6 research outputs found
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Increasing Self-care Ativities for Caregivers of Persons with Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias to Reduce Burden and Depression
Abstract
Caregivers in the United States are a rapidly growing segment of the system of care for those with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Lack of training and support puts them at risk of depression, anxiety and failure to take care of their own healthcare needs. Different interventions with caregivers have been studied in both randomized controlled and non-randomized studies and many tools are available to assess burden of care and the effectiveness of interventions to reduce the negative consequence of the experience. Results are inconclusive and numerous studies have found that minimal evidence exists to support any one model of intervention. There is however consensus that the needs of caregivers are not currently being met. The purpose of this capstone project was to address those needs by developing a structured support group focused on psycho education, self-care and an introduction to complementary medicine. The goal was to reduce burden and depression and increase self-care by providing participants with information and tools to assist in their role as caregivers. The results indicate
that support group provides emotional support, information and problem solving skills for caregivers but does not necessarily reduce burden or depression or increase self-care. The meaningful significance of this intervention is reflected in the satisfaction survey completed by participants.
Selected validated tools did not yield results that were reliable due to: partially completed forms; resistance to completing forms; confusion on the part of participants as to how to complete forms leading to errors; some only completing the pre or post test but not both. Future efforts should consider qualitative methods like storytelling and pre and post interviews. Although the tools did not provided useful data the intervention was well attended and satisfaction surveys revealed that for almost all of the attendees the group provided them with important information, tools and support both from the leaders and from each other. Further research is needed to clearly understand the needs and determine effective interventions for our rapidly aging population and diminishing number of caregivers. Nurses are in a pivotal position to implement and evaluate evidence-based interventions for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias
Depressive Symptoms in Children with Chronic Kidney Disease
To assess depression in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and to determine associations with patient characteristics, intellectual and educational levels, and health related quality of life (HRQoL)
An original phylogenetic approach identified mitochondrial haplogroup T1a1 as inversely associated with breast cancer risk in BRCA2 mutation carriers
Introduction: Individuals carrying pathogenic mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes have a high lifetime risk of breast cancer. BRCA1 and BRCA2 are involved in DNA double-strand break repair, DNA alterations that can be caused by exposure to reactive oxygen species, a main source of which are mitochondria. Mitochondrial genome variations affect electron transport chain efficiency and reactive oxygen species production. Individuals with different mitochondrial haplogroups differ in their metabolism and sensitivity to oxidative stress. Variability in mitochondrial genetic background can alter reactive oxygen species production, leading to cancer risk. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that mitochondrial haplogroups modify breast cancer risk in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers. Methods: We genotyped 22,214 (11,421 affected, 10,793 unaffected) mutation carriers belonging to the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 for 129 mitochondrial polymorphisms using the iCOGS array. Haplogroup inference and association detection were performed using a phylogenetic approach. ALTree was applied to explore the reference mitochondrial evolutionary tree and detect subclades enriched in affected or unaffected individuals. Results: We discovered that subclade T1a1 was depleted in affected BRCA2 mutation carriers compared with the rest of clade T (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.55; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.34 to 0.88; P = 0.01). Compared with the most frequent haplogroup in the general population (that is, H and T clades), the T1a1 haplogroup has a HR of 0.62 (95% CI, 0.40 to 0.95; P = 0.03). We also identified three potential susceptibility loci, including G13708A/rs28359178, which has demonstrated an inverse association with familial breast cancer risk. Conclusions: This study illustrates how original approaches such as the phylogeny-based method we used can empower classical molecular epidemiological studies aimed at identifying association or risk modification effects.Peer reviewe
Depressive Symptoms in Children with Chronic Kidney Disease
To assess depression in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and to determine associations with patient characteristics, intellectual and educational levels, and health related quality of life (HRQoL)