Quality of Life (QoL) in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): a Literature Review

Purpose: To describe the definition of quality of life (QoL) and identify the most appropriate tool for QoL assessment used in patients with TBI.Method: Searching was conducted from PubMed, CINAHL, EBSCO, and ProQuest during 2000-2011. A total of 33 studies were analyzed for this review consisting of 9 review studies, 2 intervention studies, and 22 descriptive studies.Result: Two important definitions of QoL were used in studies related to TBI namely achievement and subjective well-being. Although varieties of generic measurements have been used to measure QoL in TBI patients, there was a lack of TBI-specific Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL) instrument. Despite the different approach and time measured either short or long outcomes, appropriate domains of QoL tool seem essential particularly among those with moderate and severe TBI.Conclusion: QoL is a wide concept which can be defined in several dimensions. The QOLIBRI as a new disease-specific QoL measurement in TBI seems a feasible and valid approach for the assessment of QoL in TBI. However, the application across cultural remains a challenge and needs a validation

Knowledge and Skills of Emergency Care During Disaster for Community Health Volunteers: a Literature Review

Background: Nowadays, disaster preparedness and responses are essential for everyone to be involved since the disaster becomes increasing. The Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) in particular are the key partners required adequately prepared in emergency care during disaster event. Purpose: The study aims to examine the essential knowledge and skills of emergency care during natural disaster for CHVs. Method: The reviews published during 2000 and 2011 searching from PubMed, Science Direct, CINAHL, ProQuest Medical Library were conducted. Result: Twenty-four articles and documents related to community-based disaster preparedness programs were intensively reviewed. Based on the review, six components of knowledge and skills for emergency care in natural disaster for CHVs are required including 1) early warning, 2) disaster triage, 3) first aid, 4) search and rescue, 5) logistic and communication, and 6) team organizations. Conclusion: There was a few studies focusing on the emergency care in disaster management and some factors related to knowledge and skills were shown. It is therefore recommended that the current CHVs' knowledge and skills should be explored in order to assist people in their community following disaster event when professional responders are not immediately available to help

Integrative model of behavioural intention: the influence of environmental concern and condition factors on food waste separation

Purpose This paper positions environmental concern as the antecedent of attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control. It also sets to expand the theory of planned behaviour by including two condition factors: favourable situation and facility availability on the intention to separate food waste at source. Design/methodology/approach The study collects data by using self-administered questionnaires on 682 respondents in Malaysia. Structural equation modelling is employed to test the conceptual model and the proposed hypotheses. Findings The results show that environmental concern positively influences attitude and subjective norms, which, in turn, influences food waste separation intention. Favourable situation and facility availability are found to influence the separation intention. Originality/value This study is one of the earliest studies to investigate residents’ intention to participate in food waste separation at a source that employs the expanded theory of planned behaviour with environmental concern and condition factors

Development of a 1H/31P Spectroscopy Coil Customized for Canine Models of Muscular Dystrophy

Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a recessive disorder affecting one in every 3,600 males. The progressive disorder causes lifelong muscle degeneration and eventual death. As no cure is currently available, research in testing treatments for DMD is an area of substantial interest. Animal studies are a necessary and valuable precedent to clinical trials, providing information on experimental treatment response and phenotypic variations that the animal model may present. In evaluating disease progression during treatments, biopsies can provide very accurate results but are often considered unfavorable in DMD animal models due to their invasive nature. 31^P NMR spectroscopy provides a noninvasive means of quantifying concentrations of key muscle metabolites such as phosphocreatine (PCr) and inorganic phosphate (Pi). These metabolites can be used for characterizing disease progression in the Golden Retriever with Muscular Dystrophy (GRMD) canine animal model. While targeted GRMD muscle groups measure between 7 – 15 cm long, depending on the age of the animal model and the stage of the disease progression, commercially available coils capable of 31^P spectroscopy measure approximately 20 x 30 cm. This size difference causes a decrease in sensitivity and thus a decreased signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), motivating the need for a coil customized to interrogate this animal model effectively. This thesis describes the design and development of a double-tuned 1^H/31^P coil customized for use on canine models of muscular dystrophy using a butterfly/loop configuration. The coil was first developed for a 4.7T Varian Inova scanner and later replicated for a 3T Siemens Verio scanner. Performance of both coils was analyzed using RF bench measurements to test for quality factor and tuning. The capabilities of the 4.7T coil were demonstrated through obtaining proton images and phosphorus spectra of a muscle phantom and canine muscle tissue samples from both control and dystrophin-deficient animal models. The results present a coil capable of obtaining localized and sensitive MR images and spectra using a size and geometry that is optimal for targeted GRMD muscle groups