Level of Stress and Coping Strategies Seen Among Parents of Neonates Admitted in NICU

Aim To assess the level of stress and coping strategies in parents of neonates admitted in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at a tertiary care centre in North India. Materials and methods It was a descriptive/observational cross-sectional study of 3 year duration with a sample size of 224. All parents willing to participate and who could understand English or Hindi were included in the study after the informed consent. Stress levels and coping strategies were assessed using a validated questionnaire between 2nd to 7th day of admission. Demographic data was collected and parental stress and coping was quantified using likert scale. The data was analyzed using SPSS Version 20.0. Results Most of the parents were moderately stressed (93.3%). The most impactful stress domain was ‘Emotional’ and the most impactful question out of that domain was ‘constant fear of child’s recovery’. Of all the coping strategies, cognitive strategy was mostly used by parents. There was a negative correlation between stress and coping strategies (r = –0.09) but the result was statistically insignificant (p-value = 0.16). Of all the demographic variables, the birth order of the baby was significantly related to stress (p-value < 0.05), while parent’s education, monthly family income and area of residence were significantly related to coping (p-value < 0.05, <0.05 and <0.001, respectively). Conclusion Most of the parents were moderately stressed, with cognitive strategy being the most used by parents as the coping mechanism.

Psychological Impact and Compliance with Staying at Home of the Public to COVID-19 Outbreak during Chinese Spring Festival

In December 2019, COVID-19 was reported in Wuhan, China. Most of the studies related to the psychological impact and compliance with staying at home due to COVID-19 focused on ten days or one month after the initial “stay-at-home” phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. The early psychological impact and behavior change to COVID-19 during the Chinese Spring Festival (the start time for recommendations to stay at home) is uncertain. In this study, people from 23 provinces in China were recruited to participate in an online survey, using Credamo. Psychological impact and compliance with staying at home were evaluated by a self-designed and validated questionnaire. The results indicated that anxiety was the most often reported feeling (mean: 3.69), followed by sadness (mean: 3.63). Participants employed in foreign-owned companies were most likely to express anxiety and sadness. Overall, 61.8% of participants reported hardly going out, whereas 2.4% said they frequently went out during the initial “stay-at-home” phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants with higher levels of anxiety and sadness were most likely to stay at home against the spread of COVID-19, as were female gender. This survey is an important study of the first reaction to staying at home during the initial “stay-at-home” phase coinciding with Chinese Spring Festival. Our findings identified factors associated with higher level of psychological impact and better compliance with staying at home recommendations during Chinese Spring Festival. The findings can be used to formulate precaution interventions to improve the mental health of vulnerable groups and high uptake of policy during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Development of Social and Culture Aspects Pre-service Science Teachers on Learning for Nature of Science

Understanding aspects of the Nature of Science (NOS) for preservice science teachers is one of the essential components to be able to understand Science and its processes. There are seven aspects of NOS: empirical, inference, creative, latent theory, tentative, scientific procedural myths, theories and laws of science, social and cultural dimensions, and their embedding in science. There are 48 preservice science teachers involved in this study. Researchers explored their views about NOS and Indigenous Knowledge (IK) through a validated questionnaire. Results showed that the students' opinions on NOS consisted of empirical, tentative, inference, law, scientific theory, and creativity. Meanwhile, aspects of laden theory, myths of scientific procedures, and social and cultural dimensions embedded with science have not been described by students. Fortunately, the students presented IK as an authentic context based on the culture in science learning. Students express IK ideas: 1) biomedicine (40 students), Biopesticide (2 students), beauty ingredients (2 students), additives (1 student), and supernatural medicine (1 student). Integrating Science and IK as an authentic context in science learning leads IK toward high technology and strengthens NOS aspects. In addition, the assumption that IK has no future is declining.

Workplace neighbourhood built-environment attributes and sitting at work and for transport among Japanese desk-based workers

Workplace settings—both internal and external—can influence how workers are physically active or sedentary. Although research has identified some indoor environmental attributes associated with sitting at work, few studies have examined associations of workplace neighbourhood built-environment attributes with workplace sitting time. We examined the cross-sectional associations of perceived and objective workplace neighbourhood built-environment attributes with sitting time at work and for transport among desk-based workers in Japan. Data were collected from a nationwide online survey. The Abbreviated Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale (n = 2137) and Walk Score® (for a subsample of participants; n = 1163) were used to assess perceived and objective built-environment attributes of workplace neighbourhoods. Self-reported daily average sitting time at work, in cars and in public transport was measured using a Japanese validated questionnaire. Linear regression models estimated the associations of workplace neighbourhood built-environment attributes with sitting time. All perceived workplace neighbourhood built-environment attributes were positively correlated with Walk Score®. However, statistically significant associations with Walk Score® were found for sitting for transport but not for sitting at work. Workers who perceived their workplace neighbourhoods to be more walkable reported a longer time sitting at work and in public transport but a shorter sitting time in cars. Our findings suggest that walkable workplace neighbourhoods may discourage longer car use but have workplaces where workers spend a long time sitting at work. The latter finding further suggests that there may be missed opportunities for desk-based workers to reduce sitting time. Future workplace interventions to reduce sitting time may be developed, taking advantage of the opportunities to take time away from work in workplace neighbourhoods.

The Need for Health Education and Vaccination—Importance of Teacher Training and Family Involvement

The health emergency due to COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of vaccination and its impact on social welfare. Inequalities have surfaced that affect the most vulnerable and those millions of children do not receive the necessary vaccines. Health education becomes a fundamental resource for citizens to access universal rights. One thousand people from 76 countries on five continents participated in this research in 2019–2020, from the health, education, and economic sectors. A descriptive cross-sectional study with a quantitative design was used. The instrument used was a correctly validated questionnaire: VACUNASEDUCA. The objectives were to reflect on the adequacy of teacher training and their awareness for the proper use of vaccines and to analyze the knowledge of parents about the consequences of vaccination. The results demonstrate the importance of teacher training and health education, with positive involvement of the family. The most favorable group is female, under 30 years, from the European continent, with a very high Human Development Index (HDI), and from the education sector. In conclusion, it is noted that, within the framework of the fourth industrial revolution, education must be configured with innovative approaches and tools, making it necessary to intervene in the context considering their cultural characteristics and promoting healthy lifestyle habits.

EVALUATION OF CLINICAL AWARENESS OF DIABETIC MELLITUS AMONG RAKMHSU MEDICAL STUDENTS- A QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY

Introduction: The number of patients with diabetes are increasing in rapid phase and the present medical students will encounter with such patients in the future very often. It was essential to understand and update their knowledge through education and awareness programs. Materials and methods: The cross-sectional questionnaire survey has been conducted in RAK Medical and Health Sciences University (RAKMHSU) with due approval from research ethics committee. After going through various indexed articles related to our topic, a pre designed pre validated questionnaire was prepared. The questionnaire assessed the knowledge about symptoms, investigations, treatment and complications. This was applied after validation to second, third, fourth and fifth year medical students. Results: The study showed the majority in both groups 93.5% and 89.2% agreed that they will be involved in taking care of diabetic patients in their future practice. The study also found that 65.2% group A agreed that excessive thirst and urination is a indicative of low blood sugar when compared with 31.7% from group B. With regard to symptoms majority in both groups agreed itchy skin is not a symptom of DM. When asked about insulin misuse, only 36.8% and 55.4% students agreed that blood glucose will go below 50mg/dl. Discussion and conclusion: Our study correlated with various studies which showed many students had problems in treatment aspects. But we also had positive results which correlated with other study showing they have good knowledge about symptoms. We also found our students had good knowledge about diabetic ketoacidosis. In conclusion, there is a need for conducting regular workshops, seminars, conferences in medical colleges to upgrade the knowledge of students and make them a competent general physician. Key words: Diabetes, Keto acidosis, Education, Knowledge, Risk factors

Parents’ Perspectives on Counseling for Fetal Heart Disease: What Matters Most?

After diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD) in the fetus, effective counseling is considered mandatory. We sought to investigate which factors, including parental social variables, significantly affect counseling outcome. A total of n = 226 parents were recruited prospectively from four national tertiary medical care centers. A validated questionnaire was used to measure counseling success and the effects of modifiers. Multiple linear regression was used to assess the data. Parental perception of interpersonal support by the physician (β = 0.616 ***, p = 0.000), counseling in easy-to-understand terms (β = 0.249 ***, p = 0.000), and a short period of time between suspicion of fetal CHD, seeing a specialist and subsequent counseling (β = 0.135 **, p = 0.006) significantly improve “overall counseling success”. Additional modifiers (e.g., parental native language and age) influence certain subdimensions of counseling such as “trust in medical staff” (language effect: β = 0.131 *, p = 0.011) or “perceived situational control” (age effect: β = 0.166 *, p = 0.010). This study identifies independent factors that significantly affect counseling outcome overall and its subdimensions. In combination with existing recommendations our findings may contribute to more effective parental counseling. We further conclude that implementing communication skills training for specialists should be considered essential.

Awareness and understanding among patients about patient safety in India: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study

Background There is a dearth of studies from India evaluating the awareness of patient safety. This study was performed to gain insight into the Indian patients’ awareness about patient safety and evaluate their willingness in promoting the same. Methods In this cross-sectional study, online interactive sessions pertaining to patient safety and patient safety culture were arranged by clinical pharmacologists for 800 urban patients post-discharge from a tertiary care hospital in India. A validated questionnaire was used, and the responses were analysed using descriptive statistics. Results A total of 635 patients [mean age, 43.2 ± 10.3 years; 385 (60.6%) males] responded. A total of 93.4% of the patients were aware of the term “patient safety” and 35.3% faced situations where they felt that patient safety was compromised. Of these patients, 64.3% reported to higher authorities when faced with such situations, while the remaining either ignored the issue or had no idea about how to deal with the same. A total of 99.2% of the patients never participated in any patient safety program; nevertheless, 94.5% of them were willing to participate in the same. Accessibility to information about patient care was deemed essential by 58.3% of the patients. Conclusions Although the overall awareness about patient safety among urban Indian patients is high, there is a lack of awareness about ways of dealing with patient safety issues. Given the high level of interest in participating in patient safety programs, such programs should routinely include patients for optimizing the chances for safer provision of health care.

Mapping the prevalence and use of questionnaires to detect the neglected sexual side effects after prostate cancer treatment: a scoping review

Background Early prostate cancer (PCa) treatment interventions may leave men with debilitating sexual side effects, especially when not diagnosed or present at initial follow-up treatment. Men are often embarrassed to disclose their sexual dysfunction. This may lead to sexual side effects related to PCa treatment remaining untreated, adding to their burden of disability. This study was conducted to map the evidence on the prevalence of neglected sexual side effects (NSSE) after radical prostatectomy (RP) surgery or radiation treatment (RT) for PCa treatment and the reported use of questionnaires to identify such side effects. Methods This systematic scoping review’s search strategy involved searching MEDLINE/PubMed, Science Direct and Google Scholar databases. Guided by eligibility criteria, two independent reviewers conducted title, abstract and full-text screening. Data from the included studies were extracted. The review team explored the implications of the findings in relation to the research question and aims of the study. The Mixed Method Appraisal Tool was used to appraise the quality of the included studies. This review is reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines. Results Searches of the databases identified 1369 articles, with 23 eventually included for review. The prevalence of NSSE ranged between 0 and 78% in studies reporting on early PCa treatment of RP and RT patients. Orgasmic dysfunction (5–78%), penile curvature changes (10–15.9%) and penile length shortening (0–55%) similarly showed a low to moderate prevalence. Climacturia had low prevalence (4–5.2%) after RT and moderate prevalence (21–38%) after RP, whilst anejaculation had low to high prevalence (11–72%) after RT. No validated questionnaire was used to detect any NSSE after early PCa treatment. Studies mainly modified other questionnaires, and two studies used non-validated questionnaires to identify some NSSE. Participants in the included studies reported being inadequately informed about the possible sexual side effects of their treatment. Conclusion This study showed a low to a high prevalence of NSSE in men after RP and RT for early PCa treatment. Questionnaires helped detect individual NSSEs after PCa treatment but there is currently no evidence of a valid, reliable and comprehensive questionnaire to detect the NSSE collectively. Scoping review registration N/A

Inclusive Education for Health: Analysis of the Mandatory Nature of Vaccination and Its Regulation by Administrations, and Implications and Considerations for Vaccination against COVID

In the process of vaccination against COVID-19, the problem of parents who do not want to vaccinate their school-age children has been evident. A conflict arises between two fundamental rights: the right to ideological freedom, privacy, and physical integrity of parents and minors who do not opt for vaccination; and the right to health of the rest of the children who attend the same school, provoking a social debate on the need to introduce regulatory changes that favor the mandatory imposition of vaccination in certain cases. This research offers an observational study through a cross-sectional design of a quantitative nature, in which one thousand people belonging to the education, health, and economy sectors from seventy-six countries of five continents have participated. The instrument used was a previously validated questionnaire: VACUNASEDUCA. It was considered essential to know the awareness of vaccination processes of professionals from essential social sectors. Therefore, the objectives were: to reflect on the measures of mandatory vaccination, to know the importance of teachers being able to demand a regulated vaccination card from students, to study the need for regulation by administrations of compliance with vaccines, and to analyze the importance of health education. It has been shown that women and those under thirty years of age are the least in favor of compulsory vaccination, with the health sector being the most defending of their demand, and with Europe with the lowest means. It is concluded that mandatory vaccination could be an acceptable tactical option to prevent high-risk situations.