Search results for: care knowledge

Authors: E. N. Jansen van Vuuren

Abstract:

When visiting Foundation Phase (FP) students during their Teaching Practice at schools in rural Mpumalanga, the lack of music education is evident through the absence of musical sounds, with the exception of a limited repertoire of songs that are sung by all classes everywhere you go. The absence of music teaching resources such as posters and music instruments add to the perception that generalist teachers in the FP are not teaching music. Pre-service students also acknowledge that they have never seen a music class being taught during their teaching practice visits at schools. This lack of music mentoring impacts the quality of teachers who are about to enter the workforce and ultimately results in the perpetuation of no music education in many rural schools. The situation in more affluent schools present a contrasting picture with music education being given a high priority and generalist teachers often being supported by music specialists, paid for by the parents. When student teachers start their music course, they have limited knowledge to use as a foundation for their studies. The aim of the study was to ascertain the music knowledge that students gained throughout their school careers so that the curriculum could be adapted to suit their needs. By knowing exactly what pre-service teachers know about music, the limited tuition time at tertiary level can be used in the most suitable manner and concentrate on filling the knowledge gaps. Many scholars write about the decline of music education in South African schools and mention reasons, but the exact music knowledge void amongst students does not feature in the studies. Knowing the parameters of students’ music knowledge will empower lecturers to restructure their curricula to meet the needs of pre-service students. The research question asks, “what is the extent of the music void amongst rural pre-service teachers in a B.Ed. FP course at an African university?” This action research was done using a pragmatic paradigm and mixed methodology. First year students in the cohort studying for a B.Ed. in FP were requested to complete an online baseline assessment to determine the status quo. This assessment was compiled using the CAPS music content for Grade R to 9. The data was sorted using the elements of music as a framework. Findings indicate that students do not have a suitable foundation in music education despite supposedly having had music tuition from grade R to grade 9. Knowing the content required to fill the lack of knowledge provides academics with valuable information to amend their curricula and to ensure that future teachers will be able to provide rural learners with the same foundations in music as those received by learners in more affluent schools. It is only then that the rich music culture of the African continent will thrive.

Keywords: generalist educators, music education, music curriculum, pre-service teachers

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: Sania Bashir

Abstract:

A promising approach to healthcare delivery, telemedicine makes use of communication technology to reach out to remote regions of the world, allowing for beneficial interactions between diabetic patients and healthcare professionals as well as the provision of affordable and easily accessible medical care. The emergence of contemporary care models, fueled by the pervasiveness of mobile devices, provides better information, offers low cost with the best possible outcomes, and is known as digital health. It involves the integration of collected data using software and apps, as well as low-cost, high-quality outcomes. The goal of this study is to assess how well telemedicine works for diabetic patients and how it impacts their HbA1c levels. A questionnaire-based survey of 300 diabetics included 150 patients in each of the groups receiving usual care and via telemedicine. A descriptive and observational study that lasted from September 2021 to May 2022 was conducted. HbA1c has been gathered for both categories every three months. A remote monitoring tool has been used to assess the efficacy of telemedicine and continuing therapy instead of the customary three monthly meetings like in-person consultations. The patients were (42.3) 18.3 years old on average. 128 men were outnumbered by 172 women (57.3% of the total). 200 patients (66.6%) have type 2 diabetes, compared to over 100 (33.3%) candidates for type 1. Despite the average baseline BMI being within normal ranges at 23.4 kg/m², the mean baseline HbA1c (9.45 1.20) indicates that glycemic treatment is not well-controlled at the time of registration. While patients who use telemedicine experienced a mean percentage change of 10.5, those who visit the clinic experienced a mean percentage change of 3.9. Changes in HbA1c are dependent on several factors, including improvements in BMI (61%) after 9 months of research and compliance with healthy lifestyle recommendations for diet and activity. More compliance was achieved by the telemedicine group. It is an undeniable reality that patient-physician communication is crucial for enhancing health outcomes and avoiding long-term issues. Telemedicine has shown its value in the management of diabetes and holds promise as a novel technique for improved clinical-patient communication in the twenty-first century.

Keywords: diabetes, digital health, mobile app, telemedicine

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Anna Wszołek

Abstract:

For a very long time, the doctor-patient relationship had a paternalistic character. The events of the II World War, as well as fast development of the biotechnology and medicine caused an important change in that relationship. Human beings and their dignity were put in the centre of philosophical and legal debate. The increasing frequency of clinical trials led to the emergence of bioethics, which dealt with the topic of the possibilities and boundaries of such research in relation to individual’s autonomy. Thus, there was a transformation from a paternalistic relationship to a more collaborative one in which the patient has more room for self-determination. Today, patients are more and more aware of their rights and the obligations placed on doctors and the health care system, which is linked to an increase in medical malpractice claims. Unfortunately, these claims are not always justified. There is a strong concentration around the topic of patient’s good, however, at the other side there are doctors who feel, on the example of Poland, they might be easily accused and sued for medical malpractice even though they fulfilled their duties. Such situation may have a negative impact on the quality of health care services and patient’s interests. This research is going to present doctor’s perspective on the topic of medical malpractice allegations. It is supposed to show possible damage to a doctor’s reputation caused by frivolous and weakly justified medical malpractice accusations, as well as means to protect this reputation.

Keywords: doctor's reputation, medical malpractice, personal rights, unjustified allegations

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Emma Worley, Mhairi De Sainte Croix, Savneet Lochab, Christopher Roberts, Mark Stroud, Mo Salehan, Kevin Jones

Abstract:

Awareness about the importance of teaching about diversity at medical school is growing. In the realm of diversity includes discussion around the LGBTQ+ community. At Bristol, diversity is taught in first or second year. However, echoing and expanding that teaching throughout the curriculum is needed. This feeds into the spiral curriculum but also highlights the relevance of the topic. It is well known that some people in the LGBTQ+ community struggle the access healthcare due to previous negative experiences. In 2019, 1 in 7 LGBTQ+ people avoided seeking medical care due to fears about discrimination. If people have fears about seeking medical help, then seeking help from Palliative care when they are at their most vulnerable situation can be even harder. To improve positive healthcare situations for people who identify as LGBTQ+ needs to start with talking. Along with some of our CTAs (clinical teaching assistants) we created a teaching session to explore the barriers faced by LGBTQ+ and incorporated communication stations into this. Our plan is to run this session as a three-hour session first discussing different topics: ethnical diversity, ‘coming out’, LGBTQ+ in the older generation, transgender. This will be followed by looking more closely at the barriers to accessing the hospice. The next part of the session will encompass two or three communication scenarios hopefully prompting further discussion and reflection on ways to improve our communication. The first scenario outline is a gay man/lesbian woman with lung cancer discussing options around the hospice. The second scenario is a transgender person with female genitalia who now has cervical cancer (as was not followed up on pap smears after the change of name). The third scenario is a HIV homosexual male patient who has been admitted with dementia. He has a partner but is not married. His next of kin is down as his parents but his parents do not know about his sexuality and HIV status. It allows discussion around confidentiality as well as broaching the meaning of ‘family’ in the LGBTQ+ community. We have chosen to pitch this teaching session to Bristol Year 4 students. They will be currently doing their 6-week Palliative care block, which fits in well. Each session will have four students attend. We have been lucky enough to have two CTAs (clinical teaching assistants) who identify as LGBTQ+ offer their experiences and help. They have been able to help us with the preparation and delivery of the session. Given anecdotal evidence and stories helps to highlight the importance and relevance of this session. The aim is to increase awareness of some factors that may contribute to people who identify as LGBTQ+ having a negative healthcare experience. By starting to talk about it allows awareness and only then will we be able to start to change and improve. Our aim, if the sessions run well, is to expand these sessions to different academy hospitals. Therefore, all Bristol 4th year students would have the opportunity to take part in the teaching session. We would like to expand our portfolio of case scenarios, to address so tricker topics such as a transgender person with dementia who reverts back to a different gender. We would also like to recruit a diverse range of actors, ideally people who identify as the patient in the scenario does. For example, a transgender person acts the transgender scenario. This would give authenticity and enhance the student’s learning experience.

Keywords: communication skills, healthcare barriers, LGBTQ+, palliative care

Procedia PDF Downloads 126

Authors: Mubarak Jan Beebee Zeba Mahetaab, Sumera Bibi Keenoo

Abstract:

Background: Covid-19 was first reported in Wuhan. On 13th March 2020, WHO declared Covid-19 as a pandemic disease with 140,936 cases globally. The outbreak of covid-19 occurred in over 184 countries, and it created a lot of medical and mental burdens. Aside from the physical problems, the mental health of the medical staff has been of critical concern. Aims and Objectives: To determine the prevalence of burnout among HCW dealing with COVID-19, identify the risk factors and find measures to support their mental health while dealing with the current and future pandemic. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the HCW who fought against COVID-19 in SSRN Hospital in Mauritius. The HCWs were recruited using the snowballing sampling technique. Age, gender, job category, income, duration of vacation, working environment and importance of mental health were measured. Results: The prevalence of burnout was highest among HCA. Age had no significant association with pandemic-related burnout. In Mauritius, burnout during the pandemic is linked with lower income and having less vacation days. Conclusion: Burnout is prevalent among healthcare workers working during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Interventions such as psychological counselling, yoga and financial increments need to be implemented to help the healthcare workers.

Keywords: burnout, Covid-19, health care professionals, pandemic

Procedia PDF Downloads 80

Authors: Prashant Neupane, Asmi Pandey, Mumna Ehsan, Katie Davies, Richard Lowsby

Abstract:

Introduction/Background & aims: Safe and effective prescribing in hospitals, directly and indirectly, impacts the health of the patients. Even though digital prescribing in the National Health Service (NHS), UK has been used in lots of tertiary centers along with district general hospitals, a significant number of NHS trusts are still using paper prescribing. We came across lots of irregularities in our daily clinical practice when we are doing paper prescribing. The main aim of the study was to assess how safely and effectively are we prescribing at our hospital where there is no access to digital prescribing. Method/Summary of work: We conducted a prospective audit in the critical care department at Mid Cheshire Hopsitals NHS Foundation Trust in which 20 prescription charts from different patients were randomly selected over a period of 1 month. We assessed 16 multiple categories from each prescription chart and compared them to the standard trust guidelines on prescription. Results/Discussion: We collected data from 20 different prescription charts. 16 categories were evaluated within each prescription chart. The results showed there was an urgent need for improvement in 8 different sections. In 85% of the prescription chart, all the prescribers who prescribed the medications were not identified. Name, GMC number and signature were absent in the required prescriber identification section of the prescription chart. In 70% of prescription charts, either indication or review date of the antimicrobials was absent. Units of medication were not documented correctly in 65% and the allergic status of the patient was absent in 30% of the charts. The start date of medications was missing and alternations of the medications were not done properly in 35%of charts. The patient's name was not recorded in all desired sections of the chart in 50% of cases and cancellations of the medication were not done properly in 45% of the prescription charts. Conclusion(s): From the audit and data analysis, we assessed the areas in which we needed improvement in prescription writing in the Critical care department. However, during the meetings and conversations with the experts from the pharmacy department, we realized this audit is just a representation of the specialized department of the hospital where access to prescribing is limited to a certain number of prescribers. But if we consider bigger departments of the hospital where patient turnover is much more, the results could be much worse. The findings were discussed in the Critical care MDT meeting where suggestions regarding digital/electronic prescribing were discussed. A poster and presentation regarding safe and effective prescribing were done, awareness poster was prepared and attached alongside every bedside in critical care where it is visible to prescribers. We consider this as a temporary measure to improve the quality of prescribing, however, we strongly believe digital prescribing will help to a greater extent to control weak areas which are seen in paper prescribing.

Keywords: safe prescribing, NHS, digital prescribing, prescription chart

Procedia PDF Downloads 120

Authors: Marko Batic, Nikola Tomasevic, Sanja Vranes

Abstract:

One of the strongholds in the ubiquitous efforts related to the energy conservation and energy efficiency improvement is represented by the retrofit of high energy consumers in buildings. In general, HVAC systems represent the highest energy consumers in buildings. However they usually suffer from mal-operation and/or malfunction, causing even higher energy consumption than necessary. Various Fault Detection and Diagnosis (FDD) systems can be successfully employed for this purpose, especially when it comes to the application at a single device/unit level. In the case of more complex systems, where multiple devices are operating in the context of the same building, significant energy efficiency improvements can only be achieved through application of comprehensive FDD systems relying on additional higher level knowledge, such as their geographical location, served area, their intra- and inter- system dependencies etc. This paper presents a comprehensive FDD system that relies on the utilization of common knowledge repository that stores all critical information. The discussed system is deployed as a test-bed platform at the two at Fiumicino and Malpensa airports in Italy. This paper aims at presenting advantages of implementation of the knowledge base through the utilization of ontology and offers improved functionalities of such system through examples of typical queries and reasoning that enable derivation of high level energy conservation measures (ECM). Therefore, key SPARQL queries and SWRL rules, based on the two instantiated airport ontologies, are elaborated. The detection of high level irregularities in the operation of airport heating/cooling plants is discussed and estimation of energy savings is reported.

Keywords: airport ontology, knowledge management, ontology modeling, reasoning

Procedia PDF Downloads 537

Authors: Nyathi Mpumelelo; Moeng Thabiso Maria

Abstract:

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Radiopharmaceuticals are used for diagnosis, treatment, staging and follow up of various diseases. However, there is concern that the ionizing radiation (gamma rays, α and ß particles) emitted by radiopharmaceuticals may result in exposure of radiographers and nurses with limited knowledge of the principles of radiation protection and safety, raising the risk of cancer induction. This study aimed at investigation radiation safety awareness levels among radiographers and nurses at a small tertiary hospital in South Africa. METHODS: An analytical cross-sectional study. A validated two-part questionnaire was implemented to consenting radiographers and nurses working in a Nuclear Medicine Department. Part 1 gathered demographic information (age, gender, work experience, attendance to/or passing ionizing radiation protection courses). Part 2 covered questions related to knowledge and awareness of radiation protection principles. RESULTS: Six radiographers and five nurses participated (27% males and 73% females). The mean age was 45 years (age range 20-60 years). The study revealed that neither professional development courses nor radiation protection courses are offered at the Nuclear Medicine Department understudy. However, 6/6 (100%) radiographers exhibited a high level of awareness of radiation safety principles on handling and working with radiopharmaceuticals which correlated to their years of experience. As for nurses, 4/5 (80%) showed limited knowledge and awareness of radiation protection principles irrespective of the number of years in the profession. CONCLUSION: Despite their major role of caring for patients undergoing diagnostic and therapeutic treatments, the nurses showed limited knowledge of ionizing radiation and associated side effects. This was not surprising since they never received any formal basic radiation safety course. These findings were not unique to this Centre. A study conducted in a Kuwaiti Radiology Department also established that the vast majority of nurses did not understand the risks of working with ionizing radiation. Similarly, nurses in an Australian hospital exhibited knowledge limitations. However, nursing managers did provide the necessary radiation safety training when requested. In Guatemala and Saudi Arabia, where there was shortage of professional radiographers, nurses underwent radiography training, a course that equipped them with basic radiation safety principles. The radiographers in the Centre understudy unlike others in various parts of the world demonstrated substantial knowledge and awareness on radiation protection. Radiations safety courses attended when an opportunity arose played a critical role in their awareness. The knowledge and awareness levels of these radiographers were comparable to their counterparts in Sudan. However, it was much more above that of their counterparts in Jordan, Nigeria, Nepal and Iran who were found to have limited awareness and inadequate knowledge on radiation dose. Formal radiation safety and awareness courses and workshops can play a crucial role in raising the awareness of nurses and radiographers on radiation safety for their personal benefit and that of their patients.

Keywords: radiation safety, radiation awareness, training, nuclear medicine

Procedia PDF Downloads 79

Authors: Maher El-Masri, Jamie Crawley, Judy Bornais, Abeer Omar

Abstract:

Background: Misuse of Emergency Department (ED) for non-urgent healthcare results in unnecessary crowdedness that can result in long ED waits and delays in treatment, diversion of ambulances to other hospitals, poor health outcomes for patients, and increased risk of death Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to explore the independent predictors of non-urgent ED visits in Erie St. Clair LHIN. Secondary purposes of the study include comparison of the rates of non-urgent ED visits between urban and rural hospitals Design: A secondary analysis of archived population-based data on 597,373 ED visits in southwestern Ontario Results The results suggest that older (OR = .992; 95% CI .992 – .993) and female patients (OR = .940; 95% CI .929 - .950) were less likely to visit ED for non-urgent causes. Non-urgent ED visits during the winter, spring, and fall were 13%, 5.8%, and 7.5%, respectively, lesser than they were during the summer time. The data further suggest that non-urgent visits were 19.6% and 21.3% less likely to occur in evening and overnight shifts compared to the day shift. Non-urgent visits were 2.76 times more likely to present to small community hospitals than large community hospitals. Health care providers were 1.92 times more likely to refer patients with non-urgent health problem to the ED than the decision taken by patients, family member or caretakers. Conclusion: In conclusion, our study highlights a number of important factors that are associated with inappropriate use of ED visits for non-urgent health problems. Knowledge of these factors could be used to address the issue of unnecessary ED crowdedness.

Keywords: emergency department, non-urgent visits, predictors, logistic regression

Procedia PDF Downloads 247

Authors: Barry D. Kyle, Jessica Boyd, Robin Pickersgill, Nicole Squires, Cynthia Balion

Abstract:

Background-Aim: Fentanyl is a highly-potent synthetic μ-opioid receptor agonist used for exceptional pain management. Its main metabolite, norfentanyl, is typically present in urine at significantly high concentrations (i.e. ~20%) representing an effective targeting molecule for immunoassay detection. Here, we evaluated the NCS^TM One Step Fentanyl Test Device© and the BTNX Rapid Response^TM Single Drug Test Strip© point of care (POC) test strips targeting norfentanyl (20 ng/ml) and fentanyl (100 ng/ml) molecules for potential risperidone interference. Methods: POC tests calibrated against norfentanyl (20 ng/ml) used [immunochromatographic] lateral flow devices to provide qualitative results within five minutes of urine sample contact. Results were recorded as negative if lines appeared in the test and control regions according to manufacturer’s instructions. Positive results were recorded if no line appeared in the test region (i.e., control line only visible). Pooled patient urine (n=20), that screened negative for drugs of abuse (using NCS One Step Multi-Line Screen) and fentanyl (using BTNX Rapid Response Strip) was used for spiking studies. Urine was spiked with risperidone alone and with combinations of fentanyl, norfentanyl and/or risperidone to evaluate cross-reactivity in each test device. Results: A positive screen result was obtained when 8,000 ng/mL of risperidone was spiked into drug free urine using the NCS test device. Positive screen results were also obtained in spiked urine samples containing fentanyl and norfentanyl combinations below the cut-off concentrations when 4000 ng/mL risperidone was present using the NCS testing device. There were no screen positive test results using the BTNX test strip with up to 8,000 ng/mL alone or in combination with concentrations of fentanyl and norfentanyl below the cut-off. Both devices screened positive when either fentanyl or norfentanyl exceeded the cut-off threshold in the absence and presence of risperidone. Conclusion: We report that urine samples containing risperidone may give a false positive result using the NCS One Step Fentanyl Test Device.

Keywords: fentanyl, interferences, point of care test, Risperidone

Procedia PDF Downloads 274

Authors: S. Abera, T. Gidey, W. Terefe

Abstract:

Introduction: Testing for HIV is the key entry point to HIV prevention, treatment, and care and support services. Hence, predictive data mining techniques can greatly benefit to analyze and discover new patterns from huge datasets like that of EDHS 2011 data. Objectives: The objective of this study is to build a predictive modeling for HIV testing and identify determinants of HIV testing for adults with age above fourteen years using data mining techniques. Methods: Cross-Industry Standard Process for Data Mining (CRISP-DM) was used to predict the model for HIV testing and explore association rules between HIV testing and the selected attributes among adult Ethiopians. Decision tree, Naïve-Bayes, logistic regression and artificial neural networks of data mining techniques were used to build the predictive models. Results: The target dataset contained 30,625 study participants; of which 16, 515 (53.9%) were women. Nearly two-fifth; 17,719 (58%), have never been tested for HIV while the rest 12,906 (42%) had been tested. Ethiopians with higher wealth index, higher educational level, belonging 20 to 29 years old, having no stigmatizing attitude towards HIV positive person, urban residents, having HIV related knowledge, information about family planning on mass media and knowing a place where to get testing for HIV showed an increased patterns with respect to HIV testing. Conclusion and Recommendation: Public health interventions should consider the identified determinants to promote people to get testing for HIV.

Keywords: data mining, HIV, testing, ethiopia

Procedia PDF Downloads 496

Authors: Wafaa M. El- Kotb, Soheir Mohamed Weheida, Manal E. Fareed

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of implementing a teaching module about diet and exercises on clinical outcomes of patients with gout. Subjects: A purposive sample of 60 adult gouty patients was selected and randomly and alternatively divided into two equal groups 30 patients in each. Setting: The study was conducted in orthopedic out patient's clinic of Menoufia University. Tools of the study: Three tools were utilized for data collection: Knowledge assessment structured interview questionnaire, Clinical manifestation assessment tools and Nutritional assessment sheet. Results: All patients of both groups (100 %) had poor total knowledge score pre teaching, while 90 % of the study group had good total knowledge score post teaching by three months compared to 3.3 % of the control group. Moreover the recovery outcomes were significantly improved among study group compared to control group post teaching. Conclusion: Teaching study group about diet and exercises significantly improved their clinical outcomes. Recommendation: Patient's education about diet and exercises should be ongoing process for patients with gout.

Keywords: clinical outcomes, diet, exercises, teaching module

Procedia PDF Downloads 346

Authors: Natalia Alonso-Alberca, Ana I. Vergara

Abstract:

From the very first years of their life, children are confronted with situations in which they need to deal with emotions. The family provides the first emotional experiences, and it is in the family context that children usually take their first steps towards acquiring emotion knowledge. Parents play a key role in this important task, helping their children develop emotional skills that they will need in challenging situations throughout their lives. Specifically, mothers are models imitated by their children. They create specific spatial and temporal contexts in which children learn about emotions, their causes, consequences, and complexity. This occurs not only through what mothers say or do directly to the child. Rather, it occurs, to a large extent, through the example that they set using their own emotional skills. The aim of the current study was to analyze how maternal abilities to perceive and to manage emotions influence children’s emotion knowledge, specifically, their emotion situation knowledge, taking into account the role played by the mother’s personality, the time spent together, and controlling the effect of age, sex and the child’s verbal abilities. Participants were 153 children from 4 schools in Spain, and their mothers. Children (41.8% girls)age range was 35 - 72 months. Mothers (N = 140) age (M = 38.7; R = 27-49). Twelve mothers had more than one child participating in the study. Main variables were the child´s emotion situation knowledge (ESK), measured by the Emotion Matching Task (EMT), and receptive language, using the Picture Vocabulary Test. Also, their mothers´ Emotional Intelligence (EI), through the Mayer, Salovey, Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) and personality, with The Big Five Inventory were analyzed. The results showed that the predictive power of maternal emotional skills on ESK was moderated by the mother’s personality, affecting both the direction and size of the relationships detected: low neuroticism and low openness to experience lead to a positive influence of maternal EI on children’s ESK, while high levels in these personality dimensions resulted in a negative influence on child´s ESK. The time that the mother and the child spend together was revealed as a positive predictor of this EK, while it did not moderate the influence of the mother's EI on child’s ESK. In light of the results, we can infer that maternal EI is linked to children’s emotional skills, though high level of maternal EI does not necessarily predict a greater degree of emotionknowledge in children, which seems rather to depend on specific personality profiles. The results of the current study indicate that a good level of maternal EI does not guarantee that children will learn the emotional skills that foster prosocial adaptation. Rather, EI must be accompanied by certain psychological characteristics (personality traits in this case).

Keywords: emotional intelligence, emotion situation knowledge, mothers, personality, young children

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Muhammad Atif, Cang Yan

Abstract:

The enhancement of low-light images is a significant area of study aimed at enhancing the quality of captured images in challenging lighting environments. Recently, methods based on convolutional neural networks (CNN) have gained prominence as they offer state-of-the-art performance. However, many approaches based on CNN rely on increasing the size and complexity of the neural network. In this study, we propose an alternative method for improving low-light images using an autoencoder-based multiscale knowledge transfer model. Our method leverages the power of three autoencoders, where the encoders of the first two autoencoders are directly connected to the decoder of the third autoencoder. Additionally, the decoder of the first two autoencoders is connected to the encoder of the third autoencoder. This architecture enables effective knowledge transfer, allowing the third autoencoder to learn and benefit from the enhanced knowledge extracted by the first two autoencoders. We further integrate the proposed model into the PIX to PIX GAN framework. By integrating our proposed model as the generator in the GAN framework, we aim to produce enhanced images that not only exhibit improved visual quality but also possess a more authentic and realistic appearance. These experimental results, both qualitative and quantitative, show that our method is better than the state-of-the-art methodologies.

Keywords: low light image enhancement, deep learning, convolutional neural network, image processing

Procedia PDF Downloads 80

Authors: Fardis Teifoori, Mehdi Dehghani, Idoia Postigo, Jorge Martinez

Abstract:

Introduction: Many skin disorders, such as atopic dermatitis (AD), is characterized by inflammation, infection, and hyperplasia. In this work, keratinocytes from AD patients are used to study the pomegranate seed oil properties for skin care. Material and methods: Isolated keratinocytes from patients with AD were cultured and stimulated by IL-9 (20 ng/ml) and TNF-α (50ng/ml) for 48h to induce vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and Regulated upon activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) production, respectively, in the presence of different concentrations of pomegranate seed oil (20, 50, 100, and 200 µM). Finally, the concentrations of RANTES and VEGF in the cell culture supernatant were quantified according to the standard protocol of commercial ELISA kits. Results: The results indicated that pomegranate seed oil concentrations of 50, 100, and 200 µM could significantly inhibit the production of VEGF and RANTES by stimulating keratinocytes with IL-9 (20 ng/ml) and TNF-α (50ng/ml), respectively. The decrease in VEGF and RANTES concentration in the presence of the pomegranate seed oil concentrations of 20 and 50 uM was not significant. Conclusion: It was concluded that pomegranate seed oil (PSO) counteracts atopic dermatitis conditions dose-dependently: with the highest effect at the concentration of 200 µM. We suggest that the inexpensive and easily available pomegranate seed oil is a good candidate for cosmetics and clinical utilization for skin care.

Keywords: atopic dermatitis, pomegranate, Punica granatum, RANTES, VEGF

Procedia PDF Downloads 79

Authors: Zahra Salehi Shahrbabaki, Zahra Chavoshzadeh, Fahimeh Abdollahimajd, Samin Sharafian, Tolue Mahdavi, Mahnaz Jamee

Abstract:

Background: Inborn errors of immunity (IEIs) are monogenic diseases of the immune the system with broad clinical manifestations. Despite the increasing genetic advancements, the diagnosis of IEIs still leans on clinical diagnosis. Dermatologic manifestations are observed in a large number of IEI patients and can lead to proper approach, prompt intervention and improved prognosis. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out between 2018 and 2020 on IEIs at a Children's tertiary care center in Tehran, Iran. Demographic details (including age, sex, and parental consanguinity), age at onset of symptoms and family history of IEI with were recorded. Results :212 patients were included. Cutaneous findings were reported in (95 ,44.8%) patients. and 61 of 95 (64.2%) reported skin lesions as the first clinical presentation. Skin infection (69, 72.6%) was the most frequent cutaneous manifestation, followed by an eczematous rash (24, 25 %). Conclusions: Skin manifestations are common feature in IEI patients and can be readily recognizable by healthcare providers. This study tried to provide information on prognostic consequences.

Keywords: primary immuno deficiency, inborn errror of metabolism, skin manifestation, skin infection

Procedia PDF Downloads 96

Authors: N. M. Sani, I. Bitrus, A. M. Sarki, N. S. Mujahid

Abstract:

Hepatitis is one of the neglected infectious diseases in sub Saharan Africa, and most of the available data is based on blood donors. Health care workers (HCWs) often get infected as a result of their close contact with patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B and C among this group of professionals with a view to improving the quality of care to their patients. Hepatitis B and C infections pose a major public health problem worldwide. While infection is highest in the developing world particularly Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, healthcare workers are at higher risk of acquiring blood-borne viral infections, particularly Hepatitis B and C which are mostly asymptomatic. This study was aimed at determining the prevalence of Hepatitis B and C infections and associated risk factors among health care workers in Dutse Metropolis, Jigawa State - Nigeria. A standard rapid immuno-chromatographic technique i.e. rapid ELISA was used to screen all sera for Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and Hepatitis C viral antibody (HCVAb) respectively. Strips containing coated antibodies and antigens to HBV and HCV respectively were removed from the foil. Strips were labeled according to samples. Using a separate disposable pipette, 2 drops of the sample (plasma) were added into each test strip and allowed to run across the absorbent pad. Results were read after 15 minutes. The prevalence of HBV and HCV infection in 100 healthcare workers was determined by testing the plasma collected from the clients during their normal checkup using HBsAg and HCVAb test strips. Results were subjected to statistical analysis using chi-square test. The prevalence of HBV among HCWs was 19 out of 100 (19.0%) and that of HCV was 5 out of 100 (5.0%) where in both cases, higher prevalence was observed among female nurses. It was also observed that all HCV positive cases were recorded among nurses only. The study revealed that nurses are at greater risk of contracting HBV and HCV due to their frequent contact with patients. It is therefore recommended that effective vaccination and other infection control measures be encouraged among healthcare workers.

Keywords: prevalence, hepatitis, viruses, healthcare workers, infection

Procedia PDF Downloads 361

Authors: Samira Humaira Habib

Abstract:

Diabetes has profound effects on individuals and their families. If diabetes is not well monitored and managed, then it leads to long-term complications and a large and growing cost to the health care system. Prevalence and socioeconomic burden of diabetes and relative return of investment for the elimination or the reduction of the burden are much more important regarding its cost burden. Various studies regarding the socioeconomic cost burden of diabetes are well explored in developed countries but almost absent in developing countries like Bangladesh. The main objective of the study is to estimate the total socioeconomic burden of diabetes. It is a prospective longitudinal follow up study which is analytical in nature. Primary and secondary data are collected from patients who are undergoing treatment for diabetes at the out-patient department of Bangladesh Institute of Research & Rehabilitation in Diabetes, Endocrine & Metabolic Disorders (BIRDEM). Of the 2115 diabetic subjects, females constitute around 50.35% of the study subject, and the rest are male (49.65%). Among the subjects, 1323 are controlled, and 792 are uncontrolled diabetes. Cost analysis of 2115 diabetic patients shows that the total cost of diabetes management and treatment is US$ 903018 with an average of US$ 426.95 per patient. In direct cost, the investigation and medical treatment at hospital along with investigation constitute most of the cost in diabetes. The average cost of a hospital is US$ 311.79, which indicates an alarming warn for diabetic patients. The indirect cost shows that cost of productivity loss (US$ 51110.1) is higher among the all indirect item. All constitute total indirect cost as US$ 69215.7. The incremental cost of intensive management of uncontrolled diabetes is US$ 101.54 per patient and event-free time gained in this group is 0.55 years and the life years gain is 1.19 years. The incremental cost per event-free year gained is US$ 198.12. The incremental cost of intensive management of the controlled group is US$ 89.54 per patient and event-free time gained is 0.68 years, and the life year gain is 1.12 years. The incremental cost per event-free year gained is US$ 223.34. The EuroQoL difference between the groups is found to be 64.04. The cost-effective ratio is found to be US$ 1.64 cost per effect in case of controlled diabetes and US$ 1.69 cost per effect in case of uncontrolled diabetes. So management of diabetes is much more cost-effective. Cost of young type 1 diabetic patient showed upper socioeconomic class, and with the increase of the duration of diabetes, the cost increased also. The dietary pattern showed macronutrients intake and cost are significantly higher in the uncontrolled group than their counterparts. Proper management and control of diabetes can decrease the cost of care for the long term.

Keywords: cost, cost-effective, chronic diseases, diabetes care, burden, Bangladesh

Procedia PDF Downloads 147

Authors: Christiana Gauci-Sciberras

Abstract:

The first language (L1) could be used in foreign language teaching and learning as a pedagogical tool to scaffold new knowledge in the target language (TL) upon linguistic knowledge that the learner already has. In a bilingual context, code-switching between the two languages usually occurs in classrooms. One of the reasons for code-switching is because both languages are used for scaffolding new knowledge. This research paper aims to find out why both the L1 (Maltese) and the L2 (English) are used in the classroom of Mandarin Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) in the bilingual context of Malta. This research paper also aims to find out the learners’ perceptions of the use of a bilingual medium of instruction. Two research methods were used to collect qualitative data; semi-structured interviews with adult learners of Mandarin Chinese and lesson observations. These two research methods were used so that the data collected in the interviews would be triangulated with data collected in lesson observations. The L1 (Maltese) is the language of instruction mostly used. The teacher and the learners switch to the L2 (English) or to any other foreign language according to the need at a particular instance during the lesson.

Keywords: Chinese, bilingual, pedagogical purpose of L1 and L2, CFL acquisition

Procedia PDF Downloads 201

Authors: Emna Benmohamed, Hela Ltifi, Mounir Ben Ayed

Abstract:

Bayesian Network (BN) is one of the most efficient classification methods. It is widely used in several fields (i.e., medical diagnostics, risk analysis, bioinformatics research). The BN is defined as a probabilistic graphical model that represents a formalism for reasoning under uncertainty. This classification method has a high-performance rate in the extraction of new knowledge from data. The construction of this model consists of two phases for structure learning and parameter learning. For solving this problem, the K2 algorithm is one of the representative data-driven algorithms, which is based on score and search approach. In addition, the integration of the expert's knowledge in the structure learning process allows the obtainment of the highest accuracy. In this paper, we propose a hybrid approach combining the improvement of the K2 algorithm called K2 algorithm for Parents and Children search (K2PC) and the expert-driven method for learning the structure of BN. The evaluation of the experimental results, using the well-known benchmarks, proves that our K2PC algorithm has better performance in terms of correct structure detection. The real application of our model shows its efficiency in the analysis of the phosphate laundry effluents' impact on the watershed in the Gafsa area (southwestern Tunisia).

Keywords: Bayesian network, classification, expert knowledge, structure learning, surface water analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Jacqueline A. G. Sachett, Cláudia S. Nogueira, Diana C. P. Lima, Jessica T. S. Oliveira, Guilherme K. M. Salazar, Lílian K. Aguiar

Abstract:

The Polo Amazon Telehealth offers several tools for professionals working in Primary Health Care as a second formative opinion, teleconsulting and training between the different areas, whether medicine, dentistry, nursing, physiotherapy, among others. These activities have a monthly schedule of free access to the municipalities of Amazonas registered. With this premise, and in partnership with the University of the State of Amazonas (UEA), is promoting the practice of the triad; teaching-research-extension in order to collaborate with the enrichment and acquisition of knowledge through educational practices carried out through teleconferences. Therefore, nursing is to join efforts and inserts as a collaborator of this project running, contributing to the education and training of these professionals who are part of the health system in full Amazon. The aim of this study is to report the experience of academic of Amazonas State University nursing course, about the experience in the extension project underway in Polo Telemedicine Amazon. This was a descriptive study, the experience report type, about the experience of nursing academic UEA, by extension 'Telenursing: teleconsulting and second formative opinion for FHS professionals in the state of Amazonas' project, held in Polo Telemedicine Amazon, through an agreement with the UEA and funded by the Foundation of Amazonas Research from July / 2012 to July / 2016. Initially developed active search of members of the Family Health Strategy professionals, in order to provide training and training teams to use the virtual clinic, as well as the virtual environment is the focus of this tool design. The election period was an aggravating factor for the implementation of teleconsulting proposal, due to change of managers in each municipality, requiring the stoppage until they assume their positions. From this definition, we established the need for new training. The first video conference took place on 03.14.2013 for learning and training in the use of Virtual Learning Environment and Virtual Clinic, with the participation of municipalities of Novo Aripuanã, São Paulo de Olivença and Manacapuru. During the whole project was carried out literature about what is being done and produced at the national level about the subject. By the time the telenursing project has received twenty-five (25) consultancy requests. The consultants sent by nursing professionals, all have been answered to date. Faced with the lived experience, particularly in video conferencing, face to cause difficulties issues, such as the fluctuation in the number of participants in activities, difficulty of participants to reconcile the opening hours of the units with the schedule of video conferencing, transmission difficulties and changes schedule. It was concluded that the establishment of connection between the Telehealth points is one of the main factors for the implementation of Telenursing and that this feature is still new for nursing. However, effective training and updating, may provide to these professional category subsidies to quality health care in the Amazon.

Keywords: Amazon, teleconsulting, telehealth, telenursing

Procedia PDF Downloads 310

Authors: Vera Ofori Akomah

Abstract:

There is no society without language. In football, language serves as a tool for communication. The football language and meaning of activities are largely revealed through the utterances of football commentators. The linguistic subfield of pragmatics is related to the study of meaning. Pragmatics shows that the interpretation of utterances not only depends on linguistic knowledge but also depends on knowledge about the context of the utterance, knowledge about the status of those involved such as the intent of the speaker, the place, and time of the utterance. Pragmatics analysis comes in several forms and one of such is Deixis. In football commentating, commentators often use deitic expressions in building utterances. The researcher intends to analyse deixis contained in three selected football commentaries through the use of Levinson’s deixis theory. This research is a qualitative study with content analysis as its method. This is because this study focuses on deitic expressions in football commentaries. The data of this study are utterances from English commentaries from 2016 El Classico match between Barcelona and Real Madrid, 2018 FIFA World Cup: Portugal vs Spain and 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier: Ghana v Nigeria. The result of the study reveals that there are five kinds of deixis which are person deixis (divided into three: the first person, the second person and the third person), place deixis, time deixis, discourse deixis and social deixis.

Keywords: pragmatics analysis, football commentary, deixis, types of deixis

Procedia PDF Downloads 27

Authors: Aidan N. Smallwood, Celestine R. Weegenaar, Jack N. Evans

Abstract:

The intensive care unit (ICU) is a particularly resource heavy environment, in terms of staff, drugs and equipment required. Whilst many areas of the hospital are attempting to cut down on plastic use and minimise their impact on the environment, this has proven challenging within the confines of intensive care. Concurrently, as globalization has progressed over recent decades, there has been a tendency towards centralised manufacturing with international distribution networks for products, often covering large distances. In this study, we have modelled the standard consumption of plastic single-use items over the course of the first 24-hours of an average individual patient’s stay in a 12 bed ICU in the United Kingdom (UK). We have identified the country of manufacture and calculated the minimum possible distance travelled by each item from factory to patient. We have assumed direct transport via the shortest possible straight line from country of origin to the UK and have not accounted for transport within either country. Assuming an intubated patient with invasive haemodynamic monitoring and central venous access, there are a total of 52 distincts, largely plastic, disposable products which would reasonably be required in the first 24-hours after admission. Each product type has only been counted once to account for multiple items being shipped as one package. Travel distances from origin were summed to give the total distance combined for all 52 products. The minimum possible total distance travelled from country of origin to the UK for all types of product was 273,353 km, equivalent to 6.82 circumnavigations of the globe, or 71% of the way to the moon. The mean distance travelled was 5,256 km, approximately the distance from London to Mecca. With individual packaging for each item, the total weight of consumed products was 4.121 kg. The CO2 produced shipping these items by air freight would equate to 30.1 kg, however doing the same by sea would produce 0.2 kg CO2. Extrapolating these results to the 211,932 UK annual ICU admissions (2018-2019), even with the underestimates of distance and weight of our assumptions, air freight would account for 6586 tons CO2 emitted annually, approximately 130 times that of sea freight. Given the drive towards cost saving within the UK health service, and the decline of the local manufacturing industry, buying from intercontinental manufacturers is inevitable However, transporting all consumables by sea where feasible would be environmentally beneficial, as well as being less costly than air freight. At present, the NHS supply chain purchases from medical device companies, and there is no freely available information as to the transport mode used to deliver the product to the UK. This must be made available to purchasers in order to give a fuller picture of life cycle impact and allow for informed decision making in this regard.

Keywords: CO2, intensive care, plastic, transport

Procedia PDF Downloads 178

Authors: D. Osborn, L. Easthope

Abstract:

The increasing threat of ‘marauding terror,' utilising improvised explosive devices and firearms, has focused the attention of policy makers and emergency responders once again on the treatment of the critically injured patient in a highly volatile scenario. Whilst there have been significant improvements made in the response and lessons learned from recent disasters in the international disaster community there still remain areas of uncertainty and a lack of clarity in the care of the critically injured. This innovative, longitudinal study has at its heart the aim of using ethnographic methods to ‘slow down’ the journey such patients will take and make visible the ethical complexities that 2017 technologies, expectations and over a decade of improved combat medicine techniques have brought. The primary researcher, previously employed in the hospital emergency management environment, has closely followed responders as they managed casualties with life-threatening injuries. Ethnographic observation of Exercise Unified Response in March 2016, exposed the ethical and legal 'vacuums' within a mass casualty and fatality setting, specifically the extrication, treatment and care of critically injured patients from crushed and overturned train carriages. This article highlights a gap in the debate, evaluation, planning and response to an incident of this nature specifically the incapacitated, unidentified patients and the ethics of submitting them to the invasive ‘Disaster Victim Identification’ process. Using a qualitative ethnographic analysis, triangulating observation, interviews and documentation, this analysis explores the gaps and highlights the next stages in the researcher’s pathway as she continues to explore with emergency practitioners some of this century’s most difficult questions in relation to the medico-legal and ethical challenges faced by emergency services in the wake of new and emerging threats and medical treatment expectations.

Keywords: ethics, disaster, Disaster Victim Identification (DVI), legality, unidentified

Procedia PDF Downloads 192

Authors: Xinyuan Chen, Mohd Nizam Husen, Zhongmei Zhou, Gongde Guo, Wei Gao

Abstract:

Temporal Knowledge Graph Completion (TKGC) has attracted increasing attention for its enormous value; however, existing models lack capabilities to capture both local interactions and global dependencies simultaneously with evolutionary dynamics, while the latest achievements in convolutions and Transformers haven't been employed in this area. What’s more, periodic patterns in TKGs haven’t been fully explored either. To this end, a multi-stage hybrid architecture with convolution-backed Transformers is introduced in TKGC tasks for the first time combining the Hawkes process to model evolving event sequences in a continuous-time domain. In addition, the seasonal-trend decomposition is adopted to identify periodic patterns. Experiments on six public datasets are conducted to verify model effectiveness against state-of-the-art (SOTA) methods. An extensive ablation study is carried out accordingly to evaluate architecture variants as well as the contributions of independent components in addition, paving the way for further potential exploitation. Besides complexity analysis, input sensitivity and safety challenges are also thoroughly discussed for comprehensiveness with novel methods.

Keywords: temporal knowledge graph completion, convolution, transformer, Hawkes process, periodicity

Procedia PDF Downloads 78

Authors: Anandita Mitro, Archana Srivastava, Bidisha Banerjee

Abstract:

The present paper attempts to analyze the hierarchy and interconnection of factors responsible for the uptake of BCG vaccination in India. The study uses National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) data which was conducted during 2019-21. The univariate logistic regression method is used to understand the univariate effects while the interconnection effects have been studied using the Categorical Inference Tree (CIT) which is a non-parametric Machine Learning (ML) model. The hierarchy of the factors is further established using Conditional Inference Forest which is an extension of the CIT approach. The results suggest that BCG vaccination coverage was influenced more by system-level factors and awareness than education or socio-economic status. Factors such as place of delivery, antenatal care, and postnatal care were crucial, with variations based on delivery location. Region-specific differences were also observed which could be explained by the factors. Awareness of the disease was less impactful along with the factor of wealth and urban or rural residence, although awareness did appear to substitute for inadequate ANC. Thus, from the policy point of view, it is revealed that certain subpopulations have less prevalence of vaccination which implies that there is a need for population-specific policy action to achieve a hundred percent coverage.

Keywords: vaccination, NFHS, machine learning, public health

Procedia PDF Downloads 59

Authors: Charlotte Bach, Albrecht Jahn, Mahnaz Motamedi, Maryam Karimi-Ghahfarokhi

Abstract:

Background: Maternal and infant deaths are most prevalent in the first month after birth, emphasizing the critical need for quality healthcare services during this period. Immigrant women, who are more susceptible to adverse pregnancy outcomes, often face neglect in accessing proper healthcare. The lack of adequate postpartum care significantly contributes to mortality rates. Therefore, utilizing maternal health care services and implementing postpartum care is crucial in reducing maternal and child mortality. Aims: This study aims to evaluate the assessment of pre- and postnatal care among women with and without migration background. In addition, the study explores the impact of COVID-19 procedures on women's experiences during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. Methods: This research employs a cross-sectional Mixed-Method design. Data collection was facilitated through structured questionnaires administered to participants, alongside the utilization of patient bases, including Maternity and child medical records. Following the assumption that the investigator aimed to gain comprehensive insights, qualitative sampling focused on individuals with substantial experiences related to COVID-19, regarded as rich cases. Results: our study highlighted the influence of educational level, marital status, and consensual partnerships on the likelihood of Cesarean deliveries. Regarding breastfeeding practices, migrant women exhibited higher rates of breastfeeding initiation and continuation. Contraception utilization revealed interesting patterns, with non-migrants displaying higher odds of contraceptive use. The qualitative component of our research adds depth to the exploration of women's experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing nuanced challenges related to anxiety, hospital restrictions, breastfeeding support, and postnatal ward routines. Conclusion: Dissimilarity among studies toward cesarean rate between migrants and non-migrants underscores the importance of targeted interventions considering the diverse needs of distinct population groups. It also acknowledges potential cultural, contextual, and healthcare system influences on the association between mode of delivery and infant feeding practices. Studies acknowledge the influence of contextual variables on contraceptive preferences among migrants and non-migrants, emphasizing the need for tailored healthcare policies. The findings contribute to existing research, highlighting the need for a nuanced understanding of the impact of birth preparation courses on maternal and infant outcomes. Furthermore, they emphasize the universality of certain maternity care experiences, regardless of pandemic contexts, reinforcing the importance of patient-centred approaches in healthcare delivery.

Keywords: migration background, pregnancy outcome, covid-19, postpartum

Procedia PDF Downloads 55

Authors: Nasreen Abdulmannan

Abstract:

Fetal abnormalities are categorized as a structural abnormality, non-structural abnormality, or a combination of both. Fetal structural abnormalities (FSA) include, but are not limited, to Down syndrome, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, and cleft lip and palate. These abnormalities can be detected in the first weeks of pregnancy, which is almost around 9 - 20 weeks gestational. Etiological factors for FSA are unknown; however, transmitted genetic risk can be one of these factors. Consanguineous marriage often referred to as inbreeding, represents a significant risk factor for FSA due to the increased likelihood of deleterious genetic traits shared by both biological parents. In a country such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), consanguineous marriage is high, which creates a significant risk of children being born with congenital abnormalities. Historically, the practice of consanguinity occurred commonly among European royalty. For example, Great Britain’s Queen Victoria married her German first cousin, Prince Albert of Coburg. Although a distant blood relationship, the United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth II married her cousin, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark—both of them direct descendants of Queen Victoria. In Middle Eastern countries, a high incidence of consanguineous unions still exists, including in the KSA. Previous studies indicated that a significant gap exists in understanding the lived experiences of Saudi women dealing with an FSA-complicated pregnancy. Eleven participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview format for this qualitative phenomenological study investigating the lived experiences of pregnant Saudi women carrying a child with FSA. This study explored the gaps in current literature regarding the lived experiences of pregnant Saudi women whose pregnancies were complicated by FSA. In addition, the researcher acquired knowledge about the available support and resources as well as the Saudi cultural perspective on FSA. This research explored the lived experiences of pregnant Saudi women utilizing Giorgi’s (2009) approach to data collection and data management. Findings for this study cover five major themes: (1) initial maternal reaction to the FSA diagnosis per ultrasound screening; (2) strengthening of the maternal relationship with God; (3) maternal concern for their child’s future; (4) feeling supported by their loved ones; and (5) lack of healthcare provider support and guidance. Future research in the KSA is needed to explore the network support for these mothers. This study recommended further clinical nursing research, nursing education, clinical practice, and healthcare policy/procedures to provide opportunities for improvement in nursing care and increase awareness in KSA society.

Keywords: fetal structural abnormalities, psychological distress, health provider, health care

Procedia PDF Downloads 155

Authors: Kunyanuth Kularbphettong, Cholticha Tongsiri

Abstract:

This paper aims to create the model for student in choosing an emphasized track of student majoring in computer science at Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. The objective of this research is to develop the suggested system using data mining technique to analyze knowledge and conduct decision rules. Such relationships can be used to demonstrate the reasonableness of student choosing a track as well as to support his/her decision and the system is verified by experts in the field. The sampling is from student of computer science based on the system and the questionnaire to see the satisfaction. The system result is found to be satisfactory by both experts and student as well.

Keywords: data mining technique, the decision support system, knowledge and decision rules, education

Procedia PDF Downloads 423

Authors: Duane Booysen, Ashraf Kagee

Abstract:

There is a high prevalence of violent crime and trauma exposure in South African society. Considering the prevalence of continuous violent crimes and traumatization in South Africa, the public mental health sector is required to combat the burgeoning effect of traumatic stress in South Africa. Trauma counselors, especially, provide important mental health services at primary health care to persons affected by traumatic events. Therefore, the evaluation and implementation of evidence-based trauma therapies is essential at a primary health care level in treating traumatic stress. A single-case design was used to evaluate the treatment effect of a Brief Trauma Treatment Programme treating persons who present with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder at a primary care trauma centre in Cape Town, South Africa. The sample consisted of six adult participants who presented with symptoms of posttraumatic stress and were assessed at baseline, during treatment, post-intervention and at 3-month follow. All participants received six sessions of trauma therapy. Assessment measures included the posttraumatic stress disorder symptom scale interviews for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual fifth edition (DSM5), the posttraumatic disorder checklist for DSM5, Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory. Results demonstrate that participants had noticeable reduced symptoms for traumatic stress, anxiety and depression despite living in contexts of violent crime and trauma. In conclusion, the article critically reflects on the need to evaluate and implement evidence-based treatments for the South African context, and how evidence-based treatments are used in developing socio-economic and cultural diverse contexts with continuous levels of violence and traumatization.

Keywords: psychological interventions, public mental health, traumatic stress, single-case design

Procedia PDF Downloads 155