Search results for: obstacles to healthcare accessibility

Authors: Ru-Yu Lien, Shih-Hsin Hung, Shu-Fen Lu, Ju-Jen Shie, Wen-Ju Yang, Yuann-Meei Tzeng, Chien-Ying Wang

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Background: The quality of care in intensive care units (ICUs) is crucial, especially for terminally ill patients. Shared decision-making (SDM) with families is essential to ensure appropriate care and reduce suffering. Aim: This study explores the effectiveness of an end-of-life decision support Patient Decision Aid (PDA) in an ICU setting. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional research design conducted in an ICU from August 2020 to June 2023. Participants included family members of end-of-life patients aged 20 or older. A total of 319 participants. Family members of end-of-life patients received the PDA, and data were collected after they made medical decisions. Data collection involved providing family members with a PDA during family meetings. A post-PDA questionnaire with 17 questions assessed PDA effectiveness and anxiety levels. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 22.0. Results: The PDA significantly reduced anxiety levels among family members (p < 0.001). It helped them organize their thoughts, prepare for discussions with doctors, and understand critical decision factors. Most importantly, it influenced decision outcomes, with a shift towards palliative care and withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment. Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of family-centered end-of-life care in ICUs. PDAs promote informed decision-making, reduce conflicts, and enhance patient and family involvement. These tools align patient values and goals with medical recommendations, ultimately leading to decisions that prioritize comfort and quality of life. Implementing PDAs in healthcare systems can ensure that patients' care aligns with their values.

Keywords: shared decision-making, patient decision aid, end-of-life care, intensive care unit, family-centered care

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Authors: Abdulaziz Bashir Kutawa, Khairulmazmi Ahmad, Mohd Zobir Hussein, Asgar Ali, Mohd Aswad Abdul Wahab, Amara Rafi, Mahesh Tiran Gunasena, Muhammad Ziaur Rahman, Md Imam Hossain, Syazwan Afif Mohd Zobir

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Various abiotic and biotic stresses have an impact on rice production all around the world. The most serious and prevalent disease in rice plants, known as rice blast, is one of the major obstacles to the production of rice. It is one of the diseases that has the greatest negative effects on rice farming globally, the disease is caused by a fungus called Magnaporthe grisae. Since nanoparticles were shown to have an inhibitory impact on certain types of fungus, nanotechnology is a novel notion to enhance agriculture by battling plant diseases. Utilizing nanocarrier systems enables the active chemicals to be absorbed, attached, and encapsulated to produce efficient nanodelivery formulations. The objectives of this research work were to determine the efficacy and mode of action of the nanofungicides (in-vitro) and in field conditions (in-vivo). Ionic gelation method was used in the development of the nanofungicides. Using the poisoned media method, the synthesized agronanofungicides' in-vitro antifungal activity was assessed against M. grisae. The potato dextrose agar (PDA) was amended in several concentrations; 0.001, 0.005, 0.01, 0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25, 0.30, and 0.35 ppm for the nanofungicides. Medium with the only solvent served as a control. Every day, mycelial growth was measured, and PIRG (percentage inhibition of radial growth) was also computed. Every day, mycelial growth was measured, and PIRG (percentage inhibition of radial growth) was also computed. Based on the results of the zone of inhibition, the chitosan-hexaconazole agronanofungicide (2g/mL) was the most effective fungicide to inhibit the growth of the fungus with 100% inhibition at 0.2, 0.25, 0.30, and 0.35 ppm, respectively. Then followed by carbendazim analytical fungicide that inhibited the growth of the fungus (100%) at 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 ppm, respectively. The least were found to be propiconazole and basamid fungicides with 100% inhibition only at 100 ppm. The scanning electron microscope (SEM), confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were used to study the mechanisms of action of the M. grisae fungal cells. The results showed that both carbendazim, chitosan-hexaconazole, and HXE were found to be the most effective fungicides in disrupting the mycelia of the fungus, and internal structures of the fungal cells. The results of the field assessment showed that the CHDEN treatment (5g/L, double dosage) was found to be the most effective fungicide to reduce the intensity of the rice blast disease with DSI of 17.56%, lesion length (0.43 cm), DR of 82.44%, AUDPC of 260.54 Unit2, and PI of 65.33%, respectively. The least treatment was found to be chitosan-hexaconazole-dazomet (2.5g/L, MIC). The usage of CHDEN and CHEN nanofungicides will significantly assist in lessening the severity of rice blast in the fields, increasing output and profit for rice farmers.

Keywords: chitosan, hexaconazole, disease incidence, and magnaporthe grisae

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Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh

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Earthquakes are natural disasters that pose a significant risk to human life and infrastructure. Effective earthquake mitigation measures require a thorough understanding of the dynamics of seismic occurrences, including thrust movement. Traditionally, estimating thrust movement has relied on typical techniques that may not capture the full complexity of these events. Therefore, investigating alternative approaches, such as incorporating out-of-sequence thrust movement data, could enhance earthquake mitigation strategies. This review aims to provide an overview of the applications of out-of-sequence thrust movement in earthquake mitigation. By examining existing research and studies, the objective is to understand how precise estimation of thrust movement can contribute to improving structural design, analyzing infrastructure risk, and developing early warning systems. The study demonstrates how to estimate out-of-sequence thrust movement using multiple data sources, including GPS measurements, satellite imagery, and seismic recordings. By analyzing and synthesizing these diverse datasets, researchers can gain a more comprehensive understanding of thrust movement dynamics during seismic occurrences. The review identifies potential advantages of incorporating out-of-sequence data in earthquake mitigation techniques. These include improving the efficiency of structural design, enhancing infrastructure risk analysis, and developing more accurate early warning systems. By considering out-of-sequence thrust movement estimates, researchers and policymakers can make informed decisions to mitigate the impact of earthquakes. This study contributes to the field of seismic monitoring and earthquake risk assessment by highlighting the benefits of incorporating out-of-sequence thrust movement data. By broadening the scope of analysis beyond traditional techniques, researchers can enhance their knowledge of earthquake dynamics and improve the effectiveness of mitigation measures. The study collects data from various sources, including GPS measurements, satellite imagery, and seismic recordings. These datasets are then analyzed using appropriate statistical and computational techniques to estimate out-of-sequence thrust movement. The review integrates findings from multiple studies to provide a comprehensive assessment of the topic. The study concludes that incorporating out-of-sequence thrust movement data can significantly enhance earthquake mitigation measures. By utilizing diverse data sources, researchers and policymakers can gain a more comprehensive understanding of seismic dynamics and make informed decisions. However, challenges exist, such as data quality difficulties, modelling uncertainties, and computational complications. To address these obstacles and improve the accuracy of estimates, further research and advancements in methodology are recommended. Overall, this review serves as a valuable resource for researchers, engineers, and policymakers involved in earthquake mitigation, as it encourages the development of innovative strategies based on a better understanding of thrust movement dynamics.

Keywords: earthquake, out-of-sequence thrust, disaster, human life

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Authors: Susan Diamond

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Machine Learning workloads have traditionally been run in high-performance computing (HPC) environments, where users log in to dedicated machines and utilize the attached GPUs to run training jobs on huge datasets. Training of large neural network models is very resource intensive, and even after exploiting parallelism and accelerators such as GPUs, a single training job can still take days. Consequently, the cost of hardware is a barrier to entry. Even when upfront cost is not a concern, the lead time to set up such an HPC environment takes months from acquiring hardware to set up the hardware with the right set of firmware, software installed and configured. Furthermore, scalability is hard to achieve in a rigid traditional lab environment. Therefore, it is slow to react to the dynamic change in the artificial intelligent industry. Watson Deep Learning as a service, a cloud-based deep learning platform that mitigates the long lead time and high upfront investment in hardware. It enables robust and scalable sharing of resources among the teams in an organization. It is designed for on-demand cloud environments. Providing a similar user experience in a multi-tenant cloud environment comes with its own unique challenges regarding fault tolerance, performance, and security. Watson Deep Learning as a service tackles these challenges and present a deep learning stack for the cloud environments in a secure, scalable and fault-tolerant manner. It supports a wide range of deep-learning frameworks such as Tensorflow, PyTorch, Caffe, Torch, Theano, and MXNet etc. These frameworks reduce the effort and skillset required to design, train, and use deep learning models. Deep Learning as a service is used at IBM by AI researchers in areas including machine translation, computer vision, and healthcare. 

Keywords: deep learning, machine learning, cognitive computing, model training

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Authors: Chioma J. Nwakamma, Blessing O. Oyedemi, Garuba Omosun

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This research surveys and documents information on medicinal plants and their botanical preparations used in the treatment of children’s ailments in South-Eastern Nigeria. Children under the age of 5 in developing countries suffer from diseases with high morbidity and mortality rate yearly due to inaccessible and unaffordable healthcare. Structured questionnaires were administered to herbal sellers, traditional medicine practitioners, nursing mothers, and adult dwellers to collect data on the names of plants used to treat the conditions, methods of preparation, duration of treatment, adverse effects, and the methods of administration of the plant materials. A total of 135 plants belonging to 55 families were identified for the management of children’s health in the area. Common pediatric ailments which were said to be treated with herbal remedies by the respondents included malaria, pneumonia, stomach ache, diarrhea, dysentery, measles, chickenpox/smallpox, convulsion, jaundice, pile, ringworm, scabies, eczema, stubborn cough, scurvy, catarrh, wounds, boils, insect bites, food poison, cholera, and umbilical cord complications. Percentages of respondents were; herbal sellers (48.2%), traditional medical practitioners (21.6%), nursing mothers (11.1%), and others (19.1%). The most occurring plant families were Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, and Apocynaceae, with 8 species of plants each followed by Annonaceae and Asteriaceae with 7 and 6 species, respectively. The recipes were made from the combination of different parts of two or more plant species, and others were made from single plant parts. Methods of extraction were mostly decoction and raw-squeezing out of the juice and infusion, while oral administration was the main route of administration.

Keywords: ethno-botanicals, children’s health, medicinal plants, South-Eastern Nigeria

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Authors: Douglas Arthur, Oluwayemisi Ekor, Ernest Obese, Andrew Kissi Agyei, Elvis Ofori Ameyaw

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bjective: Pain negatively impacts every aspect of health, and patients with pain disorders create enormous demands on healthcare systems globally, costing economies up to $635 billion annually. The study was therefore conducted at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH), the only Tertiary Hospital in the Central Region of Ghana and was designed to assess pain disorders in patients between 18 and 90 years attending Urology Clinic. Methods: The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design, and 149 subjects (16-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-90 years) were conveniently selected. The McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), a multidimensional instrument that assesses several aspects of pain by the use of words (descriptors) that the patient chooses to express his/her pain, was used as the primary instrument for data collection. A patient profile form (PPF) was also designed to document the demographics and history of patients. Results: The prevalence of pain disorders was higher among females compared to males. The univariate and multivariate analysis showed that females were more likely to experience pain while being married correlated with a lower likelihood of pain. Again, the 45-54 age group exhibited the highest prevalence of pain disorders. Results from the MPQ showed that half of the patients experienced pain on a daily basis, 15.91% had experienced pain for 3-6 months and 37% experienced pain for more than one year. Pain intensity was described by 25% of the subjects as excruciating for their worst pain experience, followed by 21% for the distressing experience. The most frequently reported area of pain was the abdominal region (22.72%). The co-administration of NSAIDs and opioid compounds was provided for 17.46% of the patients with chronic pain. Conclusion: The treatment interventions improved the pain and associated symptoms such as nausea, improved daily activities and ability to sleep. However, attention and resources should be devoted to 45-54 age group.

Keywords: pain, opioids, distressing, excruciating

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Authors: Hannah Bigelow, Marcus D. Gottlieb, Michelle Ogrodnik, Jeffrey, D. Graham, Barbara Fenesi

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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders affecting approximately 6% of children worldwide. ADHD is characterized by a combination of persistent deficits including impaired inhibitory control, working memory and task-switching. Many children with ADHD also have comorbid mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. There are several treatment options to manage ADHD impairments, including drug and behavioural management therapy, but they all have drawbacks, such as worsening mood disturbances or being inaccessible to certain demographics. Both physical exercise and mindfulness meditation serve as alternative options to potentially help mitigate ADHD symptoms. Although there is extensive support for the benefits of long-term physical exercise or mindfulness meditation programs, there is insufficient research investigating how acute bouts (i.e., single, short bouts) can help children with ADHD. Thus, the current study aimed to understand how single, short bouts of exercise and mindfulness meditation impacts executive functioning and psycho-emotional well-being in children with ADHD, as well as to directly compare the efficacy of these two interventions. The study used a a pre- post-test, within-subjects design to assess the effects of a 10-minute bout of moderate intensity exercise versus a 10-minute bout of mindfulness meditation (versus 10 minutes of a reading control) on the executive functioning and psycho-emotional well-being of 16 children and youth with ADHD aged 10-14 (male=11; White=80%). Participants completed all three interventions: 10 minutes of exercise, 10 minutes of mindfulness meditation, and 10 minutes of reading (control). Executive functioning (inhibitory control, working memory, task-switching) and psycho-emotional well-being (mood, self-efficacy) were assessed before and after each intervention. Mindfulness meditation promoted executive functioning, while exercise enhanced positive mood and self-efficacy. Critically, this work demonstrates that a single, short bout of mindfulness meditation session can promote inhibitory control among children with ADHD. This is especially important for children with ADHD as inhibitory control deficits are among the most pervasive challenges that they face. Furthermore, the current study provides preliminary evidence for the benefit of acute exercise for promoting positive mood and general self-efficacy for children and youth with ADHD. These results may increase the accessibility of acute exercise for children with ADHD, providing guardians and teachers a feasible option to incorporate just 10 minutes of exercise to assist children emotionally. In summary, this research supports the use of acute exercise and mindfulness meditation on varying aspects of executive functioning and psycho-emotional well-being in children and youth with ADHD. This work offers important insight into how behavioural interventions could be personalized according to a child’s needs.

Keywords: attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), acute exercise, mindfulness meditation, executive functioning, psycho-emotional well-being

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Authors: Nurten Çelik

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Under the new developments in science, medicine, sociology, psychology and literary theories, body studies has gained huge importance and the body has become a debatable issue. There has emerged, among sociologists and literary theorists, an overwhelming consensus that body is socially, politically and culturally perceived and constructed and thus, the position of an individual in the society is determined in accordance with his/her body image. In this regard, the most complicated point is the theoretical views propounded upon disability studies, where the disabled body is considered to be a site upon which social and political restrictions as well as repressions are inscribed. There has been the widely-accepted view that no matter what kind of disability it is, those with physical, mental or learning impairments face varied social, political and environmental obstacles that prevent them from being an active citizen, worker, lover and even a family member. In parallel with these approaches, the matter of the sufferings of disabled individuals attains its place in cinema and literature as well as in theatre studies under the category of disability theatre. One of the prominent plays that deal with physical disability came from the contemporary British playwright Nina Raine. In her awarded play Tribes, which premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 2010, Raine develops the social strata where her deaf protagonist, Billy, caught up between two tribes – namely his family and his lover Slyvia, a member of the deaf community– experiences personal and social hardships due to his hearing impairment. In the play, intransigent and self-opinionated family members foster no sense of empathy towards Billy, there are noisy talking and shouting, but no communication, love, compassion or mutual understanding, and language becomes just a tool for the expression of rage and oppression. In the disordered atmosphere of the family life, Billy experiences isolation and loneliness. Billy’s hopes for success and love are destroyed when Slyvia, troubled between hearing and deafness, rejects him because she does not utterly grasp what Billy is experiencing. Drawing upon the hardships, Billy undergoes in his relationships with his family and his girlfriend, Tribes problematizes the concept of deafness and explores to what extent a deaf person can find a place in the hearing world. Setting ‘the disabled’ bodies against ‘the abled’ bodies in a family, a microcosm of the society where bodies are socially shaped and constructed, Tribes dramatizes how the disabled bodies are disenfranchised, stigmatised, marginalized and othered on the grounds that they are socially misfit. Tribes, with a specific focus on the dysfunctional family, shows that the lack of communication and empathy numbs the characters to the feelings of each other and thereby, they become more disabled than Billy. In conclusion, this paper, with the reference to the embodiment of disability and social theories, aims to explore how disabled bodies are socially marked and segregated from family and society.

Keywords: body, deafness, disability, disability theatre, Nina Raine, tribes

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Authors: Odunayo S. Faluse, Roger Telfer

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Customer relationship management is a business strategy that is centred on the idea that ‘Customer is the driving force of any business’ i.e. Customer is placed in a central position in any business. However, this belief coupled with the advancement in information technology in the past twenty years has experienced a change. In any form of business today it can be concluded that customers are the modern dictators to whom the industry always adjusts its business operations due to the increase in availability of information, intense market competition and ever growing negotiating ideas of customers in the process of buying and selling. The most vital role of any organization is to satisfy or meet customer’s needs and demands, which eventually determines customer’s long-term value to the industry. Therefore, this paper analyses and describes the application of customer relationship management operational strategies in some of the major industries in business. Both developed and up-coming companies nowadays value the quality of customer services and client’s loyalty, they also recognize the customers that are not very sensitive when it comes to changes in price and thereby realize that attracting new customers is more tasking and expensive than retaining the existing customers. However, research shows that several factors have recently amounts to the sudden rise in the execution of CRM strategies in the marketplace, such as a diverted attention of some organization towards integrating ideas in retaining existing customers rather than attracting new one, gathering data about customers through the use of internal database system and acquiring of external syndicate data, also exponential increase in technological intelligence. Apparently, with this development in business operations, CRM research in Academia remain nascent; hence this paper gives detailed critical analysis of the recent advancement in the use of CRM and key research opportunities for future development in using the implementation of CRM as a determinant factor for successful business optimization.

Keywords: agriculture, banking, business strategies, CRM, education, healthcare

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Authors: Mohammad K. Rumjaun, Sana Amjed, Muhammad A. Ghazi, Safa G. Attar, Jason Raw

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Background: National Health Service (NHS) in England is one of the leading healthcare systems in the world and it heavily relies on the recruitment of overseas doctors. 30.7% of the doctors currently serving in NHS are overseas doctors. Most of these doctors do not receive the essential induction required to work in the NHS when they first arrive and therefore, they mostly struggle to work effectively in the first few months of their new jobs as compared to UK graduates. In our hospital, the clinical need for a dedicated induction programme for the International Medical Graduates (IMGs) was identified for their initial settling period and this programme was designed to achieve this. Methods: A questionnaire was designed for the previous 7 IMGs (Group 1) in order to identify the difficulties they faced in their initial phase. Thereafter, an induction programme consisting of presentations explaining the NHS and hospital framework, communication skills practice sessions, the clinical ceiling of care and patient simulation training was implemented for 6 new IMGs (Group 2). Another survey was done and compared with the previous. Results: After this programme, group 2 required only 1 week to understand the complexity of the IT systems as compared 3 weeks in group 1. 83% of group 2 was well-supported for their on-call duties after this programme as compared to 29% and 100% of group 2 was aware of their role in the job after the induction as compared to 0%. Furthermore, group 2 was able to function independently and confidently in their roles after only 1 month as compared to an average of 3 months for group 1. After running the PDSA cycles, our results show clear evidence that this programme has tremendously benefitted the IMGs in settling in the NHS. The IMGs really appreciated this initiative and have given positive feedback. Conclusion: Leaving your home country to begin your career in a different country is not an easy transition and undoubtedly, everyone struggles. It is important to invest in a well-structured induction programme for the IMGs in the initial phase of their jobs as this will improve not only their confidence and efficacy but also patients’ safety.

Keywords: induction programme, international medical graduates, NHS, overseas doctors struggles.

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Authors: Rukia Yosuf

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Diabetes is a national healthcare crisis related to both macrovascular and microvascular complications. We hypothesized that higher levels of physical activity are associated with lower total and visceral fat mass, lower systolic blood pressure, and increased insulin sensitivity. Participant inclusion criteria: 21-50 years old, BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2, hemoglobin A1C 5.7-6.4, fasting glucose 100-125 mg/dL, and HOMA IR ≥ 2.5. Exclusion criteria: history of diabetes, hypertension, HIV, renal disease, hearing loss, alcoholic intake over four drinks daily, use of organic nitrates or PDE5 inhibitors, and decreased cardiac function. Total physical activity was measured using accelerometers, body composition using DXA, and insulin resistance via fsIVGTT. Clinical and biochemical cardiometabolic risk factors, blood pressure and heart rate were obtained using a calibrated sphygmomanometer. Anthropometric measures, fasting glucose, insulin, lipid profile, C-reactive protein, and BMP were analyzed using standard procedures. Within our study, we found correlations between levels of physical activity in a heterogeneous group of prediabetic adults. Patients with more physical activity had a higher degree of insulin sensitivity, lower blood pressure, total visceral adipose tissue, and overall lower total mass. Total physical activity levels showed small, but significant correlations with systolic blood pressure, visceral fat, lean mass and insulin sensitivity. After normalizing for the race, age, and gender using multiple regression, these associations were no longer significant considering our small sample size. More research into prediabetes will decrease the population of diabetics overall. In the future, we could increase sample size and conduct cross sectional and longitudinal studies in various populations with prediabetes.

Keywords: diabetes, kidney disease, nephrology, prediabetes

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Authors: Zakhile Somlata

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In the context of international linguistic and cultural diversity, all languages can be used for all purposes. Africa in general and South Africa, in particular, is not an exception to multilingual and multicultural society. The multilingual and multicultural nature of South African society has a direct bearing to the heterogeneity of South African Universities in general. Universities as the centers of research, innovation, and transformation of the entire society should be at the forefront in leading multilingualism. The universities in South Africa had been using English and to a certain extent Afrikaans as the only academic languages during colonialism and apartheid regime. The democratic breakthrough of 1994 brought linguistic relief in South Africa. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa recognizes 11 official languages that should enjoy parity of esteem for the realization of multilingualism. The elevation of the nine previously marginalized indigenous African languages as academic languages in higher education is central to multilingualism. It is high time that Afrocentric model instead of Eurocentric model should be the one which underpins education system in South Africa at all levels. Almost all South African universities have their language policies that seek to promote access and success of students through multilingualism, but the main dilemma is the implementation of language policies. This study is significant to respond to two objectives: (i) To evaluate how selected institutions use language policies for accessibility and success of students. (ii) To study how selected universities integrate African languages for both academic and administrative purposes. This paper reflects the language policy practices in one selected University of Technology (UoT) in South Africa. The UoT has its own language policy which depicts linguistic diversity of the institution and its commitment to promote multilingualism. Translanguaging pedagogy which accommodates minority languages' usage in the teaching and learning process plays a pivotal role in promoting multilingualism. This research paper employs mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative research) approach. Qualitative data has been collected from the key informants (insiders and experts), while quantitative data has been collected from a cohort of third-year students. A mixed methods approach with its convergent parallel design allows the data to be collected separately, analysed separately but with the comparison of the results. Language development initiatives have been discussed within the framework of language policy and policy implementation strategies. Theoretically, this paper is rooted in language as a problem, language as a right and language as a resource. The findings demonstrate that despite being a multilingual institution, there is a perpetuation of marginalization of African languages to be used as academic languages. Findings further display the hegemony of English. The promotion of status quo compromises the promotion of multilingualism, Africanization of Higher Education and intellectualization of indigenous African languages in South Africa under a democratic dispensation.

Keywords: afro-centric model, hegemony of English, language as a resource, translanguaging pedagogy

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Authors: Virakti Dhaval Shah

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Advances in technology and the changes in lifestyle and work expectations amid the COVID-19 pandemic are requiring changes to vocational assessment, provision of vocational training, and identification of job matches for individuals with intellectual disability. Vocational assessment involves the assessment of interests, skills, abilities, and strengths/weaknesses, as well as a detailed understanding of healthcare, familial, social, community, workplace-related and policy-level protective and risk factors impacting the individual. In India, vocational assessment procedures such as interviews play a major role in vocational placement today. Unfortunately, many of the most widely used vocational assessment instruments in India were developed in the 1970s to 2000s and have not been revised since. Hence, there is a dire need to update existing tools and prepare a structured approach for vocational service providers to meet the unique employment needs of individuals with intellectual disabilities. To address this need, this project designed a multi-domain assessment toolkit for a structured approach to vocational assessment, training, and job placement for individuals with intellectual disabilities in India. Methods included conducting an empirical review of the available tools currently in use in India for the vocational assessment of persons with intellectual disabilities. Domains addressed in the instrument review were organized into a structured system, and additional items related to contemporary technology, pandemic-related experiences of persons with disabilities, and changes in lifestyle and work expectations due to the pandemic were added. Items assessing behaviors, provision of vocational training, and identification of job matches for individuals with intellectual disabilities were developed. The proposed tool has the potential to benefit organizations working with and preparing individuals with intellectual disabilities to find successful employment by undertaking a structured approach to vocational assessment, rehabilitation, training, and placement. It can be particularly useful for guiding new professionals doing vocational rehabilitation in India.

Keywords: intellectual disability, rehabilitation, vocational assessment, vocational rehabilitation

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Authors: Abir Dey, Shams Noman

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Introduction: Offshore Island is the remote and isolated area from the terrestrial mainland. They are deprived of their needs. The children from an offshore island are usually underserved in the case of health care because it is a remote area where the health care systems are quite poor compared to mainland. So, the proper information is required for appropriate planning to reduce underlying causes behind visual deprivation among the surviving children of the Offshore Island. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine ocular morbidities, knowledge, and barriers of eye care services among children in an Offshore Island. Methods: The study team visited, and all data were collected from different rural communities at Sandwip Upazila, Chittagong district for screening the children aged 5-16 years old by doing spot examination. The whole study was conducted in both qualitative and quantitative methods. To determine ocular status of children, examinations were done under skilled Ophthalmologists and Optometrists. A focus group discussion was held. The sample size was 490. It was a community based descriptive study and the sampling method was purposive sampling. Results: In total 490 children, about 56.90% were female and 43.10% were male. Among them 456 were school-going children (93.1%) and 34 were non-school going children (6.9%). In this study the most common ocular morbidity was Allergic Conjunctivitis (35.2%). Other mentionable ocular morbidities were Refractive error (27.7%), Blepharitis (13.8%), Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (7.5%), Strabismus (6.3%) and Amblyopia (6.3%). Most of the non-school going children were involved in different types of domestic work like farming, fishing, etc. About 90.04% children who had different ocular abnormalities could not attend to the doctor due to various reasons. Conclusions: The ocular morbidity was high in rate on the offshore island. Eye health care facility was also not well established there. Awareness should be raised about necessity of maintaining hygiene and eye healthcare among the island people. Timely intervention through available eye care facilities and management can reduce the ocular morbidity rate in that area.

Keywords: morbidities, screening, barriers, offshore island, knowledge

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Authors: Karimeh Alnuaimi, Manal Kassab, Reem Ali, Khitam Mohammad, Kholoud Shattnawi

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Aim: To compare pregnancy outcomes of Syrian refugee women and Jordanian women. Background and introduction: The current conflict in Syria continues to displace thousands to neighboring countries, including Jordan. Pregnant refugee women are therefore facing many difficulties are known to increase the prevalence of poor reproductive health outcomes and antenatal complications. However, there is very little awareness of whether Syrian refugee women have different risks of pregnancy outcomes than Jordanian women. Methods: Using a retrospective cohort design, we examined pregnancy outcomes for Syrian refugee (N = 616) and Jordanian women (N = 644) giving birth at two governmental Hospitals in the north of Jordan, between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2014. A checklist of 13 variables was utilized. The primary outcome measures were delivery by Caesarean section, maternal complications, low birth weight (< 2500 g), Apgar score and preterm delivery (< 37 weeks' gestational age). Results: Statistical analysis revealed that refugee mothers had a significant increase in the rate of cesarean section and the higher rate of anemia, a lower neonates’ weight, and Apgar scores when compared to their Jordanian counterparts. Discussion and Conclusion: Results were congruent with findings from other studies in the region and worldwide. Minimizing inequalities in pregnancy outcomes between Syrian refugees and Jordan women is a healthcare priority. Implications for nursing and health policy: The findings could guide the planning and development of health policies in Jordan that would help to alleviate the situation regarding refugee populations. The action is required by the policy makers, specifically targeting public and primary health care services, to address the problem of adequately meeting the need for antenatal care of this vulnerable population.

Keywords: pregnancy, Syrian refugee, Jordanian women, comparative study

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Authors: Natividad Natalia Angeles Manuel

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In the Dominican Republic, American-Dominican veterans face unique challenges due to their dual identities and wartime experiences. This case study examines an 85-year-old veteran with memory impairments and emotional distress linked to military service. A neuropsychological assessment using standardized tools evaluated cognitive domains and functional abilities. Significant deficits in memory, orientation, semantic memory, and executive functions, alongside symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression, were identified. A six-month cognitive stimulation program included tailored interventions to enhance memory, attention, and executive skills through weekly sessions and group activities. Medical and physical therapy support aimed to improve overall cognitive, functional, and emotional outcomes. Follow-up evaluations showed improvements in memory retention, attention, task proficiency, and reduced depressive symptoms, highlighting the program's effectiveness in promoting emotional well-being and quality of life. Despite ongoing memory challenges and military-related nightmares, the veteran responded positively to interventions, demonstrating resilience and motivation. This study emphasizes the importance of personalized neuropsychological interventions for American-Dominican veterans in the Dominican Republic. Through assessment tools and focused cognitive stimulation strategies, healthcare providers can successfully alleviate cognitive and emotional challenges stemming from traumatic experiences in elderly veterans. Overall, integrated neuropsychological assessment and stimulation programs are shown to enhance cognitive resilience and emotional well-being, thus contributing to an enhanced quality of life for aging American-Dominican veterans.

Keywords: neuropsychology, cognitive stimulation, American-Dominican veterans, Dominican Republic, PTSD, memory deficits

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Authors: Anthony Khawaja, Jacques Prioux, Ghassan Maalouf, Rawad El Hage

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The regular practice of physical activities characterized by significant mechanical stresses stimulates bone formation and improves bone mineral density (BMD) in the most solicited sites. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between maximum power and bone variables in a group of young adult men. Identification of new determinants of BMD, bone mineral content (BMC) and hip geometric indices in young adult men, would allow screening and early management of future cases of osteopenia and osteoporosis. Fifty-three young adult men (18 – 35yr) voluntarily participated in this study. Weight and height were measured, and body mass index was calculated. Body composition, BMC and BMD were determined for each individual by Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA; GE Healthcare, Madison, WI) at whole body (WB), lumbar spine (L1-L4), total hip (TH), and femoral neck (FN). FN cross-sectional area (CSA), strength index (SI), buckling ratio (BR), FN section modulus (Z), cross-sectional moment of inertia (CSMI) and L1-L4 TBS were also evaluated by DXA. The vertical jump was evaluated using a field test (sargent test). Two main parameters were retained: vertical jump performance (cm) and power (w). The subjects performed three jumps with 2 minutes of recovery between jumps. The highest vertical jump was selected. Maximum power (P max, in watts) was calculated. Maximum power was positively correlated to WB BMD (r = 0.41; p < 0.01), WB BMC (r = 0.65; p < 0.001), L1-L4 BMC (r = 0.54; p < 0.001), FN BMC (r = 0.35; p < 0.01), TH BMC (r = 0.50; p < 0.001), CSMI (r = 0.50; p < 0.001), CSA (r = 0.33; p < 0.05). Vertical jump was positively correlated to WB BMC (r = 0.31; p < 0.05), L1-L4 BMC (r = 0.40; p < 0.01), CSMI (r = 0.29; p < 0.05). The current study suggests that maximum power is a positive determinant of BMD, BMC and hip geometric indices in young adult men. In addition, it shows also that maximum power is a stronger positive determinant of bone variables than vertical jump in this population. Implementing strategies to increase maximum power in young adult men may be useful for preventing osteoporotic fractures later in life.

Keywords: bone variables, maximum power, osteopenia, osteoporosis, vertical jump, young adult men

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Authors: Joan Esper Kuhnly, Jess Holden, Lynn Shelley, Nicole Kuhnly

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Empathy serves as a foundational nursing principle inherent in the nurse’s ability to form those relationships from which to care for patients. Evidence supports, including empathy in nursing and healthcare education, but there is limited data on what methods are effective to do so. Building evidence supports experiential and interactive learning methods to be effective for students to gain insight and perspective from a personalized experience. The purpose of this project is to evaluate learning activities designed to promote the attainment of empathic behaviors across 5 levels of the nursing curriculum. Quantitative analysis will be conducted on data from pre and post-learning activities using the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire. The main hypothesis, that simulation learning activities will increase empathy, will be examined using a repeated measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) on Pre and Post Toronto Empathy Questionnaire scores for three simulation activities (Stroke, Poverty, Dementia). Pearson product-moment correlations will be conducted to examine the relationships between continuous demographic variables, such as age, credits earned, and years practicing, with the dependent variable of interest, Post Test Toronto Empathy Scores. Krippendorff’s method of content analysis will be conducted to identify the quantitative incidence of empathic responses. The researchers will use Colaizzi’s descriptive phenomenological method to describe the students’ simulation experience and understand its impact on caring and empathy behaviors employing bracketing to maintain objectivity. The results will be presented, answering multiple research questions. The discussion will be relevant to results and educational pedagogy in the nursing curriculum as they relate to the attainment of empathic behaviors.

Keywords: curriculum, empathy, nursing, simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 111

Authors: Anne Klimesch, Alejandra Martinez, Martin HäRter, Isabelle Scholl, Paulina Bravo

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Patient-centered care (PCC) is a key principle of high-quality healthcare. In Latin America, research on and promotion of PCC have taken place in the past. However, thorough implementation of PCC in practice is still missing. In Germany, an integrative model of patient-centeredness has been developed by synthesis of diverse concepts of PCC. The model could serve as a point of reference for further research on the implementation of PCC. However, it is predominantly based on research from Europe and North America. This scoping review, therefore, aims to accumulate research on PCC in Latin America in the past 15 years and analyse how PCC has been conceptualized. The resulting overview of PCC in Latin America will be a foundation for a subsequent study aiming at the adaptation of the integrative model of patient-centeredness to the Latin American health care context. Scientific databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, SCIELO, Redalyc.) will be searched, and reference and citation tracking will be performed. Studies will be included if they were carried out in Latin America, investigated PCC in any clinical and community setting (public and private), and were published in English, Spanish, French, or Portuguese since 2006. Furthermore, any theoretical framework or conceptual model to guide how PCC is conceptualized in Latin America will be included. Two reviewers will be responsible for the identification of articles, screening of records, and full-text assessment. The results of the scoping review will be used in the development of a mixed-methods study with the aim to understand the needs for PCC, as well as barriers and facilitators in Latin America. Based on the outcomes, the integrative model of PCC will be translated to Spanish and adapted to the Latin American context. The integrative model will enable the dissemination of the concept of PCC in Latin America and will provide a common ground for further research on the topic. The project will thereby make an important contribution to an evidence-based implementation of PCC in Latin America.

Keywords: conceptual framework, integrative model of PCC, Latin America, patient-centered care

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Authors: Perpetual Onyejelem, Kenichi Matsui

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Solid waste management has recently posed urgent challenges to environmental sustainability and public health in emerging Sub-Saharan urban centers. This paper examines solid waste management in Port Harcourt, the rapidly growing city in Nigeria, with a focus on current solid waste management practices and its health implications. To do so we analyzed past academic papers and official documents. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement and its four-stage inclusion/exclusion criteria were utilized as part of a systematic literature review technique to identify papers related to solid waste management practices (Scopus and Google Scholar). In terms of policy documents, we focused on information about the implementation between 2014 and 2023. We found that the Rivers State Waste Management Policy and the National Policy on Solid Waste Management were the two most important documents to understand Port Harcourt’s practices. Past studies, however, highlighted that residents continued to dump waste in drainages as they were largely unaware of the policies that encourage them to sort waste. The studies tend to blame the city of its lack of political commitment to monitoring waste sites. Another study highlighted inefficient waste collection practices, the absence of community participation and poor resident awareness of 3R practices. Government documents and past studies tend to agree that an increase in disorderly waste management practices and the emergence of vector-borne diseases (e.g., malaria, lassa fever, cholera) co-incided in Port Harcourt. This led to increased spending for healthcare for locals, particularly low-income households. This study concludes by making some remedial recommendations.

Keywords: health effects, solid waste management practices, environmental pollution, Port Harcourt

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Authors: Meera Shanker

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Excellent education and financial need have encouraged Indian women to go out and work in well-paid and high-status occupations. In the era of cutthroat competition, women are expected to work hard to produce the desired result; hence, workload and expectations haveincreased. At home, they are anticipated to take care of family members, children, and household work. Women are stretching themselves mechanically to remain in the job competition and try to give their best at home. Consequentially, they are under tremendous pressure, stressed, and having issues related to physical-mental wellness. Mental healthcare is often ignored and not accepted due to a lack of awareness and cultural barriers. These further compounds the problem, resulting in decreased productivity in economic terms and an increase in stress-related physical-mental ailments. The main objective of the study was to find out the impact of stress on the physical-mental wellbeing of working women in India, along with their awareness and acceptability related to mental health. Six hundred and one woman working at various levels took part in this study, responding to the items related to stress and physical-mental illness. Finally, 21 items were retained under four meaningful factors measuring stress dimensions along with 17 items with three factors measuring physical-mental wellbeing. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), path analysis, in Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), was used to get a relationship, validity of the instruments. The psychometric properties of items and Cronbach’s Alpha reliabilities calculated for the subscales were relatively acceptable. The subscale correlations, regression, and path analysis of stress dimensions with physical-mental illness were found to be positive, indicating the growing stress among working women in India, which is impacting their physical-mental health. Single item analysis revealed that 77 percent of women have never visited psychologists. However, 70 percent of working women were not ready to seek the help of a psychologist.

Keywords: working women, stress, physical-mental well-being, confirmatory factor analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 185

Authors: F. Fatoye, C. E. Mbada, T. Gebrye, A. O. Ogunsola, C. Fatoye, O. Oyewole

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Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are a major cause of pain and disability. It is likely to become a greater economic and public health burden that is unnecessary. Thus, reliable prevalence figures are important for both clinicians and policy-makers to plan health care needs for those affected with the disease. This study estimated hospital based real-world prevalence of MSDs in Nigeria. A review of medical charts for adult patients attending Physiotherapy Outpatient Clinic at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Osun State, Nigeria between 2009 and 2018 was carried out to identify common MSDs including low back pain (LBP), cervical spondylosis (CSD), post immobilization stiffness (PIS), sprain, osteoarthritis (OA), and other conditions. Occupational class of the patients was determined using the International Labour Classification (ILO). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics of frequency and percentages. Overall, medical charts of 3,340 patients were reviewed within the span of ten years (2009 to 2018). Majority of the patients (62.8%) were in the middle class, and the remaining were in low class (25.1%) and high class (10.5%) category. An overall prevalence of 47.35% of MSD was found within the span of ten years. Of this, the prevalence of LBP, CSD, PIS, sprain, OA, and other conditions was 21.6%, 10%, 18.9%, 2%, 6.3%, and 41.3%, respectively. The highest (14.2%) and lowest (10.5%) prevalence of MSDs was recorded in the year of 2012 and 2018, respectively. The prevalence of MSDs is considerably high among Nigerian patients attending outpatient a physiotherapy clinic. The high prevalence of MSDs underscores the need for clinicians and decision makers to put in place appropriate strategies to reduce the prevalence of these conditions. In addition, they should plan and evaluate healthcare services to improve the health outcomes of patients with MSDs. Further studies are required to determine the economic burden of the condition and examine the clinical and cost-effectiveness of physiotherapy interventions for patients with MSDs.

Keywords: musculoskeletal disorders, Nigeria, prevalence, real world

Procedia PDF Downloads 172

Authors: Tapan Kumar Dhar

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How well are our city forms designed to adapt to climate change and its resulting uncertainty? What urban design tools can be used to measure and improve resilience to climate change, and how would they do so? In addressing these questions, this paper considers indeterminacy, a concept originated in the resilience literature, to measure the resilience of built environments. In the realm of urban design, ‘indeterminacy’ can be referred to as built-in design capabilities of an urban system to serve different purposes which are not necessarily predetermined. An urban system, particularly that with a higher degree of indeterminacy, can enable the system to be reorganized and changed to accommodate new or unknown functions while coping with uncertainty over time. Underlying principles of this concept have long been discussed in the urban design and planning literature, including open architecture, landscape urbanism, and flexible housing. This paper argues that the concept indeterminacy holds the potential to reduce the impacts of climate change incrementally and proactively. With regard to sustainable development, both planning and climate change literature highly recommend proactive adaptation as it involves less cost, efforts, and energy than last-minute emergency or reactive actions. Nevertheless, the concept still remains isolated from resilience and climate change adaptation discourses even though the discourses advocate the incremental transformation of a system to cope with climatic uncertainty. This paper considers indeterminacy, as an urban design tool, to measure and increase resilience (and adaptive capacity) of Long Bay’s coastal settlements in Negril, Jamaica. Negril is one of the popular tourism destinations in the Caribbean highly vulnerable to sea-level rise and its associated impacts. This paper employs empirical information obtained from direct observation and informal interviews with local people. While testing the tool, this paper deploys an urban morphology study, which includes land use patterns and the physical characteristics of urban form, including street networks, block patterns, and building footprints. The results reveal that most resorts in Long Bay are designed for pre-determined purposes and offer a little potential to use differently if needed. Additionally, Negril’s street networks are found to be rigid and have limited accessibility to different points of interest. This rigidity can expose the entire infrastructure further to extreme climatic events and also impedes recovery actions after a disaster. However, Long Bay still has room for future resilient developments in other relatively less vulnerable areas. In adapting to climate change, indeterminacy can be reached through design that achieves a balance between the degree of vulnerability and the degree of indeterminacy: the more vulnerable a place is, the more indeterminacy is useful. This paper concludes with a set of urban design typologies to increase the resilience of coastal settlements.

Keywords: climate change adaptation, resilience, sea-level rise, urban form

Procedia PDF Downloads 365

Authors: Alexandre Daliberto Frugoli, Pedro Jose Gabriel Ferreira, Pedro Americo Frugoli, Lucio Leonardo, Thais Cavalheri Santos

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Laboratory classes in Engineering courses are essential for students to be able to integrate theory with practical reality, by handling equipment and observing experiments. In the researches of physical phenomena, students can learn about the complexities of science. Over the past years, universities in developing countries have been reducing the course load of engineering courses, in accordance with cutting cost agendas. Quality education is the object of study for researchers and requires educators and educational administrators able to demonstrate that the institutions are able to provide great learning opportunities at reasonable costs. Didactic test benches are indispensable equipment in educational activities related to turbo hydraulic pumps and pumping facilities study, which have a high cost and require long class time due to measurements and equipment adjustment time. In order to overcome the aforementioned obstacles, aligned with the professional objectives of an engineer, GruPEFE - UNIP (Research Group in Physics Education for Engineering - Universidade Paulista) has developed a multi-purpose stand for the discipline of fluid mechanics which allows the study of velocity and flow meters, loads losses and pump association. In this work, results obtained by the association in series and in parallel of hydraulic pumps will be presented and discussed, mainly analyzing the repeatability of experimental procedures and their agreement with the theory. For the association in series two identical pumps were used, consisting of the connection of the discharge of a pump to the suction of the next one, allowing the fluid to receive the power of all machines in the association. The characteristic curve of the set is obtained from the curves of each of the pumps, by adding the heads corresponding to the same flow rates. The same pumps were associated in parallel. In this association, the discharge piping is common to the two machines together. The characteristic curve of the set was obtained by adding to each value of H (head height), the flow rates of each pump. For the tests, the input and output pressure of each pump were measured. For each set there were three sets of measurements, varying the flow rate in range from 6.0 to 8.5 m 3 / h. For the two associations, the results showed an excellent repeatability with variations of less than 10% between sets of measurements and also a good agreement with the theory. This variation agrees with the instrumental uncertainty. Thus, the results validate the use of the fluids bench designed for didactic purposes. As a future work, a digital acquisition system is being developed, using differential sensors of extremely low pressures (2 to 2000 Pa approximately) for the microcontroller Arduino.

Keywords: engineering education, fluid mechanics, hydrostatic pumps association, multi-purpose stand

Procedia PDF Downloads 220

Authors: John Mark Payawal, Francis Aldrine Uy, John Paul Carreon

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This paper shows the application of Structural Health Monitoring, SHM into bridges. Bridges are structures built to provide passage over a physical obstruction such as rivers, chasms or roads. The Philippines has a total of 8,166 national bridges as published on the 2015 atlas of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and only 2,924 or 35.81% of these bridges are in good condition. As a result, PHP 30.464 billion of the 2016 budget of DPWH is allocated on roads and/or bridges maintenance alone. Intensive spending is owed to the present practice of outdated manual inspection and assessment, and poor structural health monitoring of Philippine infrastructures. As the School of Civil, Environmental, & Geological Engineering of Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT) continuous its well driven passion in research based projects, a partnership with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the DPWH launched the application of Structural Health Monitoring, (SHM) in Padre Jacinto Zamora Flyover. The flyover is located along Nagtahan Boulevard in Sta. Mesa, Manila that connects Brgy. 411 and Brgy. 635. It gives service to vehicles going from Lacson Avenue to Mabini Bridge passing over Legarda Flyover. The flyover is chosen among the many located bridges in Metro Manila as the focus of the pilot testing due to its site accessibility, and complete structural built plans and specifications necessary for SHM as provided by the Bureau of Design, BOD department of DPWH. This paper focuses on providing a method to calibrate theoretical readings from STAAD Vi8 Pro and sync the data to actual MEMS accelerometer readings. It is observed that while the design standards used in constructing the flyover was reflected on the model, actual readings of MEMS accelerometer display a large difference compared to the theoretical data ran and taken from STAAD Vi8 Pro. In achieving a true seismic response of the modeled bridge or hence syncing the theoretical data to the actual sensor reading also called as the independent variable of this paper, analysis using single degree of freedom (SDOF) of the flyover under free vibration without damping using STAAD Vi8 Pro is done. The earthquake excitation and bridge responses are subjected to earthquake ground motion in the form of ground acceleration or Peak Ground Acceleration, PGA. Translational acceleration load is used to simulate the ground motion of the time history analysis acceleration record in STAAD Vi8 Pro.

Keywords: accelerometer, analysis using single degree of freedom, micro electro mechanical system, peak ground acceleration, structural health monitoring

Procedia PDF Downloads 319

Authors: Rumbidzai Sipiwe Zimvumi

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The study aimed to identify the top management team attributes for ambidexterity in small and medium-sized enterprises by utilizing the upper echelons theory. The conventional opinion holds that an organization's ability to pursue both exploitative and explorative innovation methods at the same time is reflected in its ambidexterity. Top-level managers are critical to this matrix because they forecast and explain strategic choices that guarantee success by improving organizational performance. Since the focus of the study was on the unique characteristics of TMTs that can facilitate ambidexterity, the primary goal was to comprehend how TMTs in SMEs can better manage ambidexterity. The study used document analysis to collect information on ambidexterity and TMT traits. Finding, choosing, assessing, and synthesizing data from peer-reviewed publications allowed for the review and evaluation of papers. The fact that SMEs will perform better if they can achieve a balance between exploration and exploitation cannot be overstated. Unfortunately, exploitation is the main priority for most SMEs. The results showed that some of the noteworthy TMT traits that support ambidexterity in SMEs are age diversity, shared responsibility, leadership impact, psychological safety, and self-confidence. It has been shown that most SMEs confront significant obstacles in recruiting people, including formalizing their management and assembling executive teams with seniority. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are often held by families or people who neglect to keep their personal lives apart from the firm, which eliminates the opportunity for management and staff to take the initiative. This helps to explain why exploitative strategies, which preserve present success, are used rather than explorative strategies, which open new economic opportunities and dimensions. It is evident that psychological safety deteriorates, and creativity is hindered in the process. The study makes the case that TMTs who are motivated to become ambidextrous can exist. According to the report, small- and medium-sized business owners should value the opinions of all parties involved and provide their managers and regular staff the freedom to think creatively and in a safe environment. TMTs who experience psychological safety are more likely to be inventive, creative, and productive. A team's collective perception that it is acceptable to take chances, voice opinions and concerns, ask questions, and own up to mistakes without fear of unfavorable outcomes is known as team psychological safety. Thus, traits like age diversity, leadership influence, learning agility, psychological safety, and self-assurance are critical to the success of SMEs. As a solution to ensuring ambidexterity is attained, the study suggests a clear separation of ownership and control, the adoption of technology to stimulate creativity, team spirit and excitement, shared accountability, and good management of diversity. Among the suggestions for the SME's success are resource allocation and important collaborations.

Keywords: navigating, ambidexterity, top management team, small and medium enterprises

Procedia PDF Downloads 57

Authors: Chloé Kernaléguen, Laura Kundun, Tessie Lery, Ryan Laleg, Zhangyun Tan

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This study explores global disparities in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis incidence among children aged 0-2 years, focusing on the human development index (HDI) as a key determinant. RSV bronchiolitis poses a significant health risk to young children, influenced by factors, including socio-economic conditions captured by the HDI. Through a comprehensive systematic review and dataset selection (Switzerland, Brazil, United States of America), we formulated an HDI-SEIRS numerical model within the SEIRS framework. Results show variations in RSV bronchiolitis dynamics across countries, emphasizing the influence of HDI. Modelling reveals a correlation between higher HDI and increased bronchiolitis spread, notably in the USA and Switzerland. The ratios HDIcountry over HDImax strengthen this association, while climate disparities contribute to variations, especially in colder climates like the USA and Switzerland. The study raises the hypothesis of an indirect link between higher HDI and more frequent bronchiolitis, underlining the need for nuanced understanding. Factors like improved healthcare access, population density, mobility, and social behaviors in higher HDI countries might contribute to unexpected trends. Limitations include dataset quality and restricted RSV bronchiolitis data. Future research should encompass diverse HDI datasets to refine HDI's role in bronchiolitis dynamics. In conclusion, HDI-SEIRS models offer insights into factors influencing RSV bronchiolitis spread. While HDI is a significant indicator, its impact is indirect, necessitating a holistic approach to effective public health policies. This analysis sets the stage for further investigations into multifaceted interactions shaping bronchiolitis dynamics in diverse socio-economic contexts.

Keywords: bronchiolitis propagation, HDI influence, respiratory syncytial virus, SEIRS model

Procedia PDF Downloads 67

Authors: Mona Almanasef, Dalia Almaghaslah, Geetha Kandasamy, Rajalakshimi Vasudevan, Sadia Batool

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Background: Community pharmacists are one of the most accessible healthcare practitioners worldwide and their services are used by a large proportion of the population. Expanding the roles of community pharmacists could contribute to reducing pressure on general health practice and other areas of health services. This research aimed to evaluate the contribution of community pharmacists in the provision of public health services and to investigate the perceived barriers to the provision of these services in Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: This study followed a cross-sectional design using an online anonymous self-administered questionnaire. The study took place in the Asir region, Saudi Arabia, between September 2019 and February 2020. A convenience sampling strategy was used to select and recruit the study participants. The questionnaire was adapted from previous research and involved three sections: demographics, involvement in public health services and barriers to practicing public health roles. Results: The total number of respondents was 193. The proportion of respondents who reported that they were “very involved” or “involved” in each service was 61.7% for weight management, 60.6% for sexual health, 57.5% for healthy eating, 53.4% for physical activity promotion, 51.3% for dental health, 46.1% for smoking cessation, 39.4% for screening for diabetes, 35.7% for screening for hypertension, 31.1% for alcohol dependence and drug misuse counseling, 30.6% for screening for dyslipidaemia, and 21.8% for vaccination and immunization. Most of the barriers in the current research were rated as having low relevance to the provision of public health services. Conclusion: Findings in the current research suggest that community pharmacists in the Asir region have varying levels of involvement in public health roles. Further research needs to be undertaken to understand the barriers to the provision of public health services and what strategies would be beneficial for enhancing the public health role of community pharmacists in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: community pharmacist, public health, Asir region, Saudi Arabia

Procedia PDF Downloads 100

Authors: Oli Sophie Meredith, Jacquelyn Osborne, Sarah Verdon, Jane Frawley

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PROJECT OVERVIEW AND BACKGROUND: Over one million Australians are affected by ADHD at an economic and social cost of over $20 billion per annum. Despite health outcomes being significantly worse compared with men, women have historically been overlooked in ADHD diagnosis and treatment. While research suggests physical activity and other non-prescription options can help with ADHD symptoms, the frontline response to ADHD remains expensive stimulant medications that can have adverse side effects. By interviewing women with ADHD, this research will examine women’s self-directed approaches to managing symptoms, including alternatives to prescription medications. It will investigate barriers and affordances to potentially helpful approaches and identify any concerning strategies pursued in lieu of diagnosis. SIGNIFICANCE AND INNOVATION: Despite the economic and societal impact of ADHD on women, research investigating how women manage their symptoms is scant. This project is significant because although women’s ADHD symptoms are markedly different to those of men, mainstream treatment has been based on the experiences of men. Further, it is thought that in developing nuanced coping strategies, women may have masked their symptoms. Thus, this project will highlight strategies which women deem effective in ‘thriving’ rather than just ‘hiding’. By investigating the health service use, self-care and physical activity of women with ADHD, this research aligns with a priority research areas as identified by the November 2023 senate ADHD inquiry report. APPROACH AND METHODS: Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with up to 20 women with ADHD. Interviews will be conducted in person and online to capture experience across rural and metropolitan Australia. Participants will be recruited in partnership with the peak representative body, ADHD Australia. The research will use an intersectional framework, and data will be analysed thematically. This project is led by an interdisciplinary and cross-institutional team of women with ADHD. Reflexive interviewing skills will be employed to help interviewees feel more comfortable disclosing their experiences, especially where they share common ground ENGAGEMENT, IMPACT AND BENEFIT: This research will benefit women with ADHD by increasing knowledge of strategies and alternative treatments to prescription medications, reducing the social and economic burden of ADHD on Australia and on individuals. It will also benefit women by identifying risks involved with some self-directed approaches in lieu of medical advice. The project has an accessible impact plan to directly benefit end-users, which includes the development of a podcast and a PDF resource translating findings. The resources will reach a wide audience through ADHD Australia’s extensive national networks. We will collaborate with Charles Sturt’s Accessibility and Inclusion Division of Safety, Security and Well-being to create a targeted resource for students with ADHD.

Keywords: ADHD, women's health, self-directed strategies, health service use, physical activity, public health

Procedia PDF Downloads 72

Authors: Lina María Martínez Sánchez, Juliana Molina Valencia, Esteban Vallejo Agudelo, Daniel Gallego González, María Isabel Pérez Palacio, Juan Ricardo Gaviria García, María De Los Ángeles Rodríguez Gázquez, Gloria Inés Martínez Domínguez

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Alternative and complementary therapies constitute a vast and complex combination of interventions, philosophies, approaches, and therapies that acquire a holistic healthcare point of view, becoming an alternative for the treatment of patients with chronic pain. Objective: determine the characteristics of the use of alternative and complementary therapies in patients with chronic pain who consulted in a medical institution. Methodology: cross-sectional and descriptive study, with a population of patients that assisted to the outpatient consultation and met the eligibility criteria. Sampling was not conducted. A form was used for the collection of demographic and clinical variables and the Holistic Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire (HCAMQ) was validated. The analysis and processing of information was carried out using the SPSS program vr.19. Results: 220 people with chronic pain were included. The average age was 54.7±16.2 years, 78.2% were women, and 75.5% belonged to the socioeconomic strata 1 to 3. Musculoskeletal pain (77.7%), migraine (15%) and neuralgia (9.1%) were the most frequently types of chronic pain. 33.6% of participants have used some kind of alternative and complementary therapy; the most frequent were: homeopathy (14.5%), phytotherapy (12.7%), and acupuncture (11.4%). The total average HCAMQ score for the study group was 30.2±7.0 points, which shows a moderate attitude toward the use of complementary and alternative medicine. The highest scores according to the type of pain were: neuralgia (32.4±5.8), musculoskeletal pain (30.5±6.7), fibromyalgia (29.6±7.3) and migraine (28.5±8.8). The reliability of the HCAMQ was acceptable (Cronbach's α: 0.6). Conclusion: it was noted that the types of chronic pain and the clinical or therapeutic management of patients correspond to the data available in current literature. Despite the moderate attitude toward the use of these alternative and complementary therapies, one of every three patients uses them.

Keywords: chronic pain, complementary therapies, homeopathy, acupuncture analgesia

Procedia PDF Downloads 515