A Qualitative Analysis Of Facilitators And Barriers To Breastfeeding Among Black Mothers In The Greater New Haven Area

Objective: Racial and ethnic disparities in breastfeeding persist in Connecticut, with Black and African American mothers breastfeeding at the lowest rate. A qualitative study of Black mothers in the Greater New Haven Area was conducted to understand the barriers and facilitators to breastfeeding. Methods: A qualitative design adapting the Barrier Analysis tool was used to conduct in-depth focus groups with Black mothers who did exclusively breastfeed for 3 months (EBF3) and Black mothers who did not exclusively breastfeed for 3 months (NEBF3). 3 focus groups were conducted with EBF3 participants and 3 focus groups were conducted with NEBF3 participants. Focus groups were recorded and transcripts were analyzed by a four-person research team. Results: Barriers and facilitators were categorized based on the ecological model at the following levels: policy, cultural, institutional, interpersonal, and individual. The major barriers include lack of awareness and access to workplace policies, sexualization of breastfeeding, lack of publicly-accessible lactation spaces, cultural bias against breastfeeding, inaccessible lactation support, unhelpful breastfeeding support, lack of lactation supplies, discouragement from social networks, returning to work and having to make substantial lifestyle changes. The major facilitators include staying home from work, generational breastfeeding, and having a strong support network. Conclusion: This study describes the additional barriers that Black mothers face when trying to breastfeed and the facilitators that can help mitigate difficulties. These findings help to contextualize racial and ethnic disparities in breastfeeding to inform public health practitioners in breastfeeding campaigns and program development

An Overview of Sustainable Ocean Resources for Socio-economic Development in Vietnam

Vietnam is one of the nation with long coastal with many valuable resources, which is the basis for the economy development from the ocean-based activities. This paper outlined the main maritime resources and their contribution to the socio-economic development in Vietnam. The raw data was collected from the readable sources such as General Statistics Office of Vietnam, Vietnam meteorological and meteorological data center…. as well as from the practical investigation. This raw data was processed and analyzed in order to have a general view on the majority marine resources in Vietnam. The results showed that there were 5 main resources (oil, fisheries, natural hydrate, green energy, and tourism) from the ocean, which significantly contribute to the economy development of Vietnam. The highest contribution of the oil value to the GDP was witnessed in 2011 with 26.6% of the GDP. While the value of the fisheries and tourism increased every year, the natural hydrate and energy from the ocean are still young areas, however, they come one step closer to the exploitation, which can greatly contribute to the Vietnam economy growth. With these valuable resources from the sea, Vietnam need to have reasonable policies and strategies for the management, exploitation, and export in order to able to effectively use of these resources for the sustainable economy development. Keywords: Ocean resources, sustainable development, fisheries, crude oil exploitation DOI: 10.7176/JRDM/69-05 Publication date:September 30th 202

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049