FreshRSS

🔒
❌ Acerca de FreshRSS
Hay nuevos artículos disponibles. Pincha para refrescar la página.
AnteayerTus fuentes RSS

The effects of unsupervised home‐based exercise training during pregnancy: A systematic review

Abstract

Background

Pregnant women may experience physical and emotional distress. Exercise is recommended for healthy pregnant women and is beneficial for their mental and physical health. Unsupervised home-based exercise is cost-effective for pregnant women as an occasional solution for their discomfort. However, no synthesis of randomized trials on this topic has been conducted.

Aims

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of unsupervised home-based exercise during pregnancy.

Methods

A systematic search for randomized controlled trials was performed in electronic databases. The review extracted eligibility criteria based on unsupervised home-based exercise intervention. The quality of the included studies was performed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool 2.0. This review was registered a priori in PROSPERO (CRD42023452966).

Results

In total, seven studies were selected for systematic review. Participant adherence rates for the three reported studies varied considerably, ranging from 33% to 75%. Two studies revealed that unsupervised home-based exercise improved symptom severity in relation to long-term adherence to exercise. Two studies suggested that maternal aerobic fitness increased due to exercise. One study revealed improved sleep quality. However, none of the studies supported the positive effects of exercise on fatigue, maternal insulin sensitivity, prenatal weight gain, postnatal weight loss, birth pain, and cesarean section.

Linking evidence to action

Unsupervised home-based exercise improves discomfort symptoms during pregnancy but requires a long intervention period. This finding suggests that the evaluation period needs to be longer to identify the effects of exercise. In addition, a theoretical-based integrity exercise plan should be considered to promote the effectiveness of unsupervised home-based exercise.

Living with unsettled baby behaviours: Qualitative interview study exploring parental perceptions and experiences of help‐seeking

Abstract

Aim

To explore parents' perceptions/experiences of help-seeking for unsettled baby behaviours, including views and experiences of obtaining advice from primary healthcare professionals.

Design

Semi-structured qualitative interviews.

Methods

Recruitment occurred via social media, general practice and health visiting teams. Remote semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents of babies. Babies were under 12 months old at time of interview, and parents had perceived unsettled baby behaviours in their first 4 months of life. Interviews were transcribed and data analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Results

Based on interviews with 25 mothers, four main themes were developed. ‘The need for answers’ highlighted parental uncertainty about what constitutes normal baby behaviour, leading to help-seeking from multiple sources. ‘The importance of health professionals’ and ‘Experiencing health professional support’ identified perceptions about limited access, communication, mixed advice and how these influenced parental perception/management of behaviours. ‘Foundations to help-seeking’ highlighted important roles of social support and online help for valued shared experiences, emotional and practical support.

Conclusion

Health professional access and advice are important to parents, despite the increasing role of online help and importance of social support. More support and improved access to reliable sources of information is needed for parents.

Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care

Findings will inform future research and clinical practice to address parental uncertainties. Qualitative research with front-line health professionals is necessary.

Impact

Findings can inform the development of resources to support professionals/families managing unsettled babies.

Reporting Method

Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research.

Public Involvement

A public contributor was involved throughout all stages of the research. Emerging findings were discussed at a parent group.

What does this paper contribute to the wider global clinical community?

Addressing parental uncertainties is important; about what is normal, non-pharmacological approaches and when pharmacological intervention is required. A digital information/self-management intervention may be useful for parents/clinicians.

Prevalence and population characteristics associated with frailty in a rural low socioeconomic area in Denmark: the Lolland-Falster Health Study

Por: Christensen · M. G. · Jacobsen · K. K. · Nilsson · C. · Jepsen · R. · Thygesen · L. · Suetta · C. · Holm · E. A.
Background

Frailty is a major geriatric syndrome that predicts increased vulnerability to minor stressor events and adverse outcomes such as falls, fractures, disability and death. The prevalence of frailty among individuals above the age of 65 varies widely with an overall weighted prevalence of 10.7%.

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of prefrailty and frailty in community-dwelling older adults from the regions of Lolland-Falster, which is one of the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas of Denmark with lower income and lower life expectancy compared with the general Danish population. Moreover, the objective was to find selected individual characteristics associated with frailty.

Design

An observational, cross-sectional registry-based population study with data from the regions of Lolland-Falster collected between February 2016 and February 2020.

Results

The study included 19 000 individuals. There were 10 154 above the age of 50 included for analysis. Prevalence of frailty in the age group of 50–64 years was 4.7% and 8.7% in the age group of 65 years and above.

The study demonstrates associations between frailty and high age, female gender, low education level, low income, smoking, living alone, frequency of seeing one’s children and getting help when needed. These associations are comparable with findings from other studies.

Conclusion

The syndrome of frailty consists of not only physiological and medical issues but also education, life conditions such as living alone and living in poverty and how you evaluate your own health.

Integrating nurse practitioners into primary healthcare to advance health equity through a social justice lens: An integrative review

Abstract

Aim

To develop a framework to guide the successful integration of nurse practitioners (NPs) into practice settings and, working from a social justice lens, deliver comprehensive primary healthcare which advances health equity.

Design

Integrative review.

Methods

The integrative review was informed by the Whittemore and Knafl's framework and followed the Preferred Reporting for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Quality was assessed using the Johns Hopkins Research Evidence Appraisal Tool. Findings were extracted and thematically analysed using NVivo. A social justice lens informed all phases.

Data Sources

Databases, including CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science, were searched for peer-reviewed literature published in English between 2005 and April 2022.

Results

Twenty-eight articles were included. Six themes were identified at the individual (micro), local health provider (meso), and national systems and structures (macro) levels of the health sector: (1) autonomy and agency; (2) awareness and visibility; (3) shared vision; (4) leadership; (5) funding and infrastructure; and (6) intentional support and self-care. The evidence-based framework is explicitly focused on the components required to successfully integrate NPs into primary healthcare to advance health equity.

Conclusion

Integrating NPs into primary healthcare is complex and requires a multilevel approach at macro, meso and micro levels. NPs offer the potential to transform primary healthcare delivery to meet the health needs of local communities. Health workforce and integration policies and strategies are essential if the contribution of NPs is to be realized. The proposed framework offers an opportunity for further research to inform NP integration.

Impact Statement

Nurse practitioners (NPs) offer the potential to transform primary healthcare services to meet local community health needs and advance health equity. Globally, there is a lack of guidance and health policy to support the integration of the NP workforce. The developed framework provides guidance to successfully integrate NPs to deliver comprehensive primary healthcare grounded in social justice. Integrating NPs into PHC is complex and requires a multilevel approach at macro, meso and micro levels. The framework offers an opportunity for further research to inform NP integration, education and policy.

Summary Statement

What problem did the study address: The challenges of integrating nurse practitioners (NPs) into primary healthcare (PHC) are internationally recognized. Attempts to establish NP roles in New Zealand have been ad hoc with limited research, evidence-informed frameworks or policy to guide integration initiatives. Our review builds on existing international literature to understand how NPs are successfully integrated into PHC to advance health equity and provide a guiding framework. What were the main findings: Six themes were identified across individual (micro), local health provider (meso) and national systems and structures (macro) levels as fundamental to NP integration: autonomy and agency; awareness and visibility of the NP and their role; a shared vision for the direction of primary healthcare utilizing NP scope of practice; leadership in all spaces; necessary funding and infrastructure; and intentional support and self-care. Where and on whom will the research have an impact: Given extant health workforce challenges together with persisting health inequities, NPs provide a solution to delivering comprehensive primary healthcare from a social justice lens to promote healthcare access and health equity. The proposed evidence-informed framework provides guidance for successful integration across the health sector, training providers, as well as the NP profession, and is a platform for future research.

Reporting Method

This integrative review adhered to the Preferred Reporting for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method.

Patient or Public Contribution

No patient or public contribution.

Implementing HLA-B*58:01 testing prior to allopurinol initiation in Malaysian primary care setting: A qualitative study from doctors’ and patients’ perspective

by Wei Leik Ng, Norita Hussein, Chirk Jenn Ng, Nadeem Qureshi, Yew Kong Lee, Zhenli Kwan, Boon Pin Kee, Sue-Mian Then, Tun Firzara Abdul Malik, Fatimah Zahrah Mohd Zaidan, Siti Umi Fairuz Azmi

Introduction

Allopurinol, the first-line treatment for chronic gout, is a common causative drug for severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCAR). HLA-B*58:01 allele was strongly associated with allopurinol-induced SCAR in Asian countries such as Taiwan, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia. HLA-B*58:01 screening before allopurinol initiation is conditionally recommended in the Southeast-Asian population, but the uptake of this screening is slow in primary care settings, including Malaysia. This study aimed to explore the views and experiences of primary care doctors and patients with gout on implementing HLA-B*58:01 testing in Malaysia as part of a more extensive study exploring the feasibility of implementing it routinely.

Methods

This qualitative study used in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to obtain information from patients with gout under follow-up in primary care and doctors who cared for them. Patients and doctors shared their gout management experiences and views on implementing HLA-B*58:01 screening in primary care. Data were coded and analysed using thematic analysis.

Results

18 patients and 18 doctors from three different healthcare settings (university hospital, public health clinics, private general practitioner clinics) participated. The acceptability to HLA-B*58:01 screening was good among the doctors and patients. We discovered inadequate disclosure of severe side effects of allopurinol by doctors due to concerns about medication refusal by patients, which could potentially be improved by introducing HLA-B*58:01 testing. Barriers to implementation included out-of-pocket costs for patients, the cost-effectiveness of this implementation, lack of established alternative treatment pathway besides allopurinol, counselling burden and concern about genetic data security. Our participants preferred targeted screening for high-risk populations instead of universal screening.

Conclusion

Implementing HLA-B*58:01 testing in primary care is potentially feasible if a cost-effective, targeted screening policy on high-risk groups can be developed. A clear treatment pathway for patients who test positive should be made available.

Dexamethasone induces sleep disturbance in a dose-dependent manner in mice

by Tomonobu Kato, Gento Okawa, Kenji F. Tanaka, Yasue Mitsukura

Synthetic corticosteroids, the most well-known anti-inflammatory drugs globally, are effective against inflammatory diseases despite their adverse effects that decrease a patient’s quality of life (QOL). One of these effects is sleep disturbance, which causes other health issues and further diminishes the QOL. However, the acute effects of steroid drugs on sleep-wake issues are not fully understood and must be clarified in detail using experimental animals. Therefore, this study examines the dose-dependent effect of dexamethasone (DXM), one of the strongest steroid drugs, on the sleep-wake architecture of mice. We conducted acute DXM administration at multiple doses and 24-hour EEG/EMG recordings. Our results revealed that DXM increased the time spent in arousal and decreased that of NREM sleep, even at very low doses. These results imply that steroid-induced sleep disturbance must be addressed at any dosage.

Persistence of gut dysbiosis in individuals with anorexia nervosa

by Yukiko Morisaki, Noriyuki Miyata, Megumi Nakashima, Tomokazu Hata, Shu Takakura, Kazufumi Yoshihara, Takafumi Suematsu, Koji Nomoto, Kouji Miyazaki, Hirokazu Tsuji, Nobuyuki Sudo

Recent evidence suggests a crucial role of the gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of anorexia nervosa (AN). In this study, we carried out a series of multiple analyses of the gut microbiota of hospitalized individuals with AN over three months using 16S or 23S rRNA-targeted reverse transcription–quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology (YIF-SCAN®), which is highly sensitive and enables the precise quantification of viable microorganisms. Despite the weight gain and improvements in psychological features observed during treatment, individuals with AN exhibited persistent gut microbial dysbiosis over the three-month duration. Principal component analysis further underscored the distinct microbial profile of individuals with AN, compared with that of age-matched healthy women at all time points. Regarding the kinetics of bacterial detection, the detection rate of Lactiplantibacillus spp. significantly increased after inpatient treatment. Additionally, the elevation in the Bifidobacterium counts during inpatient treatment was significantly correlated with the subsequent body weight gain after one year. Collectively, these findings suggest that gut dysbiosis in individuals with AN may not be easily restored solely through weight gain, highlighting the potential of therapeutic interventions targeting microbiota via dietary modifications or live biotherapeutics.

Sarcopenia como factor predictor de dependencia y funcionalidad en adultos mayores mexicanos

Objetivo: Determinar la influencia de la sarcopenia en la funcionalidad de Adultos Mayores Mexicanos. Método: diseño correlacional-predictivo. Muestra: 316 adultos mayores que asistieron al centro de actividades artísticas y deportivas. Instrumentos: cédula de datos sociodemográficos-clínicos, SARC-F, índice de Barthel y escala de Lawton. Resultados: La sarcopenia tiene impacto negativo sobre las actividades instrumentales de la vida diaria e influye en mayor porcentaje en las básicas convirtiéndola en variable predictora explicando un 34% las actividades de la vidia diaria y un 22% las instrumentales. Conclusiones: La sarcopenia es una variable predictora para las actividades básicas e instrumentales de la vida diaria. Los resultados presentados plantean bases para futuras intervenciones multidisciplinarias para disminuir el riesgo de sarcopenia y complicaciones en quienes la padecen. Es necesario adoptar estrategias de valoración de individuos con sarcopenia o en riesgo de desarrollarla, a través de consultas en el primer nivel de atención, para prevenirla.

Ansiedad, depresión y soledad en cuidadores de personas con enfermedad crónica

Objetivo principal: Determinar la relación entre ansiedad, depresión y soledad en cuidadores familiares de adultos mayores con enfermedades crónicas. Metodología: Diseño descriptivo correlacional. Se utilizó la Escala hospitalaria de ansiedad y depresión (α=.83) y la escala de Soledad (α=.95). Se hizo un cálculo de tamaño de muestra con programa G-Power 3.1.9.7 y se aplicó un muestreo a conveniencia. Se analizó con estadística descriptiva e inferencial, como Pearson y chi2. Resultados principales: Participaron 178 cuidadores familiares con una m de 45 años. Se encontró relación de la edad con la percepción de soledad (r=-.200) y el tiempo del cuidado con la puntuación de depresión (r=-.199) y ansiedad (r=-.179). Conclusión principal: Se encontró que, a mayor edad del cuidador, mayor es la percepción de soledad, y a mayor tiempo de cuidado, menor es la depresión y ansiedad, permitiendo implementar futuros programas de atención para mejorar la calidad de vida de los cuidadores.

Prematuridad: riesgos biológicos, establecidos y ambientales

Objetivo: Determinar el perfil de los bebés prematuros de cero a 30 meses de edad, que viven en un municipio de Minas Gerais, Brasil. Meto-dología: Investigación cuantitativa, descriptiva y transversal. Los datos fueron recolectados usando la herramienta de evaluación familiar. En el análisis, se utilizó la aplicación de lo Microsoft Excel 2010, evaluando su prevalencia y en porcentaje numérico. Resultados: En los factores de riesgo, 71.4% de los recién nacidos presentaron algún tipo de riesgo ambiental, con predominio de factores socioeconómicos; El 100% tenía algún tipo de riesgo biológico, con la hipertensión materna predominando sobre el riesgo prenatal (62,5%). Conclusión: la atención prenatal por parte de un equipo multiprofesional y la capacitación de profesionales de la salud para el monitoreo adecuado de las mujeres embarazadas y los recién nacidos prematuros es esencial para el correcto desarrollo neuropsicomotor de estos niños, dada la necesidad de una intervención temprana.

❌