A Technique for Comparing the Relative Importance of Season of Conception and Season of Birth: Application to Emotionally Disturbed Children

1971 ◽  
Vol 118 (544) ◽  
pp. 329-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas F. McNeil ◽  
Carol S. Raff ◽  
Rue L. Cromwell

Numerous studies have related psychiatric disturbance to season of birth. Barry and Barry (1961) cited nine independent studies which concluded that mentally ill persons, especially schizophrenics, tend to have been born during the first four months of the calendar year. Hare and Price (1969) reported more recent evidence of similar seasonal birth trends for large groups of hospitalized British schizophrenics and manic-depressives, as compared with neurotics. Barry and Barry (1964) later suggested that the seasonal birth pattern may be more relevant to middle and lower class schizophrenics than to upper class schizophrenics from private mental hospitals. Orme (1963) upheld this seasonality of birth pattern among less intelligent but not among more intelligent psychotics. Norris and Chowning (1962), who confirmed the seasonal birth pattern among Canadian schizophrenics from both public and private hospitals, observed that the significance of seasonal differences between schizophrenics and normal populations depends upon which population birth years are selected for comparison. Norris and Chowning therefore suggest that the seasonal birth trend among schizophrenics may be the result of random variations in birth rate together with post-hoc grouping of the particular years for comparison. While this interpretation and criticism is tenable for a given study, it has become less tenable as evidence converges from the many independent studies.

2006 ◽  
Vol 40 (8) ◽  
pp. 698-703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esmè R. Jordaan ◽  
Dana J.H. Niehaus ◽  
Liezl Koen ◽  
Cathlene Seller ◽  
Irene Mbanga ◽  
...  

Objectives: Seasonality of birth, more specifically winter/spring births, has been implicated as a risk factor for the development of schizophrenia. The primary aim of this study was to determine whether schizophrenia patients of Xhosa ethnicity born in autumn/ winter have different symptom profiles to those born in spring/summer. The secondary aim was to determine whether the autumn/winter and spring/summer birth rates for schizophrenia patients of Xhosa ethnicity were similar to that of the general Xhosa population. Method: Individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, born in the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces of South Africa (n = 386), were categorized as autumn/winter-born (March to August) patients or summer/spring-born (September to February) patients. Negative global scores of the schedules for the assessment of negative symptoms were categorized as normal (rating of 0 and 1) or positive (rating of 2 to 5). Results: Patients born in autumn/winter were more likely to have avolition/apathy than those born in summer/spring. The results also showed that the age of the patients played a significant role in modifying the effect of the season of birth on symptoms of schizophrenia. Especially older people (more than 30 years old) born in autumn/winter had a higher incidence of avolition/apathy than those born in summer/spring (p = 0.026). Furthermore, in the relationship of birth season and avolition/apathy, the marital status of the patient was a significant independent explanatory variable, while gender was not. The study also showed a spring excess of 4% in birth rate compared with the general Xhosa population. Conclusion: The results from our study support the existence of a seasonal birth pattern in an African schizophrenia population and suggest that avolition/apathy may underpin this seasonal pattern.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anette Granberg ◽  
Marie Matérne ◽  
Lars-Olov Lundqvist ◽  
Anna Duberg

Abstract Background Effective implementation processes play a central role in health care organizations and affect the care of patients. Managers are pivotal in facilitating the use of new practices, but their experience and how it affects the implementation outcome are still largely unknown. In the field of disability health care in particular, managers experiences have scarcely been investigated. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore managers’ experiences of the implementation process when transferring new practices into disability health care settings. Methods Semi-structured individual telephone interviews were conducted with managers at disability health care organizations in four administrative regions in central Sweden. A total of 23 managers with formal managerial responsibility from both public and private health care were strategically selected to be interviewed. The interviews were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis with an inductive approach. Results The analysis resulted in two themes about factors influencing the implementation process: firstly, Contextual factors set the agenda for what can be achieved, which highlighted aspects that hinder or enable the implementation process, such as internal and external conditions, the workplace culture, the employees and managers’ attitudes and openness to change: secondly, Leadership in the winds of change, which described the challenges of balancing managerial tasks with leading the change, and the importance of a leadership that involves the participation of the employees. Conclusions This study explored how and to what extent managers address and manage the implementation process and the many associated challenges. The findings highlight the importance of leadership support and organizational structure in order to transfer new practices into the work setting, and to encourage an organizational culture for leading change that promotes positive outcomes. We suggest that identifying strategies by focusing on contextual factors and on aspects of leadership will facilitate implementation processes. Trial registration The SWAN (Structured Water Dance Intervention) study was retrospectively registered on April 9, 2019 and is available online at ClinicalTrials.gov (ID: NCT03908801).


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abel Demerew Hailu ◽  
Birhanu Demeke Workneh ◽  
Mesfin Haile Kahissay

Abstract Background Prescription drugs constitute the primary source of revenue for the pharmaceutical industry. Most pharmaceutical companies commit a great deal of time and money to market in hopes of convincing physicians about their products. The objective of this study is to assess perceived influence of pharmaceutical marketing mix strategies on physicians’ prescribing behaviors in hospitals, Dessie, Ethiopia. Methods Mixed methods sequential explanatory design was employed in two public and three private hospitals. A cross-sectional study design was employed by including (136) physicians working in public and private hospitals. Percentage, mean, standard deviation, and multiple linear regressions were computed using Statistical Package for Social Science. In the second phase, the phenomenological design was employed to fully explore in-depth information. Purposive sampling was used to select key informants and 14 in-depth interviews were conducted by the principal investigator. Content analysis was performed using Nvivo 11 plus and interpretation by narrative strategies. Results The overall perceived influence of pharmaceutical marketing mix strategies in physicians’ prescribing behavior was 55.9%. The influence of promotion, product, place and price strategy perceived by physicians in their prescribing behavior was 83 (61%), 71(52.2%), 71 (52.2%), 80 (58.8%) respectively. There was a statistically significant difference among marketing mix strategies (β = 0.08, p = < 0.001). Determinants on the influence of physicians’ prescribing behavior were specialty (p = 0.01) and working areas (p = 0.04). The qualitative design also generates additional insights into the influence of pharmaceutical marketing mix strategies on physician prescribing behavior. Conclusions More than half of physicians perceived that pharmaceutical marketing mix strategies influence their prescribing behavior. The qualitative design also revealed that pharmaceutical marketing mix strategies influenced physicians prescribing behavior. Strengthening the regulation and maintaining ethical practice would help to rationalize the physicians’ prescribing practice.


2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liciane Langona Montanholi ◽  
Miriam Aparecida Barbosa Merighi ◽  
Maria Cristina Pinto de Jesus

The nurse is one of the professionals responsible for the care directed toward the physical, mental and social development of newborns in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. This study aimed to comprehend the experience of nurses working in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Data collection was performed in 2008, through interviews with 12 nurses working in public and private hospitals of the city of São Paulo. The units of meaning identified were grouped into three categories: Developing actions; Perceiving their actions and Expectations. The analysis was based on social phenomenology. It was concluded that the overload of activities, the reduced number of staff, the lack of materials, equipment and the need for professional improvement are the reality of the work of the nurse in this sector. To supervise the care is the possible; integral care of the newborn, involving the parents, is the ideal desired.


Author(s):  
Claudete Aparecida Conz ◽  
Vanessa Augusta Souza Braga ◽  
Rosianne Vasconcelos ◽  
Flávia Helena Ribeiro da Silva Machado ◽  
Maria Cristina Pinto de Jesus ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Objective: To understand the experiences of intensive care unit nurses who provide care to patients with COVID-19. Methods: Qualitative study grounded in Alfred Schütz’s social phenomenology in which 20 nurses who work in intensive care units at public and private hospitals were interviewed between July and September 2020. Data were analyzed according to the adopted theoretical-methodological framework and the literature related to the subject. Results: The interviewed nurses mentioned demands about working conditions, professional recognition and training, and support to physical and mental health, which proved necessary considering the care intensity experienced by these professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: Learning the nurses’ experiences evidenced the need to adjust to a new way of providing care that included the physical space, new institutional protocols, continuous use of protective equipment, and patients’ demand for special care. This originated the necessity to be around situations that interfered with their health and motivated them to carry out professional projects after the COVID-19 pandemic.


Author(s):  
REGIS SILAS CARDOSO ◽  
ANTONIO ISIDRO DA SILVA FILHO ◽  
LEAR VALADARES VIEIRA

ABSTRACT Purpose: Understand how the user, the provider/supplier and the decision maker interact in the innovative process, as well as identify how the co-production occurs. Originality/gap/relevance/implications: There is evidence that the innovation derives among other factors from elements that characterize the co-production. Studies involving co-production of innovation are scarce. This study contributes to increase the theoretical knowledge in innovation in hospitals, mainly regarding co-production of innovation. Key methodological aspects: It is a qualitative study with case study strategy. Data collection through interviews and documentary research. Analysis of the data by technique of content analysis. Summary of key results: The logic of product development is still applied in the development of technological solutions for the hospital, against the logic of services, involving the interaction of customer with supplier. The results also suggest the possibility of relationship between innovation capacity and occurrence of innovation, pointing out the need to test this relationship in future works. Key considerations/conclusions: It is necessary to understand and investigate the mechanisms that allow the interaction of users, from design to implementation of innovation. It is also important to investigate whether the elements that characterize the co-production are relevant to explain innovation in hospitals, because elements were identified related to the concept of innovation that deserves to be better understood, including in contexts of public and private hospitals.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadira Mehriban ◽  
GU Ahsan ◽  
Tajul Islam

Hepatitis B is the most important infectious occupational hazard which the healthcare workers (HCWs) encounter. Healthcare personnel specially nursing staff represents a high risk population for HBV infection. The objective of the study was to assess the level of preventive practices regarding Hepatitis B among nurses and the factors associated with preventive practices. The study was conducted among 300 nurses both from public and private hospitals using a pretested structured questionnaire adopting a purposive sampling technique. The mean age of the respondents was 29.7±5.8 and majority of them (83.7%) were holding Diploma degrees with (83.3%) designated as staff nurse. About 59.7% were married and 94.3% were females. One third of the respondents (34.3%) were from public institution and 65.7% from private institution. It was revealed from the study that (67.3%) of the respondents had adequate level of knowledge on Hepatitis B but only half of them (49.3%) had good level of preventive practices. Bivariate analysis showed association between institution, income, age, religion, knowledge and level of preventive practice (P<0.05). In conclusion it can be said that compared to knowledge of the respondents on Hepatitis B, their preventive practices were low. Appropriate educational and health promotion programs should be implemented to increase the level of preventive practices on Hepatitis B among the nurses.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/seajph.v4i1.21840 South East Asia Journal of Public Health Vol.4(1) 2014: 48-52


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document