Involvement In Identification Research Articles

Stakeholders’ involvement in identification of research and policy needs for children’s mental health

Abstract Background The overarching aim of the Horizon 2020 Equal-Life project is to develop evidence-based guidance for policy-and decision-makers concerning child environment and long-term effects on mental health and cognitive development. Stakeholders at national and local level are crucial in improving the physical and social environments children grow up in. In this paper, we present preliminary results of a repeated survey on stakeholders' needs concerning environmental determinants of mental health and cognitive development of children and adolescents. Methods We invited potential stakeholders from relevant fields of expertise. Two of three rounds of the Delphi survey were performed by means of an on-line survey between November 2020 and February 2021.The questionnaire was aimed at identifying research questions, knowledge gaps and raised issues about data collection and analysis regarding improving mental health and cognitive development, policy needs related to environment and its role in children's mental health and the potential effectiveness of policy interventions. Results and Conclusions In the 1st survey round 34 stakeholders participated and in the 2nd survey round 51 stakeholders participated from 26 different countries and continents. Across both rounds of the survey most participants were from research institutes (21), public health organisations (8), civil society (6), national stakeholders (5) with only little involvement of local or regional authorities or child care organisations. Stakeholders identified several research priorities such as: instruments to improve children's mental health, preventive programs addressing mental health, integrated mental health care services, programs aimed at parenting skills and child care. Early life exposure to adverse social events and psychosocial stressors in the family and socioeconomic disadvantage were recognized as main factors for child development. Key messages The guidance from Equal-Life aims to include stakeholders in creation of intervention strategies and preventive measures for mental health and the cognitive development of children. Evidence-based policies and programmes can buffer the negative effects of adverse environments and create restorative ones, and by doing so improve mental health and cognitive development.

Evaluation of community-based disease surveillance systems for priority disease detection in Nairobi County Kenya

Background: Community based disease surveillance (CBDS) may be defined as an active process of community involvement in identification, reporting, responding to and monitoring diseases and public health events of concern in the community. The scope of CBS is limited to systematic continuous collection of health data on events and diseases guided by simplified lay case definitions and reporting to health facilities for verification, investigation, collation, analysis and response as necessary.Methods: A cross sectional study design, interventions study program was adopted to determine the effectiveness of CBDS in detecting of priority diseases. Purposive and random sampling methods was employed to select the respondents.Results: The results of the study assisted the Ministry of health to understand the effectiveness of Community based surveillance in detection of priority diseases and hence strengthen the community-based surveillance initiative. From the findings, the integrated disease surveillance data for five years from 2014-2018 shows, more cases of priority diseases reported in health facilities linked to a community unit trained on CBDS. Cholera (9/5), Malaria (4757/2789), Neonatal tetanus (27/3) respectively.Conclusions: The study concluded that, use of community-based surveillance system, improves detection of the notifiable diseases in the community. The study revealed that there is a gap on training of community-based disease surveillance system and therefore there is need for continuous refresher trainings on CBDS to the CHVs and CHAs to accommodate also the newly recruited.

The role of non-dietetic healthcare professionals in managing interventions among adults at risk of malnutrition: A systematic review

Malnutrition is estimated to affect over three million people in the UK resulting in serious consequences on both the individuals' health and healthcare system. While dietitians are uniquely qualified to provide nutritional interventions, they have one of the lowest workforce numbers in the NHS making it difficult to tackle the malnutrition burden alone. Thus, innovative ways of working are needed. Non-dietetic health care professionals are often involved in the identification, assessment and treatment of malnutrition and research has shown benefits of their involvement in identification and management of nutritional issues, however their role in delivering nutritional interventions has not yet been evaluated. The aim of this systematic review is to collate evidence on the potential roles and effectiveness of non-dietetic healthcare professionals in providing nutritional interventions and their impact on patient-centred outcomes in malnourished or at-risk individuals. Three electronic databases were searched on 10th October 2019. Titles and abstracts were initially screened, followed by full texts, against inclusion criteria and included/excluded studies by two authors independently. Data were extracted and tabulated where possible and grouped according to type of intervention and outcomes. Risk of bias and quality of evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach. Data were combined in the form of a narrative synthesis. Eighteen eligible studies were included; five involved feeding assistance, 10 involved implementing individualised nutrition monitoring or care plans and three were multi-factorial interventions. Interventions took place in a range of settings including hospital and long term care facilities. Very low and low quality evidence suggests that non-dietetic HCP interventions may improve weight, percent of patients reaching estimated energy requirements, quality of life, falls and frailty rate and patient satisfaction. Very low quality evidence suggests that non-dietetic HCP interventions may not improve mid-arm circumference, energy or protein intake, activities of daily living, handgrip strength or length of hospital stay. Low quality evidence suggests that non-dietetic HCP interventions have no effect on mortality. A lack of good quality evidence on the effectiveness of non-dietetic HCP delivered interventions on the management of malnutrition in adults makes it difficult to draw conclusions. However, this review has highlighted the types of interventions and potential roles of non-dietetic HCPs, providing a groundwork for further high-quality research such as feasibility studies in this area, for the effective management of malnutrition within clinical and community practice.

Investigating the role of practice nurses in the early identification and management of chronic kidney disease in the general practice setting: An integrative review

Aim The aim of this study was to critically review research literature investigating the role of practice nurses in the early identification and management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the general practice setting. Method An integrative review was performed to determine the extent to which the topic has been investigated. Quantitative and qualitative research papers were systematically located in peer-reviewed journals in electronic databases. Included papers were critically appraised using the relevant CASP appraisal tools. Findings There is a paucity of research investigating the role of practice nurses in the early identification and management of CKD in primary health care. Three articles published between 2013 and 2017 were identified: two quantitative studies and one qualitative study. One study from The Netherlands quantified positive outcomes of practice nurse-centred management of CKD in general practice. Conclusion Practice nurses may be effective in the early identification and management of CKD, including improving blood pressure control. Providing education to practice nurses appears to be a key factor in increasing practice nurses’ involvement in identification and management of CKD. Further research is warranted to see if the results are transferable to other jurisdictions.

Effect of the observed pupil size on the amygdala of the beholders

Among a range of cognitive functions of the amygdala, recent studies suggest its involvement in identification of the pupil size. To further address its role, we investigated the response of the amygdala to human and cat faces with varied pupil size, taking into account the effect of the gender and subjective attractiveness ratings. Twenty-seven subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while viewing faces with large and small pupils. Large pupil faces induced increased activation in the amygdala, without interactions with either subject or stimuli gender, although no equivalent activation differences were seen for cat face stimuli. The activation differences were irrespective of the perceived attractiveness, and without explicit knowledge about the manipulation of the pupil size. These data support the idea that the amygdala is responsive not only to explicit or implicit fear, abhorrence or preference, but also to other elements that might suggest heightened vigilance of biologically relevant stimuli, which does not necessarily require subjective awareness.

Where Do Conflictual Ties Come From? Exploring the Role of Spatial Distribution of Principals and Mediating Agents.

Using data on patent infringement litigation in biopharmaceuticals, this study investigates the origins of conflictual interorganizational relationships. It explores the role of spatial distribution of principals (firms) and mediating agents (intellectual property litigation firms) in facilitating and sustaining the conflictual relationships. Spatial propinquity is hypothesized to determine the nature of social relationships between the principal's and the mediating agent's employees, subsequently affecting the mediating agent's involvement in identification of opportunities for conflictual interactions by the principal. Propinquity is also predicted to decrease principal's communication and transportation costs while maintaining a professional relationship with the mediating agent, hence proving a more positive economic outlook of entering into and sustaining conflictual ties. The context of this study is the patterns of spatial distribution of 405 U.S. firms in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals (the principals) and 57 leading intellectual property litigation firms (the mediating agents). It relates these patterns to the involvement in patent infringement disputes by the biopharmaceutical firms in 1998-2006. The study additionally utilizes evidence from thirty-five semi-structured interviews with business executives, in-house legal counsel, patent attorneys, and litigators. Results suggest that, for a litigious firm, both proximity to and the concentration of proximate IP law firms increase the number of lawsuits the firm files and the number of litigation days the firm has in a given year.

Parent Perceptions of Pragmatic Skills in Teens and Young Adults Using AAC

The acquisition of social skills is critical in the successful academic inclusion and competitive employment of individuals with disabilities. Parent involvement in identification of social skills targets for intervention is a valuable first step in the intervention process. A total of 21 parents completed the Pragmatics Profile from the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals for their teen and young adult children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Because several parents rated more than one item as not appropriate, total scores could be computed for only 10 participants; however, descriptive analysis of results from the Rituals and Conversational Skills section was conducted for all participants. Of the 22 items from that section, 17 were rated as sometimes or never (i.e., requiring intervention) by the majority of parents, suggesting that many teens and young adults using AAC have pragmatic skills in need of intervention.

Dentists’ involvement in identification and reporting of child physical abuse: Jordan as a case study

The objectives of this study were to assess the knowledge, attitude, and experience among Jordanian dentists regarding child abuse, and to explore the factors that affect their hesitation to report any suspected cases. A self-administered structured questionnaire was sent randomly to 500 Jordanian dentists. It investigated dentists' knowledge, attitude, and experience in recognizing and reporting child abuse cases. It also investigated several factors associated with dentists' hesitation to report suspected cases of child physical abuse. The response rate was 68%. More dentists were aware of their ethical obligations (80%) than their legal responsibilities (71%) to report child abuse cases. One-third of the dentists knew where to report suspected cases. Although 42% of dentists suspected cases of child abuse, only 20% of them reported these cases. The most frequently cited reasons for hesitation to report such cases were lack of history (76%), uncertainty about diagnosis (73%), and possible consequences on the child (66%). Reporting was significantly associated with suspicion of child abuse cases, as well as the belief of legal responsibilities. There was a low reporting rate of child abuse among Jordanian dentists. They lack the adequate knowledge about recognition and reporting issues of suspected cases.

Changing practice in residential aged care using participatory methods.

Residential aged care staff play a significant role in the day-to-day lives of residents yet are faced with many barriers to providing care that promotes resident wellbeing. Action research is a useful approach for clarifying issues, identifying education and training needs, and identifying, and in some cases overcoming, organizational barriers to change. The Well for Life project aimed to enhance the social and physical health and well being of residents of aged care settings by empowering the staff of facilities to make change. The project had a particular focus on nutrition and physical activity. This paper reports on the action research group process undertaken during Phase I of the Well for Life project. Five residential aged care settings participated in the action research process facilitated by project staff independent of the facilities. The action plan and outcomes from one of these settings is used to illustrate the process and outcomes. The main findings of the project indicate that using a process that encourages staff involvement in identification of issues and actions can facilitate change in the practice of resident care. The action research groups identified specific gaps in knowledge and skill leading to targeted education that addressed areas of need. The importance of presenting information and learning opportunities for staff in a variety of formats was also recognized, as was the importance of organizational context, management support and empowerment of staff to make change.

Environmental Regulation: A Framework for Determining Research Needs

A research response is called for to deal with the complex and inadequately understood physical and economic phenomena involved in environmental regulation. Because there is an area of conflict between people in the agricultural community and some of those advocating environmental regulation, a new client relationship is needed that may be uncomfortable for some. Major research tasks can be best seen in relation to the policy formation process. We need to consider involvement in identification and measurement of problems, development of alternative policies, analysis of these alternatives, development of efficient responses to policy initiatives, and assessment of policy performance. The need for research in new techniques could lead to the utilization of interdisciplinary research teams.