Background Characteristics Of Participants Research Articles

Male Involvement in the Maternal Health Care: Expectations of Pregnant Women in Bolgatanga Municipality in the Upper East Region of Ghana

Background: Male involvement during pregnancy and childbirth is very important as it has been shown to increase the number of times a pregnant woman undertakes antenatal care visits before delivery. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between the background characteristics of participants and their male partners’ involvement in maternal health care in the Bolgatanga Municipality of Upper East Region. Methods: The study design employed was a facility-based cross-sectional study design in 9 health facilities in the Bolgatanga municipality. The study populations for this study consisted of pregnant women using antenatal services in the health facilities before the commencement of this current study and are residents of the Bolgatanga municipality. A multistage sampling strategy was used in the sampling of participants for this study with an estimated sample size of 422. Results: Findings show that the majority of 403 (95.5%) of the participants expect their male partner accompanies them during the antenatal care clinic. The chi-square test revealed that marital status had a significant influence on male partners’ support in house chore and support in antenatal care service (P-value of 0.001 and 0.002, <0.05). The level of education and region of the participants were found to have a relationship with the expectation of pregnant women that male partners help them in doing house chores antenatal care (P-value 0.027 and 0.000, <0.05). Conclusion: This study’s findings showed that pregnant women always want their male partners to accompany them to antenatal care and during labour and delivery. The pregnant women expected their male partners to be educated on the effects of pregnancy, how to take care of a pregnant woman, how to tolerate their partners, Sex during pregnancy, and how to prepare for emergencies (blood donation, transportation and finance).

A Comparison of Effectiveness of Thai Traditional Massage and Tamsulosin in Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

The prospective clinical, non-inferiority study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Thai traditional massage on lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) compared with Tamsulosin in Thai men. It was conducted on men aged 50 to 75 years old with LUTS (N = 45). Participants were blocked four randomly assigned into 2 groups. The control group (n = 25) was received 0.4 mg Tamsulosin daily and the study group (n = 20) was given Thai traditional massage for 4 weeks. The efficacy evaluation was performed by the International Prostate Symptoms Score (IPSS), a Thai version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHO-QoL Brief), Uroflowmetry, and Post-void residual urine (PVR) at baseline and end of study. The background characteristics of participants were not significantly different between groups. Both interventions relieved LUTS in the total IPSS and the quality of life score associated with urination were decreased, described as symptoms and quality of life due to urination improvement after 4 weeks of intervention. Interestingly, the Thai traditional massage has significant improvement in total IPSS and voiding score (p < .05). Additionally, the time to peak flow rate, peak flow rate (Qmax), average flow rate (Qave) and voided volume of both interventions were improved with no statistical significance. PVR was decreased in both interventions. The WHO-QoL brief score was improved the total score. There was no significant difference in terms of uroflowmetry, PVR, and WHO-QoL brief scores compared between groups. The result suggests that Thai traditional massage has the potential to be an alternative treatment for LUTS.

Factors Associated with Intimate Partner Violence and the Utilization of Maternal Health Services: Findings from Nepal Demographic Health Survey 2016.

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV)is a public health problem globally and is most common in developing countries. IPV affects more than one-fourth of all women of reproductive age [WRA]. It is most critical during pregnancy. IPV not only affects physical and mental well-being but also leads to negative consequences with birth outcomes. The paper aims to find out the association between background characteristics of participants, IPV, and utilization of maternal health services. Methods: We conducted a secondary data analysis of the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2016 to assess the association between IPV and maternal service utilization: ANC visits and institutional delivery. Altogether 1374 WRA were randomly selected. Background characteristics of the WRA and those who experienced IPV were the independent variables and ANC visits and institutional delivery were the dependent variables. Results: Data showed that 26 percent of the WRA had faced at least one form of IPV, 68 percent had visited health facilities at least four times for ANC check-ups during pregnancy, and the rate of institutional delivery was 61 percent. There were associations among IPV with ANC visits and institutional delivery (p&lt;0.001). Age group, educational level, ethnicity, number of children, residence setting, and wealth status of the WRA were significantly associated with ANC visits and institutional delivery (p&lt;0.001). Conclusions: IPV, educational level, and socio-economic status of WRA were significant predictors for maternal health service utilization. Policymakers should incorporate these significant predictors during planning and intervention programs as well.

Knowledge, attitude and self-efficacy of elderly caregivers in Chinese nursing homes: a cross-sectional study in Liaoning Province

ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the perceptions of elderly caregivers in Chinese nursing homes (NHs) and associated factors with regard to knowledge, attitude about elderly and self-efficacy.SettingA cross-sectional questionnaire survey...

Examining the effects of anti-space weaponization arguments in the media: Some experimental findings from Canada

This study examines how political activists are framing the space weaponization debate in Canada and whether their arguments can influence public attitudes and perceptions about the issue. Eighty university students from two undergraduate courses were recruited as participants in a quasi-experiment. One class (n = 38) was exposed to the documentary Masters of Space, an episode of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's program The Nature of Things, and another class (n = 42) served as the control group. Pre-test and post-test questionnaires were used to measure the effects of viewing anti-weaponization arguments in the media, while also controlling for the influence of prior beliefs and background characteristics of participants. Results suggest that visually depicting the use of satellite technology in society can convince viewers that satellites are important to their way of life, but not necessarily to the defense of North America. Framing missile defense as a ‘space weapon in disguise’ also seemed to raise opposition to Canada's participation in continental missile defense. The findings, meanwhile, indicate that viewers respond strongly to the issue of space debris and that mobilizing support for joint military space projects may best be achieved by emphasizing the usefulness of these projects for locating and tracking such debris. In the end, media exposure seemed to help legitimize anti-weaponization arguments based more on rational self-interests than on idealistic beliefs. These findings can have implications for the way space policies are communicated to the public.

Differences in Stress Levels between Managers and Direct Care Staff in Group Homes

AbstractA survey examined the differences between managers and direct carers working in community homes for people with intellectual disabilities in terms of the nature and causes of stress. Fifty‐seven managers and 49 direct carers provided data relating to perceived levels of pressure and support from a variety of sources. The questionnaire administered consisted of the Powell questionnaire of sources of stress and support ratings, a stress measure, and information on the background characteristics of participants. Analysis of the data revealed that managers of group homes were reporting higher levels of anxiety and pressure than direct carers. This was associated with managers reporting higher ratings for sources of stress. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Educating community gatekeepers about alcohol abuse in women: changing attitudes, knowledge and referral practices.

Two workshops were designed to influence community gatekeepers' knowledge, attitudes and referral practices toward women alcohol abusers. Both didactic and experiential approaches were employed by a staff of experts and facilitators in the area of alcohol abuse in women. Workshop participants completed self-administered pre- and post-workshop questionnaires and a six month follow-up questionnaire was administered via telephone interview to participants in the first workshop. The workshop format was successful in increasing participants' knowledge about alcohol abuse and women alcohol abusers and gains in knowledge persisted for six months. However, little change in attitudes or behavior was found. The importance of considering the prior training and background characteristics of participants is highlighted. In part, the limited success of the workshop may be due to its appeal primarily to gatekeepers relatively knowledgeable about women's issues and/or alcoholism. New interventions must design outreach techniques to motivate those most in need of training to attend.

The relationship between previous experience, intelligence and background characteristics of participants and their performance in an assessment centre

It is important to determine whether an assessment centre measures aptitude or merely certain characteristics of the participant, such as past experience at work and intelligence, which could be assessed by other less sophisticated means. This study investigated the performance of 81 middle managers whose potential for senior management was being assessed. Measures of overall potential and overall performance in the situational exercises were related to participants' previous experience (their functional specialism and specific work experience) and their seniority (grade), age, educational attainment and intelligence. Previous experience was not significantly related to overall performance and had a significant effect on performance in only one exercise. Intelligence was significantly related to overall performance and to performance in many of the exercises. Younger participants tended to be assessed as having greater potential, whilst managerial grade was not relevant. The main conclusions were that intelligence tests are useful for screening candidates and that past experience appears to have little effect on performance. The assessment centre appears to be evaluating managerial aptitude rather than previous experience.