Relationship between Stress Perceived and Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Intensive Care Nurses During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between perceived stress and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms during the COVID-19 outbreak in the intensive care unit (ICU) nurses. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 170 nurses working in the ICUs of a hospital in eastern Turkey. Descriptive, chi-square and multiple linear regression analyses were used to analyze data. In the last three months, 48.2% of the nurses had complaints such as heartburn, 44.1% abdominal distension, 41.7% diarrhea/ constipation. The mean perceived stress level experienced by the nurses was found to be 29.30±5.73. Results from regression analysis included perceived stress score, gender, perceived health status, diet, having been infected with COVID-19 before and risk degree of the ICU in question in terms of COVID-19 revealed a statistically significant associated with scores obtained from GI symptoms. Perceived stress level, health perception status, having been infected with COVID-19 before and the high-risk status of the intensive care unit in question for COVID-19 were predictive factors for the occurrence of gastrointestinal symptoms. These findings may provide a basis for creating a healthy work environment where factors contributing to work-related stress are reduced and coping strategies are developed. Keywords: gastrointestinal symptoms, intensive care, nurses, stress

Does Nursing Education in Turkey Affect the Attitudes Toward Ageing and Elderliness?

The aim of this study is to explore the attitudes of nurse students in Turkey, towards ageing and elderliness and to determine differences in terms of year of study. The study uses a comparative design with data collected from February to March 2020. A random sample of 306 nursing students was selected. A demographic data form and the Attitudes toward Ageing and Elderliness Scale (ATAES) were used to collect data. Of the students, 47.7% reported that they cared for older adults in their clinical practice and 53.6% confirmed that they had successfully completed the theoretical lessons on elderly care. Theoretical education (Hedge’s g = 0.23) and clinical practice (Hedge’s g = 0.34) on elderly care have minimal effects on the attitudes toward ageing and elderliness. Theoretical education and clinical practice as conducted currently in a university in Turkey, failed to improve attitudes toward ageing and elderliness. Keywords: ageing, elderliness, nursing, nursing education, nursing students

Health System in Zimbabwe and Delay in Seeking Health Care of Breast Cancer Among Women

Breast cancer, the most prevailing and only cancer considered universal among women worldwide. The rate of breast cancer per 100,000 women is higher in high income countries than in low income countries. However, mortality rates are high in low income countries due to the delay in seeking health care. A systematic literature review was carried out to document the health system implemented in Zimbabwe and its challenges that could be contributing to the delay in seeking health care of breast cancer among women in Zimbabwe. A content analysis was used to analyze articles, searching was done using the Boolean search strategy, articles from 2005 to 2021, which met the inclusion criteria were considered. Factors such as centralized services due to shortage of cancer specialists, lack of financial allocations on breast cancer health programs, shortage of screening and surgical equipment, lack of accurate data due to weak registration system and health management information system as well as poor governance and leadership have also been found to be challenges in the health system of Zimbabwe that may contribute to delay in seeking health care of breast cancer among women in Zimbabwe. Keywords: breast cancer, health system, health care, Zimbabwe

Prevalence and Severity of Asthma, Rhinitis and Eczema in Pre-School Children in the United Arab Emirates

Very few studies have been carried out on asthma and allergies in pre-schoolchildren. This is the first study of pre-school children with asthma and allergies in the United Arab Emirates. We studied 4,000 pre-schoolchildren from the United Arab Emirates: Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, and Al-Ain. The ages of the study group were between 1-5 years, and were 2,000 boys and 2,000 girls; they were randomly selected from kindergartens and nurseries. We used the standardised International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire. The mean (SD) age, height, weight and BMI were 3.3 (1.4) years, 92.0 (1.3) cm, 17.3 (5.2) kg, and 23.4 (9.3). The prevalence rates of “wheeze ever”, “current wheeze”, “speech limitation”, “asthma” , “dry night cough”, and “exercise-induced asthma” were 40.4%, 43.8%, 37.6%, 26.5%, 36.1, and 37.6%, respectively. Boys had a significantly higher prevalence of wheeze ever and current wheeze than girls. Girls had a significantly higher prevalence of speech limitation than boys. The prevalence rates of “rhinitis ever”, “current rhinitis”, “itchy watery eyes” and “hay fever” were 42%, 40.5%, 39.1% and 46.9%, respectively. Boys had significantly higher prevalence rates of “rhinitis ever”, “current rhinitis”, and “itchy watery eyes” than girls. The prevalence rates of “rash ever”, “current rash” and “eczema ever” were 38.9%, 33.7% and 58.0%, respectively. Boys had significantly higher prevalence rates of rash ever, current rash, and eczema ever than girls. Children who were exposed to parental smoking have significantly higher prevalence rates of asthma, wheezing, and cough than those whom were not exposed. Children who breastfed more than 10 months had a significantly lower prevalence rates of “wheeze ever”, “current wheeze”, “speech limitation”, and “asthma”, than those whom breastfed less than 10 months. The prevalence rates of asthma, rhinitis and eczema were very high. Breastfeeding was found to be protective for asthma. The study can be used as a baseline intervention project to reduce incidents of asthma and allergies in these children and to establish atopic march in order to implement strategies to improve the respiratory health and allergies in these children. Keywords: asthma, wheeze, night cough, rhinitis, eczema, pre-school children, paediatric asthma

Pertinence of Predictive Models as Regards the Behavior of Observed Biological and Artificial Phenomena

In this assessment, we have made an effort of synthesis on the role of theoretical and observational investigations in the analysis of the concepts and functioning of different natural biological and artificial phenomena. In this context, we pursued the objective of examining published works relating to the behavioral prediction of phenomena associated with its observation. We have examined examples from the literature concerning phenomena with known behaviors that associated to knowledge uncertainty as well as cases concerning phenomena with unknown and changing random behaviors linked to random uncertainty. The concerned cases are relative to brain functioning in neuroscience, modern smart industrial devices, and health care predictive endemic protocols. As predictive modeling is very concerned by the problematics relative to uncertainties that depend on the degree of matching in the link prediction-observation, we investigated first how to improve the model to match better the observation. Thus, we considered the case when the observed behavior and its model are contrasting, that implies the development of revised or amended models. Then we studied the case concerning the practice of modeling for the prediction of future behaviors of a phenomenon that is well known, and owning identified behavior. For such case, we illustrated the situation of prediction matched to observation operated in two cases. These are the Bayesian Brain theory in neuroscience and the Digital Twins industrial concept. The last investigated circumstance concerns the use of modeling for the prediction of future behaviors of a phenomenon that is not well known, or owning behavior varying arbitrary. For this situation, we studied contagion infections with an unknown mutant virus where the prediction task is very complicated and would be constrained only to adjust the principal clinical observation protocol. Keywords: prediction, observation, Bayesian, neuroscience, brain functioning, mutant virus

Demographic Equality of Access to Cognitive Behavioural Treatment for Early Psychosis in Community Mental Healthcare in Greater London

Individuals experiencing psychosis have been described as one of the most stigmatised, disadvantaged and socially excluded groups in modern societies. Despite the development of evidence-based psychological treatments for psychosis, the access to such intervention remains debateable. In metropolitan areas, where clinical caseloads of mental health services should reflect the ethnic diversity of local populations, equal provision of recommended therapies might be further confounded, while empirical literature investigating this appears limited. The present study inspects equality of access to cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis across four specialist healthcare teams located in Greater London. Subsequent acceptance and participation in treatment are also examined. A retrospective analysis of electronic medical records of 244 patients was conducted using binary logistic regression and multiple linear regression. Participants were shown to have received treatment offers equally across demographic variables. Likewise, once the treatment commenced, engagement was equally distributed. However, despite having equal access to the offered treatment, patients of Black ethnic group seemed less likely to accept such offer, hence appeared disadvantaged in terms of treatment provision. This study demonstrates that, in multicultural communities, equal access to core interventions for psychosis is achievable, however does not on its own merits ensure equitable treatment provision. Thus mental health services need to proactively focus on specific ethnic groups requiring further efforts to increase treatment uptake. Keywords: mental health, psychosis, cognitive behavioural treatment, diversity, equal access to healthcare

Deaths due to COVID-19, Lockdowns, Vaccinations and Weather Temperatures: The Case of Greece

The aim of this paper is to present Greek daily descriptive statistics on confirmed deaths due to COVID-19, the days of lockdown and their effect on the number of deaths, the outcomes of vaccinations and the influence of weather temperatures. Do lockdowns work in bringing the number of deaths down? The descriptive evidence shows that this is the case even though there is a considerable lagged effect. On the other hand, vaccinations, during the time period of examination, do not seem to have diminished the number of deaths, but the reason might be that it takes time for their full effect to occur. Finally, this paper also examines the hypothesis that during the summer months the daily deaths from COVID-19 are relatively lower than during the winter months. Using average daily weather temperatures, this hypothesis cannot be falsified. Simple calculations of the functional relation between weather temperatures and deaths show that temperatures above 28.5 degrees Celsius (°C) were associated with zero deaths. Keywords: COVID-19, deaths, Greece, lockdown, pandemic, vaccinations, weather temperatures

The Religious Schizophrenic: Why Spirituality is Crucial for Recovery

Up to 80% of schizophrenic patients use religion to cope with their illness. These positive spiritual coping strategies are the primary predictor of mental wellness in patients with schizophrenia. Yet, most medical professionals have no religious training and are often ill-equipped to guide their schizophrenic patients in spiritual matters. Typically, religious institutions and modern medicine are not associated together, but what happens when mental health professionals lack the training to assist 80% of their schizophrenic patients who use religion as a coping strategy? Schizophrenic patients whose beliefs are not respected have a higher rate of suicide, face increased stigma and report a lower overall quality of life. Such patients are more likely to decline mentally and drop out of treatment. Some scholars, psychologists and philosophers are now arguing that ignoring the connection between religion and mental wellness is unethical because practitioners are failing to take patient diversity into account. This paper will attempt to answer the following questions: In an increasingly diverse world, is it the responsibility of mental health professionals to learn about their patients’ religious beliefs, especially when their beliefs are so closely intertwined with their chances at successfully managing their illness, such as the case with schizophrenics? Why is it a good idea to consider combining religion and healthcare? Should the increase in diverse patients require additional training for mental health professionals? Is it unethical for a mental health care professional to be ignorant of diverse cultures and religions? What are the dangers of allowing medical professionals, who largely have no training in religious affairs, to guide mentally ill patients? What are the potential solutions for this problem? Which solutions are more effective and why? Are the current practiced healthcare models, which combine medicine and religion, effective? Keywords: schizophrenia, religion, treatment, therapy, psychosis, stigma

Denique Onirocrites, sic erit Hippocrates:Dreams as a Diagnostic Tool in Early Modern British Medicine

On 7 July 1663, a young Edward Browne, who later will become a famous ethnographer and court physician, presented his two theses for a baccalaureate degree at Cambridge University. The title of the first thesis was entitled Judicium de somniis est medico utile (A Determination [of Illness] Based on Dreams Is Useful for the Physician). In a long series of Latin elegiac couplets infused with language and imagery drawn from classical Roman poets like Virgil, Ovid, and Persius, Browne argues that the contents of a dream directly relate to the conditions of a patient’s humors and that a wise person can diagnose the current state of an ailment on the basis of the dream’s imagery. Browne relies on three main classical and Hellenistic Greek sources: Aristotle’s works on dreams, Hippocrates’ Regimen 4 (On Dreams), and Galen’s On Diagnosis from Dreams. In this paper I discuss how Browne’s theories derive from these ancient sources, especially Galen’s text, which had appeared only two centuries earlier in the West in a Latin translation. More importantly I demonstrate how Browne’s views were consistent with current medical theory prevalent throughout England and across Europe among physicians, philosophers, and laypeople. Keywords: dreams, medicine in England, Galen, Edward Browne, Cambridge University, Artemidorus

Students’ Perceptions about the Profession of Nursing

Nurses represent the largest category of professional workforce in the health care system. The role and contribution of them have a vital importance in the provision of health care system, especially in nowadays. The aim of this study is to evidence the students’ perceptions about the profession of nursing. This is a cross-sectional study. The study was realized during the period of January–February 2020. The study was conducted with nursing students in first, second and third year of study, in bachelor degree. The research question is: "What are the nursing students’ perceptions about the profession of nursing?" In this study we conduct a standardized questionnaire about the perception of nursing profession. The survey performed in classroom was anonymous. All data collected were elaborated with SPSS version 19. There are given the conclusions and recommendations.Nursing students have good perception about the nursing profession. It exist an non-significant and negative correlation between the age and students’ perception. There is no significant relationship between students’course of study and their perception about nursing profession. There is a significant relationship between having family members in health care and students’ perception about nursing profession. The inclusion of the subject "Introduction to nursing" in the high school curriculum should be considered. Keywords: nurse, perception, student