Addendum to the MyPyramid Equivalents Database 2.0

AbstractBackgroundThe MyPyramid Equivalents Database (MPED) provides amounts of food groups and subgroups in foods consumed in nationwide food consumption surveys. The most recent MPED issued by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) was Version 2.0, created for use with the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003-04. Several of the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion's (CNPP) projects require food group equivalents data for foods from more recent NHANES.ObjectiveTo provide a supplementary database of food group equivalents for more recent NHANES foods, for use in CNPP projects.DescriptionAdditional foods (n=820) reported in NHANES 2005-06 and 2007-08 were identified for inclusion in several CNPP projects, including the new online diet assessment tool, the SuperTracker. Cup and ounce equivalents were calculated for 750 foods by using the approach described in the documentation for the MPED 2.0. The USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 23 (2010) was used for calculations. ARS provided equivalents data for 70 formulated foods. The Addendum to the MPED includes cup or ounce equivalents per 100 grams of food for each USDA food group and subgroup, grams of discretionary solid fats and oils, teaspoons of added sugars, alcoholic beverages, as well as whole fruit and fruit juice equivalents. The Addendum database and documentation are available on the CNPP web site at: http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/OtherProjects.htm.ConclusionThe Addendum provides useful data for foods from more recent NHANES that are not in MPED 2.0. It will be available until the next equivalents database is released by ARS

Fortification: new findings and implications

This article reviews the current landscape regarding food fortification in the United States; the content is based on aworkshop sponsored by the North American Branch of the International Life Sciences Institute. Fortification of the food supply with vitamins and minerals is a public health strategy to enhance nutrient intakes of the population without increasing caloric intake. Many individuals in the United States would not achieve recommended micronutrient intakes without fortification of the food supply. The achievement and maintenance of a desirable level of nutritional quality in the nation\u27s food supply is, thus, an important public health objective. While the addition of nutrients to foods can help maintain and improve the overall nutritional quality of diets, indiscriminate fortification of foods could result in overfortification or underfortification in the food supply and nutrient imbalances in the diets of individuals. Any changes in food fortification policy for micronutrients must be considered within the context of the impact they will have on all segments of the population and of food technology and safety applications and their limitations. This article discusses and evaluates the value of fortification, the success of current fortification efforts, and the future role of fortification in preventing or reversing nutrient inadequacies

What is current practice in offering debriefing services to post partum women and what are the perceptions of women in accessing these services: A critical review of the literature

Objective: The main research question is to describe current practice in offering debriefing services to postpartum women and learn about the perceptions of women accessing these services Design: Critical review of the literature using a meta ethnography approach. Findings: Twenty papers were identified. These included four surveys, three qualitative studies, one mixed methods study and three literature reviews. Nine randomised controlled trials (RCTs) provided additional information from alongside surveys and description of interventions. Two types of debriefing were identified: structured and unstructured. The more formal psychoanalytic forms took place within the RCTs whilst the unstructured discussion sessions commonly with midwives were identified in other research papers. In addition there is confusion amongst service providers about the nature of debriefing and what is delivered. Various aspects of providing a postnatal debriefing service were identified including the optimal timing, specific groups offered debriefing and the number of sessions offered. Postnatal debriefing enabled women to have their birth experiences validated by talking and being listened to and being provided with information. Finally from the limited literature identified relating to midwives’ perceptions of postnatal debriefing there was an overall feeling from midwives that they considered it to be beneficial to women. Key conclusions: The findings of this literature review imply that women’s responses to receiving postnatal debriefing are generally positive. This review has found that women appear to value talking and being listened to by a midwife following birth. They seem to have a strong need to have their story heard. This discussion also allows the women to have questions answered and information given where necessary. The whole process places a seal on a woman’s birth experience which is validated. Implications for practice: Although there is no evidence to suggest that postnatal debriefing reduces morbidity, women find the service of value. Maternity providers should consider offering a postnatal debriefing service to meet those needs in advance of further research in this area

Meeting Report from the Second 'Minimum Information for Biological and Biomedical Investigations (MIBBI) workshop

Face-to-face meetings play a central role in the birth and maturation of communities. Intensive workshops filled with presentations, discussions and working group meetings have always been at the heart of the activities of the Genomic Standards Consortium (GSC). Such work-driven meetings are a key way in which the GSC fulfils its mission. Similarly, meeting reports provide a key mechanism for preserving and disseminating the consensus built at such meetings as they describe the range of speakers and participants present, topics covered and key outcomes and priorities agreed upon by the community.This issue contains a total of nine meeting reports, from workshops held between April and October 2010 that are presented to the reader to provide a broad overview of ongoing GSC activities and initiatives

How communication affects prescription decisions in consultations for acute illness in children:a systematic review and meta-ethnography

BACKGROUND: Communication within primary care consultations for children with acute illness can be problematic for parents and clinicians, with potential misunderstandings contributing to over–prescription of antibiotics. This review aimed to synthesise the evidence in relation to communication and decision making in consultations for children with common acute illness. METHODS: A systematic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, SSCI, SIGLE, Dissertation Express and NHS economic evaluation databases was conducted. Studies of primary care settings in high income countries which made direct observations of consultations and reported qualitative data were included. Included studies were appraised using the process recommended by the Cochrane Qualitative Methods Group. Credibility was assessed as high for most studies but transferability was usually assessed low or unclear. Data were synthesised using a meta–ethnographic approach. RESULTS: Thirty–five papers and 2 theses reporting on 13 studies were included, 7 of these focussed on children with respiratory tract infections (RTI) and the remaining 6 included children with any presenting illness. Parent communication focussed on their concerns and information needs, whereas clinician communication focussed on diagnosis and treatment decisions. During information exchanges, parents often sought to justify the need for the consultation, while clinicians frequently used problem minimising language, resulting in parents and clinicians sometimes talking at cross–purposes. In the context of RTIs, a range of parent communication behaviours were interpreted by clinicians as indicating an expectation for antibiotics; however, most were ambiguous and could also be interpreted as raising concerns or requests for further information. The perceived expectation for antibiotics often changed clinician decision making into clinician–parent negotiation. CONCLUSIONS: Misunderstandings occurred due to parents and clinicians talking at cross purposes about the ‘seriousness’ of the illness and because parents’ expressions of concern or requests for additional information were sometimes perceived as a challenge to the clinicians’ diagnosis or treatment decision. This modifiable problem may be an important contribution to the unnecessary and unwanted prescribing of antibiotics. Primary care clinicians should be offered training to understand parent communication primarily as expressions of concern or attempts at understanding and always to check rather than infer parental expectations

A structural model of training and confidence as predictors of time spent teaching nutrition by elementary school teachers

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1996.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-104).Microfiche.xii, 104 leaves, bound ill. 29 cmMany factors, including nutrition background, determine the amount of time elementary teachers devote to nutrition instruction. The purpose of this study was to test theoretical structural models for the relationships among time spent teaching nutrition and several aspects of the teacher's nutrition background: nutrition knowledge, training, and beliefs. I proposed two theoretical structural models. In the primary model, I hypothesized that teachers with more nutrition training would feel more confident in their ability to teach nutrition, and because of that increased confidence, would teach more nutrition. In the alternative model, I hypothesized that both training and confidence would directly and independently influence the time spent teaching nutrition. In addition, both models assumed that (1) nutrition knowledge had a direct influence on teacher confidence for teaching nutrition, and (2) a belief that nutrition instruction was important had a direct influence on the time spent teaching nutrition. I tested the primary and alternative models using data from a 1990-92 Nutrition Education and Training Program needs assessment survey, which was collected from a stratified random sample of all Hawai'i elementary teachers (N=324). The survey included questions that could be used as measures of all the constructs of interest. Analysis of the covariance structures was completed using the CALIS procedure of SAS. Based on Chi-square and other indices of model fit, the primary model fit the actual data more closely than did the alternative model. Of the constructs included in the models, confidence was the strongest predictor of the time spent teaching nutrition. However, in the primary model all of the constructs explained only 12% of the variance in the time spent teaching nutrition and in the alternative model only 10% of the variance. In both models, nutrition knowledge was a statistically significant (p < .05) predictor of confidence for teaching nutrition, but belief that nutrition instruction was important was not a statistically significant predictor of the time spent teaching nutrition. These results suggest that in elementary teachers, confidence in their ability to teach nutrition mediates the relationship between in-service training, nutrition knowledge, and the time spent teaching nutrition