The three delays as a framework for examining safe motherhood in Kafa zone, SNNPR, Ethiopia

The study examines delay as a crucial factor contributing to maternal mortality, using the conceptual framework of the Three Phases of Delay to explore factors that hinder the provision and utilisation of high quality, timely obstetric care in Kafa Zone, SNNPR, in Ethiopia. The Three Delays constitute the delay in deciding to seek medical care during an obstetric emergency, in reaching a medical facility, and in receiving suitable treatment in a health facility. Various aspects of the Three Delays are evaluated to examine problems of delay, transportation, and the referral system that is considered a vital element of the Ethiopian \u27National Reproductive Health Strategy\u27.<br /

‘Waiting-to-see’ if the baby will come : findings from a qualitative study in Kafa Zone, Ethiopia

Background: Much of the quantitative research on maternal mortality in developing countries focuses on the need for health service interventions such as skilled attendants at birth and emergency obstetric and newborn care. A growing number of studies document the need for a more comprehensive perspective and include the macrostructural, that is, the social, cultural, economic and political determinants of health. Objectives: To examine the salient aspects of birth at home and variables that influence decision making around transfer to a health facility during prolonged/obstructed labor.Methods: Ethnography using participant observation and semi-structured interviews was conducted in 2007. A total of 56 mothers in Kafa Zone were selected: 20 in-depth interviews with women who gave birth at home; four who gave birth in a health facility; and 32 during antenatal care. Interviews were also conducted with health staff from Bonga Hospital and 15 health centers or health posts. Analysis followed a process of data reduction, data display and conclusion drawing/verification with the data organized around key themes.Results: Most women gave birth at home assisted by their neighbor, mother, mother-in-law, or husband. It is likely women who gave birth at home feel &lsquo;safe&rsquo; because that is where birth normally takes place and where they feel supported by close relatives and neighbors. Prolonged labor or &lsquo;waiting-to-see&rsquo; if the baby would come was somewhat normalized and resulted in considerable delays to seeking assistance. Women felt it was &lsquo;unsafe&rsquo; to go to a health facility because of the very real possibility that they would die on the way. Conclusion: The findings highlight the importance of educating the local communities to recognize pregnancy related risks and to develop and implement appropriate responses, especially early referral, as communities play an important mobilizing role to health services

A coat of ashes: A collection of poems, incorporating a metafictional narrative - and - Poetry, Daoism, physics and systems theory: a poetics: A set of critical essays

This thesis comprises a book-length creative work accompanied by a set of essays. It explores how poetry might bring together spiritual and scientific discourses, focusing primarily on philosophical Daoism (Taoism) and contemporary physics. Systems theory (the science of complex and self-organising systems) is a secondary focus of the creative work and is used metaphorically in theorising the writing process. The creative work, “A coat of ashes”, is chiefly concerned with the nature of being. It asks, “What is?”, “What am I?” and, most urgently, “What matters?”. To engage with these questions, it opens a space in which voices expressing scientific and spiritual worldviews may be heard on equal terms. “A coat of ashes” contributes a substantial number of poems to the small corpus of Daoist-influenced poetry in English and adds to the larger corpus of poetry engaging with the sciences. The poems are offset by a metafictional narrative, “The Dream”, which may be read as an allegory of the writing journey and the struggle to combine discourses. The four essays articulate the poetics of “A coat of ashes” by addressing its context, themes, influences, methodology and compositional processes. They contribute to both literary criticism and writing theory. Like the creative work, they focus on dialogues between rationalist or scientific discourses and subjective or spiritual ones. The first essay, “An introduction”, discusses the thesis itself: its rationale, background, components, limitations and implications. The second, “Singing the quantum”, reviews scholarship discussing the influence of physics on poetry, then examines figurative representations of physics concepts in selected poems by Rebecca Elson, Cilla McQueen and Frederick Seidel. These poems illustrate how contemporary poetry can interpret scientific concepts in terms of subjective human concerns. The third essay, “Let the song be bare”, discusses existing Daoist poetry criticism before considering Daoist influences in the poetry of Ursula K. Le Guin, Randolph Stow and Judith Wright. These non-Indigenous poets with a strong awareness of the sciences have, by adopting Daoist-inflected senses of the sacred, been able to articulate the tension engendered by their problematic relationships with colonised landscapes. Moreover, the changing aesthetic of Wright’s later poetry reflects a struggle between Daoist quietism and European lyric commentary. The final essay, “Animating the ash”, reflects on the process of writing poetry, using examples from “A coat of ashes” to construct a theoretical synthesis based on Daoism, systems theory and contemporary poetics. It proposes a novel way to characterise the nature and emergence of the hard-to-define quality that makes a poem a poem. This essay also discusses some of the Daoist and scientific motifs that occur in the creative work. As a whole, this project highlights the potential of both the sciences and the more ancient ways of knowing — when seen in each other’s light — to help us apprehend the world’s material and metaphysical nature and live harmoniously within it

Implementation of Sleep Assessment Questionnaire in College Health and Counseling Visits: A Quality Improvement Pilot

Sleep deprivation or sub-optimal sleep hygiene in college students has profound implications. Decreased cognitive performance, increased depression or mood concerns, higher rates of usage of alcohol or marijuana to compensate for poor sleep are all interconnected. The American College Health Survey (2011) results indicated that students do not receive support or education on the importance of sleep habits from their schools or medical providers. This DNP project explored two areas of interest. The first was a change in patient interview protocol as a quality improvement project in UMSL University Health, Wellness, Counseling & Disability Access Services (UHWC&DAS). The second area of interest explored a qualitative evaluation of the clinicians’ experience of having a sleep assessment questionnaire imbedded in an electronic health record (EHR) for college health and counseling visits. The questionnaire was developed to aid the provider in streamlining education and discussions with individual students based on their initial responses, thus improving the quality of services offered in UHWC&DAS. Subjects were the doctoral prepared health & counseling providers in UHWC&DAS. A focus group was completed at the end of the study to explore the subjects’ experience and feedback. This data was collected using qualitative descriptive methodology. Quantitative data was collected & evaluated from the electronic medical record. Results: Qualitative descriptive methodology indicated clinicians found the sleep questionnaire useful, time efficient, and user-friendly. Further streamlining of the sleep assessment questionnaire would aid in continued use for clinicians. Quantitative results indicated that student sleep habits are less than ideal, and subsequent education/interventions could be assets in assisting students develop improved sleep hygiene habits

Evidencing student success and career outcomes among business and creative industries graduates

The teaching performance of higher education institutions is increasingly gauged by graduate employment outcomes. Measuring outcomes in full-time employment terms does not capture the complexities of underemployment, the rise of portfolio careers, the constraints of the labour market and graduate motivations for working arrangements that can allow greater flexibility and work-life balance. This study explores the career outcomes of Business and Creative Industries graduates using both traditional measures (full-time employment outcomes) and a suite of broader measures that examine career satisfaction, perceived employability, perceived career success, underemployment, and graduate motivations for seeking new roles. Findings confirm disciplinary differences in graduate experience, and raise some broad concerns about the quality of graduate employment, particularly given the lack of improvement in outcomes over time since course completion. Findings suggest graduates are optimistic about their career futures, despite unmet expectations – particularly on income

The role of health extension workers in linking pregnant women with health facilities for delivery in rural and pastoralist areas of Ethiopia

Background: Women’s preference to give birth at home is deeply embedded in Ethiopian culture. Many women only go to health facilities if they have complications during birth. Health Extension Workers (HEWs) have been deployed to improve the utilization of maternal health services by bridging the gap between communities and health facilities. This study examined the barriers and facilitators for HEWs as they refer women to mid-level health facilities for birth.Methods: A qualitative study was conducted in three regions: Afar Region, Southern Nations Nationalities and People’s Region and Tigray Region between March to December 2014. Interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with 45 HEWs, 14 women extension workers (employed by Afar Pastoralist Development Association, Afar Region) and 11 other health workers from health centers, hospitals or health offices. Data analysis was done based on collating the data and identifying key themes.Results: Barriers to health facilities included distance, lack of transportation, sociocultural factors and disrespectful care. Facilitators for facility-based deliveries included liaising with Health Development Army (HDA) leaders to refer women before their expected due date or if labour starts at home; the introduction of ambulance services; and, provision of health services that are culturally more acceptable for women.Conclusion: HEWs can effectively refer more women to give birth in health facilities when the HDA is well established, when health staff provide respectful care, and when ambulance is available at any time.Keywords: Health extension workers, skilled birth attendance, maternal health service utilization, rural and pastoralist Ethiopi

The Continuum Center for Women: Education, Volunteerism, Employment

This is a responsible and illuminating report of one of the pioneer ventures in women's education — long before the present acceleration of academic courses for and about women had erupted. It shows in detail how such courses can be set up, staffed, recruited for, financed, and kept flexible and responsive to the different women who come to them, as times change and feminine consciousness expands. It should provide a really good guide to any institution considering what it should do in this new field, which overlaps with continuing education, vocational guidance, counseling, women's studies, and career testing and guidance. Its wide ramifications mean that this report should be useful to many departments and for quite a while to come

What actually works to enhance graduate employability? The relative value of curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular learning and paid work

© 2020, Springer Nature B.V. The focus on short-term graduate employment metrics has catalysed the employability agenda as a strategic directive in universities. A raft of embedded, co-curricular, and extra-curricular activities has emerged for developing employability. Their relative value lacks empirical exploration. This study explored graduates’ self-reported participation in, and their perspectives on the value of, a range of embedded, extra-curricular, and co-curricular learning activities, as well as paid work, for employability. Survey data were gathered (N = 510) from Business and Creative Industries graduates from three Australian universities about the perceived value of activities for skill development, gaining relevant experience, networking, and creating employment opportunities. The activities were considered more useful for gaining experience and skills than for broadening networks and improving career outcomes. Embedded and extra-curricular internships, as well as extra-curricular activities, were believed to be important for enhancing employability. Internships organised as an extra-curricular activity rated better than those delivered as work-integrated learning. Implications for stakeholders responsible for curricular and co-curricular design are discussed