A concept analysis of psychological distress in parents related to diabetes management in children and adolescents

Purpose: To report a concept analysis of parents\u27 psychological distress in the context of diabetes management among children and adolescents. A clear understanding of the possible impact of diabetes management on parents will help to inform how nurses can work with parents to support glycaemic control in children and adolescents. Design and Method: Concept analysis using Walker and Avant\u27s eight-stage approach was used as a guiding framework. PubMed, OVID (CINAHL, Medline, PsychInfo), the Cochrane library and the Joanna Briggs library were searched for the past 50 years. Results: Thirty-three studies provided data for the concept analysis. Attributes included difficulty coping, changes in emotional status and manifestations of mental health problems. Practice Implication: Based on the literature synthesis, we suggest all facets of distress related to diabetes can in principle be inferred through the proposed relationship between distress and other interactions of individual coping, caring burden and family relational functioning. The proposed conceptual model linking antecedents\u27 factors and individual characteristics of parents to the concepts of psychological distress may assist researchers to design interventions for supporting diabetes management in children and adolescents

The application of deep eutectic solvent ionic liquids for environmentally-friendly dissolution and recovery of precious metals

publisher: Elsevier articletitle: The application of deep eutectic solvent ionic liquids for environmentally-friendly dissolution and recovery of precious metals journaltitle: Minerals Engineering articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2015.09.026 content_type: article copyright: Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Beliefs about illness and treatment decision modelling during ill-health in Arabic families

Background: The use of self-prescribed antibiotics and other unproven herbal remedies is common in the Arab world. Understanding how family members decide to manage illness is an important priority for health care providers. Purpose: This paper presents a new model that can be viewed as an extension to the Health Belief Model and help clarifies the cognitive processes families use to manage illness in an Arab family in Jordan. It aims to generate an understanding of family beliefs about the causes of illness and appraisal of how best to manage illness in an Arab family. Methods: A qualitative approach using a family interview method was used to collect data. Twenty-five families participated in semi-structured interviews designed to elicit representational models of illness and treatment-decisions. Results: Thematic analysis revealed two forms of intertwined beliefs: core beliefs (fatalistic) and secondary beliefs (biomedical, supernatural and situational beliefs). Four key elements were identified as underpinning the involvement of family in treatment decision: perceived threat of illness, efficacy of treatment option, cost or availability and family prior experience. Conclusion: An understanding of the health belief model and related cognitive appraisal processes used by families may assist health care providers to engage with and overcome some of the social, cultural, and structural variables that could influence how family members decide to manage illness in Jordan

Newborn care practices of mothers in Arab societies: implication for infant welfare

INTRODUCTION: There are at least 22 Arab league states and sections in Northern Africa, southwestern Asia, and Europe that incorporate the vast Middle Eastern culture. The purpose of this study was to identify the cultural variations in newborn care practices, self-management of common illnesses, and their potential impact on infant welfare. METHOD: A qualitative design using a focus group approach with 37 Arab mothers in Jordan was used. RESULTS: Findings revealed strong similarities in terms of beliefs, care practices, and the experience of intergenerational conflict in establishing and maintaining traditional practices among mothers. Potentially harmful practices included restrictive swaddling, rubbing a newborn\u27s body with salt, and encouraging the ingestion of herbs in newborns. DISCUSSION: It is important for nurses and midwives to be aware of traditional practices, cultural beliefs, and the implications for infant welfare if they are to effectively engage with families to promote the well-being of the newborn

Traditional methods for managing illness in newborns and infants in an Arab society

Aim: This study explored self‐management practices in relation to traditional methods for managing illness in newborns and infants and the implications of these practices on infant health. Background: Self‐medication with folk remedies is believed to have short‐ and long‐term impacts on well‐being. Little is known about how mothers in Arab societies used their traditional beliefs and practices in self‐managing their newborns’ and infants’ health. Methods: Data were collected from five focus groups using open‐ended questions with 37 mothers. Participants were selected using snowball sampling and were recruited from four different cities in Jordan between June 2016 and August 2016. Ethical approval: All identifying information regarding the study participants has been omitted, and this study was approved by the Academic Research Committee at the University of Jordan. Findings: Mothers were more willing to try herbal remedies, traditional massage and certain foods to self‐manage their infants’ health. Folk remedies were not restricted to traditions handed down through generations, but included a representation of newly emerged trends towards ‘safety’ or ‘nature’. Conclusions: While the use of folk remedies have been handed down generations as customs, today, virtual support groups and social media provide modern resources for folk remedies’ promotion in care and self‐management. Implications for nursing and health policy: Nursing and health policymakers can use our findings for planning and developing strategies and health policies that increase public awareness about adverse health effects associated with herbal remedies. Such strategies are likely to be facilitated through partnerships between nursing and midwifery education institutions, antenatal clinics and social media in the region

Liquid chromatography electrochemical determination of nicotine in third-hand smoke

Third-hand smoke (THS) can be defined as the contamination of surfaces by second-hand smoke. This residue can form further pollutants which can be re-suspended in dust or be re-emitted into the gas phase. THS is a complex mixture and as a result studies have focused on nicotine as a marker of THS, it being the most abundant and indicative organic compound deposited. In this present study, the extraction of dust wipe samples and the subsequent chromatographic conditions required for the separation of nicotine by liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection were investigated and optimised. The optimum chromatographic conditions were identified as a 150 mm x 4.6 mm, 5 µm C18 column with a mobile phase consisting of 65 % methanol, 35 % pH 8 20 mM phosphate buffer. Hydrodynamic voltammetry was used to optimise the applied potential which was identified to be +1.8 V (vs. stainless steel). Under these conditions, a linear range for nicotine of 13 to 3240 µg/L (0.26 ng – 65 ng on column) was obtained, with a detection limit of 3.0 µg/L (0.06 ng on column) based on a signal-to-noise ratio of three. Dust wipe samples were extracted in methanol with the aid of sonication. Mean recoveries of 98.4 % (% CV = 7.8 %) were found for dust wipe samples spiked with 6.50 µg of nicotine. Musk ketone, urea and stearic acid were found not to interfere. Communal entrance ways were found to be contaminated with THS nicotine levels of between 66.8 and 156 µg/m2

Sequential boundaries approach in clinical trials with unequal allocation ratios

BACKGROUND: In clinical trials, both unequal randomization design and sequential analyses have ethical and economic advantages. In the single-stage-design (SSD), however, if the sample size is not adjusted based on unequal randomization, the power of the trial will decrease, whereas with sequential analysis the power will always remain constant. Our aim was to compare sequential boundaries approach with the SSD when the allocation ratio (R) was not equal. METHODS: We evaluated the influence of R, the ratio of the patients in experimental group to the standard group, on the statistical properties of two-sided tests, including the two-sided single triangular test (TT), double triangular test (DTT) and SSD by multiple simulations. The average sample size numbers (ASNs) and power (1-β) were evaluated for all tests. RESULTS: Our simulation study showed that choosing R = 2 instead of R = 1 increases the sample size of SSD by 12% and the ASN of the TT and DTT by the same proportion. Moreover, when R = 2, compared to the adjusted SSD, using the TT or DTT allows to retrieve the well known reductions of ASN observed when R = 1, compared to SSD. In addition, when R = 2, compared to SSD, using the TT and DTT allows to obtain smaller reductions of ASN than when R = 1, but maintains the power of the test to its planned value. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that when the allocation ratio is not equal among the treatment groups, sequential analysis could indeed serve as a compromise between ethicists, economists and statisticians

The effect of surface properties on bacterial retention: a study utilising stainless steel and TiN/25.65at.%Ag substrata

The requirement for antimicrobial surfaces to control microorganisms for use in the food industries is increasing. A TiN/25.65at.%Ag coating and a stainless steel (304 2R) surface were characterised for roughness parameters, chemistry and physicochemistry (PC). Microbiological analysis was performed to determine the antimicrobial efficacy and retention of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli on the surfaces. Zone of inhibition assays were successful against only E. coli on the TiN/25.65at.%Ag coating. A bacterial respiratory assay demonstrated that the TiN/25.65at.%Ag coating was antimicrobial against both bacteria. Retention assays demonstrated that the physicochemistry of the bacteria and surfaces influenced bacterial retention. Multifractal analysis of the retained bacteria demonstrated that the surface properties affected the spread and clustering, but not the density of the bacteria. This work suggests that surface properties influenced specific species: surface interactions and therefore surfaces need to be tailored to specific requirements depending on the environment and microorganisms to be targeted. This work may aid in the production of coatings or surfaces that may provide more hygienic conditions

Helping students to self-care and enhance their health-promotion skills.

Nurses have a public health role, requiring them to promote the health of individuals and communities, and to engage at a political and policy level to improve population health. There is also a professional expectation that nurses will model healthy behaviours and take responsibility for their personal health and wellbeing. However, studies have indicated that undergraduate nurses find the academic and practice elements of their nursing programmes stressful. To manage their stress many use coping behaviours that negatively impact on their health and wellbeing and may influence their ability and willingness to effectively support health promotion in practice. It is widely recognised that environments influence health outcomes and personal health behaviours. This article addresses some of the structural causes of student nurse stress and highlights a recent educational initiative at a UK university that aims to equip student nurses with the practical skills required to engage in health promotion and thereby provide benefits for service users and student nurses alike