Sleep and circadian indices for planning post-pandemic university timetables

The aims of the present study were to obtain sleep quality and sleep timing information in a group of university students, and to evaluate the effects of a circadian hygiene education initiative. All students of the University of Padova (approximately 64,000) were contacted by e-mail (major campaigns in October 2019 and October 2020) and directed to an ad hoc website for collection of demographics and sleep quality/timing information. Participants (n=5740) received one of two sets of circadian hygiene advice ('A regular life' or 'Bright days and dark nights'). Every month, they were then asked how easy it had been to comply, and provided with the advice again. At any even month from joining, they completed the sleep quality/timing questionnaires again. Information on academic performance was obtained post hoc, together with representative samples of lecture (n=5972) and exam (n=1800) timings, plus lecture attendances (n=25,302). 52% of students had poor sleep quality and 82% showed signs of sleep deprivation. Those who joined in October 2020, after several months of lockdown and distance learning, had better sleep quality, less sleep deprivation and later sleep habits. The 'Bright days and dark nights' advice resulted in earlier get-up time/midsleep compared to the 'A regular life' advice. Significant changes in most sleep quality and sleep timing variables were observed in both advice groups over time, also in relation to pandemic-related events characterising 2020. Early-chronotype students had better academic performances compared to their later chronotype counterparts. In a multivariate model, sleep quality, chronotype and study subject were independent predictors of academic performance. Taken together, these results underlie the importance of designing circadian-friendly university timetables.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Food Hygiene of Nursing Homes in South Korea

The purpose of this study is to investigate the importance of hygiene education for the safe and healthy diet of the elderly by analyzing hygiene knowledge, attitude, and practice of food hygiene in nursing homes that do not legally be required to hire a dietitian. A total of 40 nursing homes participated in a survey that combines telephone and mail. As a result, most of the foodservice management of the nursing home surveyed was conducted by the director (80.5%) or secretary (13.8%), not by dietitians, and their answer rate of hygiene knowledge related to elderly foodservice was 54.7%. In 6 of the 7 hygiene knowledge questions, there was a significant difference in the distribution of correct answer rates between the groups with and without hygiene education (p<0.05, p<0.01, p<0.001). In 5 out of 8 food hygiene attitude questions, all respondents (100%) showed a desirable hygiene attitude, and 99.0% of the respondents responded with a desirable attitude. The overall average practice rate for 8 hygienic practices items was 69.7%, and 6 of the 8 items showed significant differences in the distribution between those with and without hygiene education (p<0.05, p<0.01, p<0.001). Therefore, in order for the foodservice for the nursing home resident elderly to be managed hygienically and safely, hygiene education and training programs for foodservice managers such as directors and secretaries must be provided, and in order to manage the nursing home foodservice field, it is necessary to investigate the hygiene knowledge and practice degree of cooks and to prepare education and field management measures.

PERSONAL HYGIENE EDUCATION SAAT MENSTRUASI SOLUSI PENINGKATAN KUALITAS HIDUP REMAJA DI MASA DEPAN

ABSTRAKPersonal hygiene saat menstruasi menentukan kualitas hidup remaja puteri dimasa depan. Remaja puteri sangat rentan terkena infeksi pada organ reproduksi terutama saat menstruasi. Kondisi ini menuntut remaja puteri mendapatkan informasi yang tepat dan benar tentang personal hygiene saat menstruasi. Personal Hygiene Education saat menstruasi merupakan suatu kegiatan pemberian pendidikan kesehatan tentang upaya memelihara kesehatan diri terutama saat menstruasi. Tujuan Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat ini yaitu meningkatkan pengetahuan tentang cara membersihkan organ reproduksi ketika menstruasi pada orang tua siswa SDN 05 Marunda Kelas 6, Cilincing, Jakarta Utara. Metode yang dilakukan pada kegiatan Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat ini yaitu dengan menyebarkan kuesioner sebelum (pre test), pelaksanaan personal hygiene education saat menstruasi dan sesudah kegiatan (post test) sebagai bentuk evaluasi. Hasil pre test menunjukkan 6,7% orang tua kurang memahami cara melakukan personal hygiene saat menstruasi dan hasil post test menunjukkan peningkatan pengetahuan orang tua menjadi 86,7% tentang personal hygiene saat menstruasi. Kegiatan ini sangat didukung untuk dapat dilaksanakan secara berkelanjutan. Kata kunci: personal hygiene education saat menstruasi; sumber informasi; pengetahuan ABSTRACTPersonal hygiene during menstruation determines the quality of life of young women in the future. Teenage girls are very susceptible to infection in the reproductive organs, especially during menstruation. This condition requires young women to get the right and correct information about personal hygiene during menstruation. Personal Hygiene Education during menstruation is an activity to provide health education on maintaining personal health, especially during menstruation. The purpose of this community service is to raise knowledge about how to clean the reproductive organs during menstruation for parents of grade 6 students at SDN 05 Marunda, Cilincing, North Jakarta. The method used in this community service activity is by distributing questionnaires before (pre-test), implementing personal hygiene education during menstruation, and after activities (post-test) as a form of evaluation. The results of the pre-test showed that 6,7% of parents did not understand how to do personal hygiene during menstruation. Meanwhile, the results of the post-test showed an increase in the knowledge of parents to 86,7% about personal hygiene during menstruation. This activity is strongly suggested to be carried out sustainably. Keywords: personal hygiene education during menstruation; source of information; knowledge

Vocal Health Implications for Music Teachers: A Literature Review

The purpose of this literature review was to identify scholarship pertaining to teachers’ vocal health and to discuss implications for music teachers. The review includes studies where researchers have addressed vocal health issues for K–12 teachers of all subjects as well as issues unique to music teachers. Risk factors, measurement, and treatments for teachers’ voice disorders were also explored. Much is written about the prevalence and treatment of voice disorders in the teaching profession, but there is less information about the prevention of the disorders. More research is needed that specifically concentrates on prevention, and vocal hygiene education in teacher training programs should be increased. Education about vocal health is needed, coupled with strategies for ensuring that teachers make the connection between what they learn in vocal hygiene education and how they manage their vocal health on a daily basis.

Virtual Reality in Oral Hygiene Instruction: an Immersive Approach

Currently, oral health issues are increasingly been addressed and virtual reality (VR) is being used as an aid in health areas. However, there is little evidence of VR being used in preventing oral health problems. To evaluate the effectiveness of VR in oral hygiene education. Three hundred pupils, aged between 9 and 12 years, received instructions in oral hygiene by immersion VR and they gave their opinions about the performed activities. Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were applied, with a significance level of 5%. Part perception of oral hygiene showed no statistically significant difference (P>0.550). There was an increase in the use of dental floss (P<0.001), tongue brushing (P<0.001), and tooth brushing (P<0.001). Both drawings and comments made by participants related to oral hygiene were positive regarding the project. Conclusions: The use of VR in oral hygiene instruction was effective. Most participants increased brushing and flossing frequency and produced drawings related to oral hygiene. VR is effective and should be used in dentistry for teaching and prevention , especially with children, as it presents an interactive instructional space that can be approached in a playful way. This study presents dentists with a promising alternative for changing oral hygiene habits.

A systematic review of the effect of sleep interventions on presenteeism

Background Sleep problems interfere with work performance. Decreased work productivity due to health problems is defined as presenteeism. Although empirical data on the improvement of presenteeism by sleep interventions have been published, a systematic review elucidating whether there is a difference in the improvement of presenteeism across various types of sleep interventions has not yet been published. This systematic review of studies aimed to clarify which sleep interventions are more likely to be effective in improving presenteeism. Methods The electronic databases PubMed, PsycINFO, and MEDLINE were used to perform a literature search (the start and end search dates were October 20, 2019, and March 11, 2020, respectively). A combination of terms such as “employee*,” “sleep,” “insomnia,” and “presenteeism” was used for the search. Both randomized and non-randomized control trials were included in this systematic review. Results Six types of sleep interventions were identified, including cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), sleep hygiene education, yoga, mindfulness, weight loss program, and changing the color temperature of fluorescent lights in the workplace. Only CBT-I improved both sleep problems and presenteeism compared with a control group. The results of this review also show that there is heterogeneity in the measurement of presenteeism. Conclusions The results of this systematic review suggested that CBT-I could be adapted for workers with sleep problems and presenteeism. We discussed whether CBT-I improved both sleep problems and presenteeism compared with other interventions. In addition, methods for measuring presenteeism in future research are proposed.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF STRUCTURED TEACHING PROGRAMME ON KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE REGARDING ENVIRONMENTAL AND PERSONAL HYGIENE AMONG SCHOOL CHILDREN

A study regarding poor hygiene and inadequate sanitary conditions play major roles in the increased burden of communicable diseases. The study evaluated the knowledge, attitude, practice of hygiene among rural school children in Ethiopia; about 669 students were in grades 1-6, and they were interviewed by trained staff. Data consisted of hygiene and hand washing practices, knowledge about sanitation, personal hygiene characteristics. Approximately 52% of students were having adequate knowledge of hygiene, only 36.2% reported using soap, and of the 76.7% of students who reported hand washing after defecation, only 14.8% reported actually following this practice. Study findings underscore the need for more hand washing and hygiene education in schools. The first concept in personal hygiene is the positive and negative emotions that affect physical health, such as feeling pride in being neat and clean or feeling frustration in using hygiene tools. The second concept is personal hygiene practices such as hand washing, oral hygiene etc. The third concept is the fact that germs can lead to common diseases such as the flu or a cold. Nurses can use various techniques to help kids remember these.

Microbial load of edible termites (macroterme spp.) from collection to marketing in Serenje District, Central Zambia

Edible insects including termites form a suitable alternative for sustainable provision of animal protein to fight protein-energy malnutrition. It is as cardinal to study the food safety of edible termites as it is for any other food stuff. Twenty seven (27) samples were collected and analysed for total viable counts and Enterobacteriaceae. The microbial load was assessed using culture, microscopic and biochemical methods. The isolates identified in this study include Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, yeasts other than Candida albicans and Zygomycetes. Investigation of the total viable counts and Enterobacteriaceae of open air traded edible termites revealed loads higher than those recommended for minced meat 5.7 to 6.7 log10 cfu/g. The mean ranges were between 6.87 and 9.29 log10 cfu/g for total viable counts and 6.64 and 8.537 log10 cfu/g for Enterobacteriaceae. The presence of E. coli suggests faecal contamination of the sample along the value chain whereas S. aureus, yeasts other than C. albicans, and Zygomycetes indicate unhygienic handling of the food samples. Heat treatments can reduce the loads but may not be effective for enterotoxins and recontamination of the sample is possible. Poor hygiene and sanitation by handlers may contribute to contamination and recontamination of Edible termites. Food safety and hygiene education on processing and handling practices that reduce microbial loads at collection sites, transportation and display points are important especially since termites are sold as ready to eat foods in African open air Markets. Legislation on open defecation, use of toilets and promotion of hand washing hygiene can effectively reduce the risk of contamination with gastrointestinal microflora from faecal matter.