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Este trabajo pretende dar a conocer el testimonio del comadrón y practicante José Quílez, que desarrolló su ejercicio profesional en el pueblo de Almenar, con el fin de dar a conocer como se desarrollaba la prestación profesional de cuidados en la Cataluña rural de postguerra. Se desarrolla un estudio cualitativo de investigación histórica que utiliza la entrevista biográfica como recurso enmarcado en el paradigma fenomenológico, utilizando fuentes orales directas que se han triangulado con fuentes escritas propias del entrevistado, bibliográficas, así como documentación del archivo del Colegio Oficial de Enfermeras y Enfermeros de Lleida. Del testimonio destaca un carácter noble forjado por las miserias propias de la España de postguerra, que conllevaron a su emigración por motivos laborales a Cataluña, donde tuvo ocasión de desarrollar un proyecto familiar sólido, así como un fuerte compromiso profesional en la prestación de cuidados, que se manifiesta en el rigor en la aplicación de los protocolos de la época, así como los principios básicos de la ética y privacidad con la que atendía a los pacientes. En este trabajo se refleja el ejercicio profesional sanitario de un funcionario de la administración local en ámbito rural.
by Magdalena Calderón-Orellana, Andrés Aparicio, Nicolás López–Huenante
Human service organizations faced extraordinary challenges due to COVID-19. Despite the increasing interest and research in this new scenario, there has been limited discussion about the impact of COVID-19 on workers, the challenges they faced, and the resulting stress. This study aimed to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on work-related stress and the mediating role of inclusion among workers in human service organizations in Chile during the pandemic. The research design was quantitative and involved a sample of 173 workers from civil society organizations who were contacted during the pandemic. The study confirmed that individuals most affected by the pandemic experienced higher levels of work-related stress, and that inclusion played a negative mediating role in this relationship. This article highlights the importance of relationships, decision-making processes, and access to information in reducing stress in post-COVID scenarios for organizations that traditionally handle crises.The RESPIRA cohort aims to describe the nature, magnitude, time course and efficacy of the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination, population prevalence, and household transmission of COVID-19.
From November 2020, we selected age-stratified random samples of COVID-19 cases from Costa Rica confirmed by PCR. For each case, two population-based controls, matched on age, sex and census tract were recruited, supplemented with hospitalised cases and household contacts. Participants were interviewed and blood and saliva collected for antibodies and PCR tests. Participants will be followed for 2 years to assess antibody response and infection incidence.
Recruitment included 3860 individuals: 1150 COVID-19 cases, 1999 population controls and 719 household contacts from 304 index cases. The age and regional distribution of cases was as planned, including four age strata, 30% rural and 70% urban. The control cohort had similar sex, age and regional distribution as the cases according to the study design. Among the 1999 controls recruited, 6.8% reported at enrolment having had COVID-19 and an additional 12.5% had antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Compliance with visits and specimens has been close to 70% during the first 18 months of follow-up. During the study, national vaccination was implemented and nearly 90% of our cohort participants were vaccinated during follow-up.
RESPIRA will enable multiple analyses, including population prevalence of infection, clinical, behavioural, immunological and genetic risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 acquisition and severity, and determinants of household transmission. We are conducting retrospective and prospective assessment of antibody levels, their determinants and their protective efficacy after infection and vaccination, the impact of long-COVID and a series of ancillary studies. Follow-up continues with bimonthly saliva collection for PCR testing and biannual blood collection for immune response analyses. Follow-up will be completed in early 2024.
by Michael Sciaudone, Renzo Carpena, Maritza Calderón, Patricia Sheen, Mirko Zimic, Jorge Coronel, Robert H. Gilman, Natalie M. Bowman
Tuberculosis remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Tuberculosis treatment and control efforts are hindered by the difficulty in making the diagnosis, as currently available diagnostic tests are too slow, too expensive, or not sufficiently sensitive. Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) is a novel technique that allows for the amplification of DNA rapidly, at constant temperature, and with minimal expense. We calculated and compared the limit of detection, sensitivity, and specificity of two RPA-based assays for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis, using two sets of published primers. We also calculated and compared the assays’ limits of detection and compared their performance using two different DNA extraction methods prior to amplification (a commercially available DNA extraction kit vs. the chelex method). The RPA-lateral flow assay had a limit of detection of 5 fg/μL of DNA, a sensitivity of 53.2%, and a specificity of 93.3%, while the real time-RPA assay had a limit of detection of 25 fg/μL of DNA, a sensitivity of 85.1%, and a specificity of 93.3%. There was no difference in assay performance when DNA extraction was carried out using the commercial kit vs. the chelex method. The real-time RPA assay has adequate sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis and could be a viable diagnostic tool in resource-limited settings, but the lateral flow assay did not perform as well, perhaps due to the fact we used stored sputum specimens from a biorepository. More work is needed to optimize the RPA-lateral flow assay, to get a more accurate estimate of its specificity and sensitivity using prospectively collected specimens, and to develop both assays into point-of-care tests that can be easily deployed in the field.The Gastric Alimetry platform offers a multimodal assessment of gastric function through body surface gastric mapping (BSGM) and concurrent symptom-tracking via a validated App. We aim to perform a longitudinal cohort study to examine the impact of Gastric Alimetry, and changes in clinical management on patient symptoms, quality of life and psychological health.
This is a prospective multicentre longitudinal observational cohort study of participants with chronic gastroduodenal symptoms. Consecutive participants undergoing Gastric Alimetry will be invited to participate. Quality of life will be assessed via EuroQol-5D and the Patient Assessment of Upper Gastrointestinal Disorders-Quality of Life score. Gastrointestinal symptoms will be assessed via the Patient Assessment of Upper Gastrointestinal Symptom Severity index, and the Gastroparesis Cardinal Symptom Index. Psychometrics will be assessed, including anxiety via the General Anxiety Disorder-7, perceived stress using the Perceived Stress Scale 4, and depression via the Patient Health Questionnaire 9. Clinical parameters including diagnoses, investigations and treatments (medication and procedures) will also be captured. Assessments will be made the week after the BSGM test, at 30 days, 90 days, 180 days and 360 days thereafter. The primary outcome is feasibility of longitudinal follow-up of a cohort that have undergone Gastric Alimetry testing; from which patients’ continuum of care can be characterised. Secondary outcomes include changes in patient-reported symptoms, quality of life and psychometrics (anxiety, stress and depression). Inferential causal analyses will be performed at the within patient level to explore causal associations between treatment changes and clinical outcomes. The impact of Gastric Alimetry on clinical management will also be captured.
The protocol has been approved in Aotearoa New Zealand by the Auckland Health Research Ethics Committee. Results will be submitted for conference presentation and peer-reviewed publication.
Women with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) are more likely to experience adverse reproductive outcomes, yet preconception care can significantly reduce these risks. For women with T2DM, preconception care includes reproductive planning and patient education on: (1) the importance of achieving glycaemic control before pregnancy, (2) using effective contraception until pregnancy is desired, (3) discontinuing teratogenic medications if pregnancy could occur, (4) taking folic acid, and (5) managing cardiovascular and other risks. Despite its importance, few women with T2DM receive recommended preconception care.
We are conducting a two-arm, clinic-randomised trial at 51 primary care practices in Chicago, Illinois to evaluate a technology-based strategy to ‘hardwire’ preconception care for women of reproductive age with T2DM (the PREPARED (Promoting REproductive Planning And REadiness in Diabetes) strategy) versus usual care. PREPARED leverages electronic health record (EHR) technology before and during primary care visits to: (1) promote medication safety, (2) prompt preconception counselling and reproductive planning, and (3) deliver patient-friendly educational tools to reinforce counselling. Post-visit, text messaging is used to: (4) encourage healthy lifestyle behaviours. English and Spanish-speaking women, aged 18–44 years, with T2DM will be enrolled (N=840; n=420 per arm) and will receive either PREPARED or usual care based on their clinic’s assignment. Data will be collected from patient interviews and the EHR. Outcomes include haemoglobin A1c (primary), reproductive knowledge and self-management behaviours. We will use generalised linear mixed-effects models (GLMMs) to evaluate the impact of PREPARED on these outcomes. GLMMs will include a fixed effect for treatment assignment (PREPARED vs usual care) and random clinic effects.
This study was approved by the Northwestern University Institutional Review Board (STU00214604). Study results will be published in journals with summaries shared online and with participants upon request.
ClinicalTrials.gov Registry (NCT04976881).
Objetivo: analizar los componentes de la Red de Atención Psicosocial (RAPS) orientadas a la atención de adolescentes usuarios de crack. Método: estudio exploratorio y descriptivo con enfoque cualitativo de los datos, desarrollado en el Centro de Atención Psicosocial Alcohol y Drogas (CAPSad) y en el Centro de Atención Psicosocial Infanto-juvenil (CAPSi). Participaron 20 profesionales del CAPSad y 10 del CAPSi. Los datos se recopilaron mediante entrevistas semiestructuradas y se analizaron conforme al Análisis Temático. Resultados: se identificaron como componentes de la RAPS orientadas a la atención de los adolescentes usuarios de crack: Atención Psicosocial Especializada; Atención Residencial de Carácter Transitorio; Atención Hospitalaria – Hospital Psiquiátrico y Atención Primaria – Unidad de Atención Primaria. Conclusión: el desempeño del CAPSad se subrayó en la atención de los adolescentes usuarios de crack, con acciones dirigidas a rescatar los lazos escolares y en entornos más saludables, así como la atención a la familia de estos jóvenes.
FreshRSS 