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by Sarah J. Wright, Michele J. Grimm
The brachial plexus is a set of nerves that innervate the upper extremity and may become injured during the birthing process through an injury known as Neonatal Brachial Plexus Palsy. Studying the mechanisms of these injuries on infant cadavers is challenging due to the justifiable sensitivity surrounding testing. Thus, these specimens are generally unavailable to be used to investigate variations in brachial plexus injury mechanisms. Finite Element Models are an alternative way to investigate the response of the neonatal brachial plexus to loading. Finite Element Models allow a virtual representation of the neonatal brachial plexus to be developed and analyzed with dimensions and mechanical properties determined from experimental studies. Using ABAQUS software, a two-dimensional brachial plexus model was created to analyze how stresses and strains develop within the brachial plexus. The main objectives of this study were (1) to develop a model of the brachial plexus and validate it against previous literature, and (2) to analyze the effect of stress on the nerve roots based on variations in the angles between the nerve roots and the spinal cord. The predicted stress for C5 and C6 was calculated as 0.246 MPa and 0.250 MPa, respectively. C5 and C6 nerve roots experience the highest stress and the largest displacement in comparison to the lower nerve roots, which correlates with clinical patterns of injury. Even small (+/- 3 and 6 degrees) variations in nerve root angle significantly impacted the stress at the proximal nerve root. This model is the first step towards developing a complete three-dimensional model of the neonatal brachial plexus to provide the opportunity to more accurately assess the effect of the birth process on the stretch within the brachial plexus and the impact of biological variations in structure and properties on the risk of Neonatal Brachial Plexus Palsy.To develop a trigger tool for parents and lay caregivers of children with medical complexity (CMC) at home and to validate its content.
This was a multi-method study, using qualitative data, a Delphi method and a concept mapping approach.
A three-round electronic Delphi was performed from December 2021 to April 2022 with a panel of 23 expert parents and 30 healthcare providers, supplemented by a preliminary qualitative exploration of children's signs of deterioration and three consensus meetings to develop the PArents' Trigger Tool for Children with Medical Complexity (PAT-CMC). Cognitive interviews with parents were performed to assess the comprehensiveness and comprehensibility of the tool. The COREQ checklist, the COSMIN guidelines and the CREDES guidelines guided the reporting respectively of the qualitative study, the development and content validity of the trigger tool and the Delphi study.
The PAT-CMC was developed and its content validated to recognize clinical deterioration at home. The tool consists of 7 main clusters of items: Breathing, Heart, Devices, Behaviour, Neuro-Muscular, Nutrition/Hydration and Other Concerns. A total of 23 triggers of deterioration were included and related to two recommendations for escalation of care, using a traffic light coding system.
Priority indicators of clinical deterioration of CMC were identified and integrated into a validated trigger tool designed for parents or other lay caregivers at home, to recognize signs of acute severe illness and initiate healthcare interventions.
The PAT-CMC was developed to guide families in recognizing signs of deterioration in CMC and has potential for initiating an early escalation of care. This tool may also be useful to support education provided by healthcare providers to families before hospital discharge.
Parents of CMC were directly involved in the selection of relevant indicators of children's clinical deterioration and the development of the trigger tool. They were not involved in the design, conducting, reporting or dissemination plans of this research.
by Francesco Di Gennaro, Francesco Vladimiro Segala, Giacomo Guido, Mariacristina Poliseno, Laura De Santis, Alessandra Belati, Carmen Rita Santoro, Irene Francesca Bottalico, Carmen Pellegrino, Roberta Novara, Luisa Frallonardo, Mariangela Cormio, Michele Camporeale, Sergio Cotugno, Vincenzo Giliberti, Stefano Di Gregorio, Valentina Totaro, Nicola Catucci, Anna De Giosa, Roberta Giusto, Ilaria Viviana Lanera, Gioacchino Angarano, Sergio Lo Caputo, Annalisa Saracino
High School students, recognized as a high-risk group for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), were the focal point of an educational campaign in Southern Italy to share information and good practices about STIs and HIV/AIDS. A baseline survey comprising 76 items was conducted via the REDCap platform to assess students’ initial knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to STIs and HIV/AIDS. Sociodemographic variables were also investigated. The association between variables and KAP score was assessed by Kruskal-Wallis’ or Spearman’s test, as appropriate. An ordinal regression model was built to estimate the effect size, reported as odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI), for achieving higher KAP scores among students features. On a scale of 0 to 29, 1702 participants achieved a median KAP score of 14 points. Higher scores were predominantly reported by students from classical High Schools (OR 3.19, 95% C.I. 1.60–6.33, pby Sufia Dadabhai, Laura Quaynor, Antonio Bandala-Jacques, Linly Seyama, Md Hafizur Rahman, Richard Phiri, Michele R. Decker, Taha E. Taha
PurposeGender inequity and adverse health outcomes continue to be of concern among women in sub-Saharan Africa. We determined prevalence of intimate partner violence and excess fertility (having more children than desired) in reproductive age women in Malawi. We also explored factors associated with these outcomes and with spousal fertility intentions.
Patients and methodsIn a cross-sectional study, a total of 360 women and 410 men were recruited using multi-stage sampling from communities in a peri-urban setting in Blantyre District, Southern Malawi in 2021. Women and men were separately interviewed by trained study workers using a structured questionnaire. In addition to descriptive analyses, we used univariate and multivariate logistic regression models to assess associations of risk factors with the outcomes of intimate partner violence and excess fertility.
ResultsAmong women, lifetime prevalence of intimate partner violence was 23.1%, and excess fertility was experienced by 25.6%. Intimate partner violence was associated with male partners alcohol consumption (adjusted odds ratio 2.13; P = 0.019). Women were more likely to report excess fertility if they were older (adjusted odds ratio 2.0, P Conclusions
Intimate partner violence, excess fertility, and social and health inequities continue to be prevalent in Malawi. These data suggest the underlying proximal and distal factors associated with these adverse outcomes such as alcohol consumption may be addressed through education, couple interactive communication, and community dialogue. To ensure sustainability and effectiveness, strong leadership involvement, both governmental and non-governmental, is needed.
by Caterina Casalini, Yema D’Almeida, Moussa Ariziki Nassam, Essopha Kokoloko, Souley Wade, Jean Paul Tchupo, Messan Damarly, Justin Mandala, Michele Lanham, Natasha Mack, Chris Akolo, Vincent Polakinam Pitche, Hugues Guidigbi, Claver Anoumou Dagnra
BackgroundAccording to UNAIDS, Togo halved AIDS-related deaths among children ages 0–14 from 2010 to 2020. However, available data show low dolutegravir (DTG)-containing antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage and low viral load suppression (VLS) among children living with HIV (CLHIV). We analyzed routine facility data before and after implementation of root-cause-based solutions for improving DTG coverage, viral load (VL) testing coverage, and VLS among CLHIV.
DescriptionWe analyzed routine data for CLHIV ≤14 years from October 2019 through September 2022. We assessed proportion of CLHIV on ART receiving DTG, VL testing coverage (CLHIV on ART with documented VL test result), and VLS (CLHIV with documented VL test result of Results
From baseline (October 2019–September 2020) to endline (October 2021–September 2022), increases were observed for DTG coverage (52% to 71%), VL testing coverage (48% to 90%), and VLS (64% to 82%). Age-disaggregated data showed positive trends.
ConclusionsRoot-cause-based solutions and granular data use increased DTG coverage, resulting in increased VL testing and VLS among CLHIV. These interventions should be scaled and become the national standard of care.
To identify changes in mental health status among nursing professionals in a Brazilian municipality during the COVID-19 pandemic.
An observational and longitudinal study.
Using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the presence of depressive symptoms was evaluated among 690 nursing professionals in the city of Pelotas, Brazil, at two moments: June/July 2020 and June/July 2021.
13.0% incidence of depressive symptoms was identified; as well as 12.2% remission; 24.1% persistence and 50.7% absence. Among the factors associated with the worst prognoses we can mention female gender, greater workload, feeling of overload, illness of family members or friends due to COVID-19 and use of psychotropic drugs
There was significant mobility in the diagnosis of depression among the professionals studied during the period analysed, with incidence of new cases of significant depression and greater than the number of remissions. In addition to sociodemographic aspects, traumatic experiences and exposure to continuous overload were associated with persistence and incidence of new cases.
With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, several studies have shown an increase in depressive symptoms among nursing professionals; however, understanding the long-term effects of this scenario is still a challenge.
What problem did the study address? This study investigates changes in the mental health status of nursing professionals working at different care levels, taking the prevalence of screening for depression as a proxy, during a period of a year during the COVID-19 pandemic.
What were the main findings? Between both data collection moments, 2020 e 2021, there was a significant percentage of professionals with persistent depression, in addition to a significant proportion of incident cases that slightly exceeded the number of remissions and the factors associated with the worst prognoses were sociodemographic aspects such as gender and emotional stressors like illness of family members or close friends due to COVID-19, in addition to those related to the organisation and support provided by the services, such as workload and feeling of overload.
Where and on whom will the research have an impact? This study will impact the nursing professionals and in role of the health services in order to establishing actions that contribute to minimising the deleterious effects of the pandemic on the mental health of their Nursing teams.
The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines were adopted in this study.
No Patient or Public Contribution.
Introducción: Actualmente, el uso de tecnologías innovadoras ha ayudado a los profesionales a gestionar mejor el volumen de información de manera inteligente, para facilitar y optimizar el uso de acciones y prácticas preventivas. Entendido como un recurso capaz de expandir o acceder a datos, nuestro objetivo es analizar el tema del suicidio en Rio Grande do Sul, en el período de 2010 a 2019, desde el portal municipal de Business Intelligence. Método: Una investigación es de naturaleza cuantitativa, de tipo descriptivo, basada en los registros de muertes por suicidio en el estado de Rio Grande do Sul, escuchada por el portal público de inteligencia empresarial (BI). Los datos fueron analizados, basados en el número bruto de muertes por suicidio en la macro-región del Sur, registrada en el Portal BI / DGTI. Se realizó una descripción del número de muertes según el año, el sexo, el grupo de edad y la tasa de suicidios. Resultados: un total de 11,774 muertes por suicidio, registradas en los últimos 10 años, o el número más alto que ocurrió en los años 2017 y 2019, entre los hombres, con tasas más altas en los grupos de edad entre 20 y 69 años. Una tasa más alta registrada fue en 2019, con 12.41 muertes por cada 100,000 habitantes. Concluimos con este estudio sobre el uso de Bussiness Intelligence, que permite acciones más efectivas en la prevención del suicidio.
Objetivo principal: relatar a experiência das práticas de educação em saúde, por um grupo de profissionais, integrantes da Atenção Primária em Saúde, em zonas de prostituição de Rio Grande/RS. Metodologia: Trata-se de um relato de experiência, realizado em 2016, por um grupo de profissionais (Enfermeira, Assistente Social, Educador Social e motorista), vinculados a secretaria de saúde de um município do extremo sul do Brasil. Em uma unidade móvel de saúde, o grupo percorreu as zonas de prostituição (postos de gasolina, ruas e boates). De abril a agosto de 2016, os profissionais de saúde desenvolveram ações de conscientização sobre a importância dos riscos inerentes a profissão, sobre o cuidado de si, através da oferta de testes rápidos, distribuição de preservativos masculinos e femininos e lubrificantes íntimos. Resultados: Vinte zonas de prostituição foram encontradas pela equipe, concentrados em ruas, boates e postos de combustíveis espalhados pela cidade. Cerca de 200 profis-sionais do sexo, foram atendidas pelo grupo, sendo ofertados mensalmente 40 exames de testes rápidos e 40 carteiras sociais. Quanto a pre-venção as ISTs, foram distribuídos 1500 preservativos masculinos, 200 preservativos femininos e 500 lubrificantes íntimos. Conclusão: A equipe, de forma itinerante, atuou de forma exitosa na busca, não somente de orientá-las quanto aos riscos inerentes a profissão, mas também de conhecer um pouco da sua história, do resgate a cidadania e da autoestima, a uma população que tem seus direitos frequentemente violados. Percebe-se nessa vivência a importância da educação em saúde como um instrumento de promoção e prevenção, na busca pela valorização dessas pessoas.
Objetivo principal: mapear la producción del conocimiento acerca de la temática violencia contra niños y adolescentes de una Institución Federal de Educación Superior (IFES) del Sur do Brasil. Metodología: Se trata de una investigación documental, a través de mapeo de la producción discente y docente de los cursos de graduación del área de la salud, educación, derecho, entre 1990 y 2016 en diferentes bases disponibles de la Universidad. Resultados: se constituyeron la muestra de la investigación, 86 producciones académicas, siendo 47 trabajos de conclusión de curso, 10 pro-yectos de investigación y 29 artículos científicos sobre violencia. Las producciones presentaron un crecimiento a partir de 2006, con un aumento considerable en 2012 y la Enfermería fue responsable del 46,5% de toda la producción académica y la atención a niños y adolescentes víctimas de violencia fue el tema con el mayor número de producción. Conclusión: la importancia de abordar el tema en los currículos a fin de que todas las áreas del conocimiento puedan ejercer su coparticipación en la garantía de derechos de niños y adolescentes que son acometidas por la violencia.
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