scholarly journals Neurology Telemusic Program at the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Turning Hospital Time Into Aesthetic Time During Crisis

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Borna Bonakdarpour ◽  
Alyssa McFadden ◽  
Skye Zlotkowski ◽  
Daniel Huang ◽  
Michelle Shaker ◽  
...  

Strict precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic left patients isolated during already stressful hospital stays. Research indicates that listening to music recruits regions in the brain involved with social interaction and reduces feelings of loneliness. We formed a team of clinicians and clinical musicians to bring music to the bedside, as “psychological first aid.” Our goal was to reduce feelings of anxiety and isolation in patients admitted to the Northwestern Memorial Hospital's neurosciences unit. Participants were offered 30–40-min live music sessions over FaceTime by a violist in consultation with a music therapist and a certified music practitioner. Music used for the interventions was personalized. Participants were evaluated with the Music Assessment Tool where they indicated their musical preferences and music to which they objected. Following the intervention, participants answered a questionnaire assessing how music impacted their emotional state based on a 1–10 Likert scale. Scores were then averaged across all patients and were calculated as percentages. Eighty-seven sessions were completed during a 3-month period. Despite different degrees of disability, most patients engaged aesthetically with the music. The likelihood to recommend (LTR) for the program was 98%; participants tended to highly agree that the intervention improved their emotional state (92%); that it provided a pleasurable experience (92.4%); and that it reduced their stress and anxiety (89.5%). This pilot project showed that the telemusic intervention was feasible for our neurosciences patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results are consistent with previous in-person hospital-based music interventions and highlight the importance of such programs when in-person interventions are not possible. This pilot project serves as a prelude to further investigate mechanisms by which music interventions can support admitted neurology patients.

2021 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 338-344
Author(s):  
Luísa Pelucio ◽  
Marcia Cristina Nascimento Dourado ◽  
Antonio Egidio Nardi ◽  
Michelle Levitan

ABSTRACT Schizencephaly is an extremely rare developmental birth defect or malformation characterized by abnormal clefts in the cerebral hemispheres of the brain, extending from the cortex to the ventricles, which may be unilateral or bilateral. This case report describes the general characteristics of a psychological home care program, reporting the main theoretical and technical elements in a 12-years-old case of type II Schizencephaly. The aims of the psychological home treatment were acceptance of the new treatment reality, a reduction in aggression and anxiety, and psychological support for the patient and family. In the psychological home care, patient’s awareness of illness was developed, along with family orientation, psychoeducation, relaxation techniques, and cognitive distraction. It can be observed that a significant improvement in the affective and emotional state was achieved within the patient’s clinical framework.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pragati Patel ◽  
Raghunandan R ◽  
Ramesh Naidu Annavarapu

AbstractMany studies on brain–computer interface (BCI) have sought to understand the emotional state of the user to provide a reliable link between humans and machines. Advanced neuroimaging methods like electroencephalography (EEG) have enabled us to replicate and understand a wide range of human emotions more precisely. This physiological signal, i.e., EEG-based method is in stark comparison to traditional non-physiological signal-based methods and has been shown to perform better. EEG closely measures the electrical activities of the brain (a nonlinear system) and hence entropy proves to be an efficient feature in extracting meaningful information from raw brain waves. This review aims to give a brief summary of various entropy-based methods used for emotion classification hence providing insights into EEG-based emotion recognition. This study also reviews the current and future trends and discusses how emotion identification using entropy as a measure to extract features, can accomplish enhanced identification when using EEG signal.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Hartveit ◽  
E. Hovlid ◽  
M. H. A. Nordin ◽  
J. Øvretveit ◽  
G. R. Bond ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Implementation science comprises a large set of theories suggesting interacting factors at different organisational levels. Development of literature syntheses and frameworks for implementation have contributed to comprehensive descriptions of implementation. However, corresponding instruments for measuring these comprehensive descriptions are currently lacking. The present study aimed to develop an instrument measuring care providers’ perceptions of an implementation effort, and to explore the instrument’s psychometric properties. Methods Based on existing implementation literature, a questionnaire was designed with items on individual and team factors and on stages of change in an implementation process. The instrument was tested in a Norwegian study on implementation of evidence based practices for psychosis. Item analysis, factor structure, and internal consistency at baseline were examined. Results The 27-item Implementation Process Assessment Tool (IPAT) revealed large variation between mean score of the items. The total scale scores were widely dispersed across respondents. Internal consistency for the total scale was high (Cronbach’s alpha: .962), and all but one item contributed positively to the construct. The results indicated four underlying constructs: individual stages for behavioural change, individual activities and perceived support, collective readiness and support, and individual perceptions of the intervention. Conclusions The IPAT appears to be a feasible instrument for investigating the implementation process from the perspective of those making the change. It can enable examination of the relative importance of factors thought to be essential for implementation outcomes. It may also provide ongoing feedback for leaders tailoring support for teams to improve implementation. However, further research is needed to detect the instrument’s properties later in the implementation process and in different contexts. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov code NCT03271242 (retrospective registered September 5, 2017).


Author(s):  
David Parizh ◽  
Maleeh Effendi ◽  
Elizabeth Dale ◽  
Julia Slater

Abstract Given ever increasing ease of access to technology, the majority of adults first turn to the internet for medical advice. The world wide web is filled with user-generated content within multiple social media platforms that lack a governing body to validate the information’s accuracy and reliability. The authors performed a qualitative review of first-aid burn resources available on YouTube using two validated scales: Modified Discern and Global Quality Scale. A search was conducted using the term “burn treatment” on September 18, 2019. Of 120 reviewed videos, 59 met their inclusion criteria. 36% (n = 21) of the speakers had formal medical training, with only 12% (n = 7) identified as burn care professionals. The mean views originating from nonmedical speakers (162,675) were more than eight times that originating from burn centers (14,975). The quality of the videos was compared by video source, speaker, and specialty. Burn centers had the highest Modified Discern and Global Quality Scale scores, 2.91 and 2.86, respectively (P < .05). Additionally, the authors were able to demonstrate that there was a statistically significant higher quality of videos when the speaker was a burn care professional or had formal medical training. Unfortunately, their review demonstrated that videos originating from hospital systems and burn centers made up a minority of the online media content. These results illustrate an opportunity for improvement by way of increased content creation to bolster the online presence of the burn community and provide patients with more accurate information.


Author(s):  
APOORVA HA ◽  
SEEMA MEHDI ◽  
KRISHNA KL ◽  
NABEEL K

Depression is a condition of no mood and loss of interest in any activity that can diminish a person’s thinking, conduct, tendencies, emotional state, and a sense of well-being. Although there is a conventional class of medication which have been beneficial in the treatment of depression, current studies have reported having side effects which can be minimized by the intervention of herbs and phytochemicals. Most of the studies have proven the various mechanisms and have started to research a very ground-breaking method by glancing the ancient treatmen. Where this new approach of using the herbs and phytochemicals has shown better results alone and in combination with conventional drugs which has shown lesser adverse effects. The practice of phytomedicine is an additional option for the treatment of depression. In the various segments of treating the depression, the mainstream can be a breakthrough including phytoconstituents. In this aspect, there are many contributions for the treatment of the depression acting to the neuronal level signaling and the phytoconstituents also have shown some basic mechanisms in the treatment of depression as that of the conventional medications following some primary hypothesis and signaling pathways and life interactions that effects the brain in either way to treat the depression in all sort of way. Clinical evidence is required to provide backing to the safety and effectiveness of herbs and phytochemicals alone or in combination with currently available drugs to overcome the reported side effects during the treatment of depression.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Farzaneh Yazdani ◽  
Tore Bonsaksen

Background/A Skills that enable the maintenance of productive relationships with clients are an essential aspect of therapeutic practice and include the use of therapeutic modes appropriate to clients' needs. The therapist requires a certain level of self-efficacy in order to use therapeutic modes in client–therapist interactions. Recently, a tool was developed to assess therapists' self-efficacy in the use of therapeutic modes. The structure of factors within and internal consistency of the self-efficacy for therapeutic mode use tool was examined. Methods Occupational therapists (n=51) from the UK and Iran completed the self-efficacy for therapeutic mode use assessment tool and provided sociodemographic information. The structure of factors was examined using principal component analysis and parallel analysis; internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's α and inter-item correlation. Results Parallel analysis suggested that the preferred structure has only one factor, explaining 55.2% of data variance. The items' factor loadings ranged between 0.67 and 0.80, and the scale had a Chronbach α of 0.83. Conclusions The sum of the scale scores can be useful in occupational therapy research and audits focusing on self-efficacy in the use of therapeutic modes in practice.


Neurosurgery ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 437-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sajjan Sarma ◽  
Laligam N. Sekhar ◽  
David A. Schessel

Abstract OBJECTIVE: Nonvestibular schwannomas are uncommon tumors of the brain. Trigeminal nerve schwannomas are the most common of this group, followed by glossopharyngeal, vagal, facial, accessory, hypoglossal, oculomotor, trochlear, and abducens nerve schwannomas, in descending order of frequency. We present a series of nonvestibular schwannomas that were surgically treated during a 7-year period. METHODS: Forty-six patients with schwannomas of Cranial Nerves V (26 cases), VII (7 cases), IX, X, and XI (9 cases), XII (3 cases), and III (1 case) were microsurgically treated by the senior author (LNS) during a 7-year period, from 1993 to 2000. The clinical presentations, operative approaches, complications, and results were studied. RESULTS: Forty-five patients underwent gross total tumor resection in the first operation. One patient who had undergone subtotal tumor resection in the initial operation experienced a large recurrence after 4 years, and gross total tumor resection was achieved in the second operation. There were no postoperative deaths. Postoperative morbidity consisted of cerebrospinal fluid leaks for 5 patients (3 patients required a second operation to repair the leak, and 2 patients responded to lumbar drain placement), meningitis for 3 patients (2 cases were aseptic and 1 involved bacterial meningitis, which resolved with antibiotic therapy), vasospasm requiring angioplasty for 1 patient, temporary hemiparesis for 2 patients (who experienced good recoveries), and permanent hemiparesis for 1 patient. New cranial nerve deficits were observed for 24% of patients but were usually partial. The mean follow-up period was 33.3 months (range, 0.2–93 mo). No patient experienced tumor recurrence after complete tumor removal. The patient who experienced regrowth of the tumor did not exhibit recurrence after the second operation. The Karnofsky Performance Scale scores at the latest follow-up examination were 80 or more for 45 patients (98%) and 70 for 1 patient. CONCLUSION: Nonvestibular schwannomas can be treated via microsurgical excision, with excellent functional results. Recurrence is rare after total tumor excision, although much longer follow-up monitoring is required.


2014 ◽  
Vol 72 ◽  
pp. 140-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo Posthuma ◽  
Emilia Wahlstrom ◽  
René Nijenhuis ◽  
Chris Dijkens ◽  
Dick de Zwart ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 47-47
Author(s):  
Jarmin Yeh ◽  
Pi-Ju Liu ◽  
Jacques Perkins ◽  
Andrew Butler ◽  
Sara Stratton ◽  
...  

Abstract The historical lack of outcomes-related data in Adult Protective Services (APS) has affected funding coming to the program. Without data quantifying the effectiveness of APS services, policymakers have been unable to justify budget increases to improve wages for workers or professionalize the field. For the first time in APS history, the U.S. Administration for Community Living sponsored a pilot project to implement a novel evidence-based assessment tool into APS electronic systems, called the Identification, Services, and Outcomes (ISO) Matrix. The goal was to improve APS’ ability to reduce harm of abuse and neglect and maintain client’s independence to live in the community. APS workers in San Francisco and Napa Counties were trained and phased into using the ISO Matrix over a six-month implementation period. This poster presents findings from six focus groups conducted between February 13 and March 28, 2019, with 34 San Francisco and Napa County APS workers and supervisors. Utilizing semi-structured, in-depth interviewing techniques, APS workers and supervisors expressed their views and experiences. Facilitators and barriers of implementing the ISO Matrix were assessed and opportunities for improvements were identified. Findings revealed a tension between their hopefulness that the ISO Matrix could modernize APS data-tracking and yield evidence of improved client outcome to bolster the field, and their frustrations about new burdens the ISO Matrix placed on their labor and workflow. Understanding frontline perspectives of APS workers and supervisors has practical and policy implications for adopting the ISO Matrix in other counties and states across the U.S.


Author(s):  
Susann Kobus ◽  
Marlis Diezel ◽  
Britta Huening ◽  
Monia Vanessa Dewan ◽  
Ursula Felderhoff-Mueser ◽  
...  

Premature birth places considerable demands on preterm infants and their families. Most of these infants are treated on a neonatal intensive care unit immediately after birth, leading to psychosocial stress for parents and making it more difficult to build a stable parent-child bond. We hypothesized that accompaniment with live music therapy by a music therapist supports the parents to get in contact with their child and to promote the parents’ wellbeing. Preterm infants born at less than 32 gestational weeks received creative music therapy twice a week until discharge. At the time of discharge, the parents were asked to complete a Likert-style questionnaire to evaluate the music therapy. Six items related to socio-demographic characteristics, 4 items to observations on the infant and 10 items to personal perception. Of 40 preterm infants receiving music therapy, 32 (80%) parents completed the questionnaires. Thirty (94%) of these parents were able to relax during the music therapy session. Relaxation in their infants was observed by 29 (91%) during and by 28 (88%) after music therapy. Parents perceived music therapy as a positive change and enrichment during their infant’s hospital stay. All parents were thankful for the music therapy they received. Music therapy supports the parents of preterm infants in the first time after birth until discharge from the hospital.


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