Childbearing in Ghana: How beliefs affect care

Childbearing is an event in a woman\u27s life that requires particular care. Especially in villages, Ghanaian women must choose between modern, traditional, and religious caregivers. The type of care they chose depends on what cultural and religious beliefs they hold. Because of Ghana\u27s prenatal society, infertility is the most heartbreaking affliction that can befall a woman. Caregivers in Komenda offer remedies ranging from herbs to prayer to agreement with fertility gods. Information regarding family planning is not widespread throughout the country, which forces women to rely on unreliable natural practices. Because of the negative stigma attached to contraceptive use, many women use no form of birth control at all. When a woman becomes pregnant, she seeks antenatal care from someone she trusts. Many traditional and religious caregivers tell women to protect their pregnancy by praying. Hospitals have begun to play a larger role in Ghana\u27s antenatal care with their lectures, examinations, and ignorance on the part of caregivers about the hospital\u27s services hinder it\u27s popularity with villagers

Vaterschaftsurlaub - eine Chance für die ganze Familie? : eine Sekundäranalyse zum Thema Väter im Wochenbett

Hintergrund: Die Rolle der Väter hat sich in den letzten Jahren stark gewandelt. Mit der Einführung von Vaterschaftsurlaub oder Elternurlaub haben diverse europäische Länder auf diesen Wandel reagiert. In der jüngsten Forschung wird auf die vielfältigen Chancen des Vaterschaftsurlaubes hingewiesen. Aufgrund der Gegenwärtigkeit des Forschungsgegenstandes ist weiterführende Forschung unumgänglich. Ziel: Das Hauptinteresse liegt darin, die Effekte einer arbeitsfreien Zeit des Vaters in der postpartalen Periode auf die Familie aufzuzeigen, indem die arbeitsfreie Zeit des Vaters in Relation zur elterlichen Wahrnehmung des Kindes und zur mütterlichen psychischen Gesundheit gestellt werden. Methode: Im Rahmen einer Sekundäranalyse wurde Daten aus einer prospektiven, zweiphasigen Befragung analysiert. Die Analyse umfasste sowohl parametrische als auch nichtparametrische Tests. Ergebnisse: Es konnte kein Zusammenhang der Art und Dauer der arbeitsfreien Zeit des Vaters auf die Wahrnehmung des Kindes sowie auf die mütterliche psychische Gesundheit gezeigt werden. Deutlich wird hingegen, dass sich Väter, welche von einer Hebamme Hilfe erhielten, gesamthaft besser unterstützt fühlten. Schlussfolgerung: Der Hebamme kommt in der Unterstützung der Väter in der postpartalen Zeit eine Schlüsselrolle zu. Die aktuelle Studienlage deutet auf unzählige positive Effekte von Vaterschaftsurlaub oder Elternurlaub auf das Wohlbefinden der Familie hin. Weitere Forschung in diesem Bereich scheint jedoch notwendig zu sein

A qualitative exploration of prescription opioid injection among street-based drug users in Toronto: behaviours, preferences and drug availability

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is evidence of a high prevalence of prescription opioid (PO) and crack use among street drug users in Toronto. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe drug use behaviours and preferences as well as the social and environmental context surrounding the use of these drugs among young and old street-based drug injection drug users (IDUs).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 PO injectors. Topics covered included drug use history, types of drugs used, how drugs were purchased and transitions to PO use. Interviews were taped and transcribed. Content analysis was conducted to identify themes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Five prominent themes emerged from the interviews: 1) Combination of crack and prescription opioids, 2) First injection experience and transition to prescription opioids, 3) Drug preferences and availability, 4) Housing and income and 5) Obtaining drugs. There was consensus that OxyContin and crack were the most commonly available drugs on the streets of Toronto. Drug use preferences and behaviours were influenced by the availability of drugs, the desired effect, ease of administration and expectations around the purity of the drugs. Distinct experiences were observed among younger users as compared to older users. In particular, the initiation of injection drug use and experimentation with POs among younger users was influenced by their experiences on the street, their peers and general curiosity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Given the current profile of street-based drug market in Toronto and the emergence of crack and POs as two predominant illicit drug groups, understanding drug use patterns and socio-economic factors among younger and older users in this population has important implications for preventive and therapeutic interventions. </p

Doping Effects on the Performance of Paired Metal Catalysts for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Metal heteroatoms dispersed in nitrogen-doped graphene display promising catalytic activity for fuel cell reactions such as the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here we explore the effects of dopant concentration on the synergistic catalytic behaviour of a paired metal atom active site comprised of Co and Pt atoms. The metals are coordinated to six atoms in a vacancy of N-doped graphene. We find that HER activity is enhanced with increasing N concentration, where the free energy of hydrogen atom adsorption ranges from 0.23 to -0.42 eV as the doping changes from a single N atom doped in the pore, to fully doped coordination sites. The results indicated that the effect of N is to make the Co atom more active towards H adsorption and presents a means through which transition metals can be modified to make more effective and sustainable fuel cell catalysts

The Opioid Mortality Epidemic in North America: Do We Understand the Supply Side Dynamics of This Unprecedented Crisis?

While there has been extensive attention to the ‘demand side’ – or use and adverse consequences, including mortality – of the ‘opioid crisis’ presently unfolding across North America, few considerations have focused on the supply side. This paper examines the supply side dynamics of this unprecedented public health phenomenon. We provide evidence for several interrelated supply-side elements that have contributed to the present public health crisis. We observe that initially, persistently high levels of prescription opioid availability and use exposed large proportions of the North American population to opioids, resulting in correspondingly high levels of medical and non-medical use (e.g., involving diversion). While various intervention measures to control prescription opioid availability and use have been implemented in recent years, leading to eventual reductions in opioid dispensing levels, these occurred late in the crisis’s evolution. Moreover, these supply reductions have not been met by corresponding reductions in opioid use or demand levels. These growing discrepancies between opioid demand and prescription-based sources have left major gaps in opioid supplies. In response to such supply gaps, highly potent and toxic illicit opioid products have rapidly proliferated across North America, and become a core driver of the dramatic spikes in opioid overdose fatality levels in recent years. These supply-related interrelations are corroborated by a corresponding increase in illicit opioid-related fatalities, which arose just as medical opioid supplies began to decrease in many jurisdictions. Improved analyses and understanding of the supply-side dynamics of the opioid crisis are urgently needed in order to inform future intervention and policy development. Meanwhile, the high mortality toll related to illicit, highly toxic opioid exposure requires sustained solutions, including supply-oriented measures (e.g., safer opioid distribution for at–risk users) towards improved public health protection

A resource-advantage perspective on the orchestration of ambidexterity

Strategic resources are key inputs to strategy that can form the basis of superior service performance, yet there is scarce research on the strategic resources used by managers to realise ambidexterity: the simultaneous pursuit of alignment and adaptability. In this article, we draw on a qualitative case study of a leading European airline and examine the resource bundles used by managers in their orchestration of ambidexterity. Adopting a resource-advantage perspective, the study illustrates elements of human, organisational, and informational capital that are mobilised by managers in their incorporation of alignment-oriented and adaptability-oriented activities. By moving beyond a linear association between strategic resources and ambidextrous organisations, we argue that managers' orchestration of ambidexterity is central to how service organisations manage their strategic resources and enhance competitiveness. Overall, we highlight the micro managerial level as an important point of observation to extend current thinking on the ‘how’ of ambidexterity in service organisations