancies or repeated induced abortions; immediate contraceptive uptake and the use of modern effective contraceptive methods

Determinants of acute respiratory infections in Soweto - a population-based birth cohort

Background. Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) are an important cause of infant morbidity in both developing and developed countries, and they are the leading cause of death in poorer parts of the world. Respiratory viruses appear to be the most frequent microbiological pathogens, especially respiratory syncytial virus. It has been suggested that factors such as being male, overcrowding, poor access to medical care, low level of maternal education, and passive smoking are associated with contracting ARIs. Design. A fixed birth cohort of 571 children was followed from birth to 1 year of age. The children were monitored for symptoms of ARIs during regular home visits. Setting. An urban low-income setting in Soweto, a township outside Johannesburg with an estimated 1.2 million inhabitants, including an estimated 45 000 children under 2 years of age. Subjects. A total of 571 children were observed for 118 650 days. Outcome measures. The incidence rate of ARIs. The determinants birth weight, breastfeeding, gender, crowding, passive smoking, indoor pollution, and sanitary facilities were analysed. Results. A total of 489 episodes of coughing or coughing and nasal discharge combined were recorded. Only the father's level of education and the number of people living in the household remained significant in the multivariate analyses. The incidence of severe ARIs was reduced among breastfed infants. Conclusions. Our study supports previous observations suggesting that crowding and communal living conditions are important determinants of ARIs. Breastfeeding seemed protective against severe ARI. The lack of association with well-described risk factors such as low level of maternal education, gender and passive smoking could be due to lack of statistical power in this rather uniform population. South African Medical Journal Vol. 96(7) 2006: 633-64

Løbende nationale reproduktionsregistre og ad hoc data

ENGLISH SUMMARY Olsen J. National registration in human reproduction and research oriented ad hoc data. Nor J Epidemiol 2017; 27 (1-2): 27-31. The Nordic countries have a long tradition for collecting and storing of data in reproductive health. These registers cover the entire population and focus on health outcomes. They have gradually been made available for research and if supplemented with data on potential risk factors in reproductive health, they provide a strong basis for research in potential causes of disease in the reproductive system. Several pregnany/birth cohorts have been successful in providing important information in preventive medicine. The most important of these are the Norwegian birth cohort (MoBa) and the Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC). Both include about 100,000 newborns. They are based on the rationale that many diseases have causes that start operating in fetal life – fetal programming of diseases – even diseases that manifest themselves later in life (adult diseases). Examples of historic and more recent findings are presented in the following text. Risk of disclosure of personal data is of concern. We have not had examples of such unwanted disclosure and we want to keep this achievement. We clearly have to do many things different and better in the future. Fortunately, technical solutions are available and promising. The registers and the ad hoc data sources have given the Nordic epidemiologists a leading position in reproductive health. To keep that position, we need to plan new cohorts and train more people. If we do that we will be able to continue our collaboration with colleagues all over the world

Åndelig dannelse og vejledning - et udsnit af mulige rammebetingelser

Artiklen beskæftiger sig med nogle af rammebetingelserne – de kulturelle, samfundsmæssige og teologiske – for åndelig dannelse og vejledning. Den ofte belastede identitet og tydelige åndelige længsel – styret eller formet af den nye subjektivitet – har brug for eksistentielle tolkningsrum. Både teologi og kirke skal vove at tolke og navngive det navneløse, også den løse tro og det kaosprægede i den flydende modernitet. Den kristne teologi har adkomst til mange rige resurser og traditioner. Disse resurser kan være menneskelivets hukommelse – og verdens ‘hardisk’. Troen, livet og tjenesten formes og dannes i tæt forbindelse med disse kilder. Og kirken er som fællesskab et unikt og konkret resursested, hvis det også fungerer som åbent grænseområde. Grænsefællesskabet er fyldt med håb og muligheder for de åndeligt søgende. At leve med Gud i en kærlighedsrelation kan ikke læres med hovedet. Det må erfares i hjertet

Two introduced species of Typhlocybinae (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae) new to Norway

This paper present two species of Typhlocybinae (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae) new to Norway, Zonocyba bifasciata (Boheman, 1852) and Zyginella pulchra Löw, 1885. Both species are reported from plant importers and from established populations in Norway. We argue that both species have been introduced into Norway as hitchhikers on garden plants, but that we cannot rule out the possibility of a simultaneously range expansion into Norway from Sweden.Two introduced species of Typhlocybinae (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae) new to NorwaypublishedVersio

Attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder in the offspring following prenatal maternal bereavement: a nationwide follow-up study in Denmark

Severe prenatal stress exposure has been found to increase the risk of neuropsychiatric conditions like schizophrenia. We examined the risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the offspring following prenatal maternal bereavement, as a potential source of stress exposure. We conducted a nationwide population-based cohort study including all 1,015,912 singletons born in Denmark from 1987 to 2001. A total of 29,094 children were born to women who lost a close relative during pregnancy or up to 1 year before pregnancy. These children were included in the exposed cohort and other children were in the unexposed cohort. We used Cox regression to estimate hazard ratios for ADHD, defined as the first-time ADHD hospitalization or first-time ADHD medication after 3 years of age. Boys born to mothers who were bereaved by unexpected death of a child or a spouse, had a 72% increased risk of ADHD [hazard ratio (HR) 1.72, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09–2.73]. Boys born to mothers who lost a child or a spouse during 0–6 months before pregnancy and during pregnancy had a HR of 1.47 (95% CI 1.00–2.16) and 2.10 (95% CI 1.16–3.80), respectively. Our findings suggest that prenatal maternal exposure to severe stress may increase the risk of ADHD in the offspring

Two introduced species of Typhlocybinae (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae) new to Norway

This paper present two species of Typhlocybinae (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae) new to Norway, Zonocyba bifasciata (Boheman, 1852) and Zyginella pulchra Löw, 1885. Both species are reported from plant importers and from established populations in Norway. We argue that both species have been introduced into Norway as hitchhikers on garden plants, but that we cannot rule out the possibility of a simultaneously range expansion into Norway from Sweden.publishedVersio