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Journal of Applied Gerontology : the... Jul 2023Social prescribing is a non-clinical approach to addressing social, environmental, and economic factors affecting how people feel physical and/or emotionally. It...
Social prescribing is a non-clinical approach to addressing social, environmental, and economic factors affecting how people feel physical and/or emotionally. It involves connecting people to "community assets" (e.g., local groups, organizations, and charities) that can contribute to positive well-being. We sought to explain in what ways, for whom, and why the cultural sector can support social prescribing with older people. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 28 older people (aged 60+) and 25 cultural sector staff. The following nine concepts, developed from interview data, progressed the understanding of tailoring cultural offers, which came from our previous realist review- Through tailoring, we propose that older people might experience one or more of the following benefits from engaging with a cultural offer as part of social prescribing-being immersed, psychological holding, connecting, and transforming through self-growth.
Topics: Aged; Humans; Social Inclusion; Health Status
PubMed: 36724235
DOI: 10.1177/07334648231154043 -
Ecancermedicalscience 2023The Cancer Diseases Hospital (CDH) 2019 annual report revealed an upsurge in the number of new cancer patients accessing services from 35 patients in 2006 to 3,008 in...
Experiences and coping strategies of women caring for their husbands with cancer at the Cancer Diseases Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia: a descriptive phenomenological approach.
The Cancer Diseases Hospital (CDH) 2019 annual report revealed an upsurge in the number of new cancer patients accessing services from 35 patients in 2006 to 3,008 in 2019. This study explored the experiences and coping strategies of women caring for their husbands with cancer attending the CDH. A phenomenological research design was used with stratified purposeful sampling. Data were collected using an interview schedule and analysed using thematic analysis. The women's challenges included mobility difficulties and hospital admissions/problems; socio-economic problems, psychological and emotional distress; and caregiving liability and spiritual anguish. The benefits that female spouses experienced during caring for their loved ones included knowledge about cancer and infection prevention, a strong marital relationship, tolerance and perseverance, resilience and hope and good relationship with other caregivers. The women's needs included financial support, physical needs, psychosocial counselling, caregiver accommodation, time off from caregiving, information needs and sexual intimacy and contact. Their coping strategies included spiritual support from spiritual carers, prayer and meditation, music and storytelling, social support and a good marital relationship. The findings demonstrate that wives of patients with cancer experience many challenges in their caring journey. Nurses must anticipate and/or intervene as part of their nursing practice to reduce the negative impact on female caretakers in this situation. Hospital standard operating procedures must be developed to put both the patients and their caregivers at the centre of oncology nursing care, particularly in settings with limited allied professional support, e.g., psychologists. Caretaker coping strategies highlighted in this study must be made available for both the patients and their wives, e.g., linking wives to trained spiritual carers upon their husband's admission to the hospital, to aid a smooth caregiving experience.
PubMed: 37533947
DOI: 10.3332/ecancer.2023.1572 -
Behavioural Brain Research Jul 2023Stressful life events can both trigger development of psychiatric disorders and promote positive behavioral changes in response to adversities. The relationship between...
BACKGROUND
Stressful life events can both trigger development of psychiatric disorders and promote positive behavioral changes in response to adversities. The relationship between stress and cognitive flexibility is complex, and conflicting effects of stress manifest in both humans and laboratory animals.
OBJECTIVE
To mirror the clinical situation where stressful life events impair mental health or promote behavioral change, we examined the post-exposure effects of stress on cognitive flexibility in mice.
METHODS
We tested female C57BL/6JOlaHsd mice in the touchscreen-based sequential reversal learning test. Corticosterone (CORT) was used as a model of stress and was administered in the drinking water for two weeks before reversal learning. Control animals received drinking water without CORT. Behaviors in supplementary tests were included to exclude non-specific confounding effects of CORT and improve interpretation of the results.
RESULTS
CORT-treated mice were similar to controls on all touchscreen parameters before reversal. During the low accuracy phase of reversal learning, CORT reduced perseveration index, a measure of perseverative responding, but did not affect acquisition of the new reward contingency. This effect was not related to non-specific deficits in chamber activity. CORT increased anxiety-like behavior in the elevated zero maze test and repetitive digging in the marble burying test, reduced locomotor activity, but did not affect spontaneous alternation behavior.
CONCLUSION
CORT improved cognitive flexibility in the reversal learning test by extinguishing prepotent responses that were no longer rewarded, an effect possibly related to a stress-mediated increase in sensitivity to negative feedback that should be confirmed in a larger study.
Topics: Humans; Mice; Animals; Female; Corticosterone; Reversal Learning; Drinking Water; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Maze Learning
PubMed: 37169127
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114479 -
PloS One 2023Depressive symptoms have been shown to be negatively related to academic achievement, as measured by grade point average (GPA). Grit, or the passion for and the ability...
Depressive symptoms have been shown to be negatively related to academic achievement, as measured by grade point average (GPA). Grit, or the passion for and the ability to persevere toward a goal despite adversity, has been linked to GPA. Thus, grit may potentially buffer against the negative effects of depressive symptoms in relation to academic achievement. However, social desirability may might impact the validity of grit when assessed by self-report measures, so how these constructs are all related is unknown. The current study explored the relationship between depressive symptoms, grit, social desirability, and GPA among University students (N = 520) in the United States using a cross-sectional design. We conducted a moderated-moderation model to examine how social desirability moderated the relationship between depressive symptoms, grit, and GPA. Findings replicated prior work and indicated negative relationships between depressive symptoms and social desirability with GPA and a positive relationship, albeit non-significant, between grit and GPA. However, results suggest that grit did not moderate the relationship between depressive symptoms and GPA when including social desirability in the model. Future research should investigate this relationship in a longitudinal setting to further examine how grit and depressive symptoms influence one another in academic domains.
Topics: Humans; Academic Success; Achievement; Depression; Cross-Sectional Studies; Motivation
PubMed: 37418474
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0288270 -
Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) Aug 2023Antimicrobial resistance is one of the major global health threats. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) has been set as a priority within international action plans to... (Review)
Review
Antimicrobial resistance is one of the major global health threats. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) has been set as a priority within international action plans to combat this issue. The region of Latin America and the Caribbean are recognized for their high antimicrobial resistance rates; nevertheless, a low number of studies describing implemented interventions for this topic have been published. This review aims to provide an overview of the status of AMS in our region, focusing on the main progress achieved and describing the different published efforts made by countries towards the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP). Common areas of intervention included were (a) education approaches, (b) antimicrobial guideline implementation and monitoring, (c) diagnostic stewardship, (d) technological tools: electronic clinical decision support systems in AMS, (e) pharmacy-driven protocols and collaborative practice agreements, and (f) economic impact. The search demonstrated the varied interventions implemented in diverse healthcare settings; the results accentuate their influence on antimicrobial consumption, antimicrobial resistance, clinical outcomes, and direct economic impact. The integration of multiple strategies within each hospital was highlighted as an essential key to ASP success. Even though the literature found demonstrated clear progress, there is still a special need for strengthening leadership from the top down, defining goals based on needs, and gaining support through policy and financing in LAC.
PubMed: 37627762
DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics12081342 -
Social Cognitive and Affective... Oct 2023Grit is a personality trait that encapsulates the tendency to persevere and maintain consistent interest for long-term goals. While prior studies found that grit...
Grit is a personality trait that encapsulates the tendency to persevere and maintain consistent interest for long-term goals. While prior studies found that grit predicts positive behavioral outcomes, there is a paucity of work providing explanatory evidence from a neurodevelopmental perspective. Based on previous research suggesting the utility of the functional connectome (FC) as a developmental measure, we tested the idea that individual differences in grit might be, in part, rooted in brain development in adolescence and emerging adulthood (N = 64, 11-19 years of age). Our analysis showed that grit was associated with connectome stability across conditions and connectome similarity across individuals. Notably, inter-subject representational similarity analysis revealed that teenagers who were grittier shared similar FC architecture with each other, more so than those with lower grit. Our findings suggest that individuals with high levels of grit are more likely to exhibit a converging pattern of whole-brain functional connectivity, which may underpin subsequent beneficial behavioral outcomes.
Topics: Adolescent; Humans; Adult; Connectome; Brain; Individuality; Magnetic Resonance Imaging
PubMed: 37700673
DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsad047 -
Journal of Human Kinetics Oct 2023This study analyzed the effects of psychological responses (impulsivity, self-esteem, self-confidence, and anxiety) in baseline and pre-competitive contexts of national...
This study analyzed the effects of psychological responses (impulsivity, self-esteem, self-confidence, and anxiety) in baseline and pre-competitive contexts of national soccer referees (SRs), their control of the game (yellow and red cards), and physical performance (PP) according to the role (assistant or main referee), and experience in the category. Twenty-seven national SRs from Spain participated in this study. Baseline and pre-competitive psychological data were collected through the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2 test), Urgency, Premeditation (lack of), Perseverance (lack of), Sensation Seeking, Positive Urgency, Impulsive Behavior Scale (UPPS-P test), and Rosenberg tests. Furthermore, WIMU PRO™ inertial devices were used to monitor PP. The results indicated that a lack of perseverance and self-esteem were higher in the main SRs and somatic anxiety in assistant SRs. Experience of SRs was related to anxiety, self-confidence, self-esteem, impulsivity dimensions, and PP metrics (p < 0.05). Finally, red cards were related to positive and negative urgency (r = 0.38 and r = 0.35, p < 0.05, respectively). In conclusion, the main SRs and SRs with more experience had better psychological characteristics and PP in a competitive context. However, yellow and red cards were not associated with these factors, although red cards were related with urgency. Based on these data, specific training programs could be incorporated to enhance emotional control in SRs with less experience to achieve greater performance and professional development.
PubMed: 38053965
DOI: 10.5114/jhk/169174 -
Pediatric Critical Care Medicine : a... Jul 2023Most biomarker studies of sepsis originate from high-income countries, whereas mortality risk is higher in low- and middle-income countries. The second version of the...
OBJECTIVES
Most biomarker studies of sepsis originate from high-income countries, whereas mortality risk is higher in low- and middle-income countries. The second version of the Pediatric Sepsis Biomarker Risk Model (PERSEVERE-II) has been validated in multiple North American PICUs for prognosis. Given differences in epidemiology, we assessed the performance of PERSEVERE-II in septic children from Pakistan, a low-middle income country. Due to uncertainty regarding how well PERSEVERE-II would perform, we also assessed the utility of other select biomarkers reflecting endotheliopathy, coagulopathy, and lung injury.
DESIGN
Prospective cohort study.
SETTING
PICU in Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.
PATIENTS
Children (< 18 yr old) meeting pediatric modifications of adult Sepsis-3 criteria between November 2020 and February 2022 were eligible.
INTERVENTIONS
None.
MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
Plasma was collected within 24 hours of admission and biomarkers quantified. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for PERSEVERE-II to discriminate 28-day mortality was determined. Additional biomarkers were compared between survivors and nonsurvivors and between subjects with and without acute respiratory distress syndrome. In 86 subjects (20 nonsurvivors, 23%), PERSEVERE-II discriminated mortality (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.72-0.94) and stratified the cohort into low-, medium-, and high-risk of mortality. Biomarkers reflecting endotheliopathy (angiopoietin 2, intracellular adhesion molecule 1) increased across worsening risk strata. Angiopoietin 2, soluble thrombomodulin, and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 were higher in nonsurvivors, and soluble receptor for advanced glycation end-products and surfactant protein D were higher in children meeting acute respiratory distress syndrome criteria.
CONCLUSIONS
PERSEVERE-II performs well in septic children from Aga Khan University Hospital, representing the first validation of PERSEVERE-II in a low-middle income country. Patients possessed a biomarker profile comparable to that of sepsis from high-income countries, suggesting that biomarker-based enrichment strategies may be effective in this setting.
Topics: Child; Humans; Angiopoietin-2; Prospective Studies; Developing Countries; Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products; Risk Assessment; Sepsis; Biomarkers; Prognosis; Respiratory Distress Syndrome
PubMed: 37092821
DOI: 10.1097/PCC.0000000000003244 -
Journal of Athletic Training Oct 2023Despite the many challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, athletic programs have sought ways to persevere and deliver sport programming. This process has strained the...
CONTEXT
Despite the many challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, athletic programs have sought ways to persevere and deliver sport programming. This process has strained the psychosocial health of all sport stakeholders but especially those entrusted with promoting the health of participants and enforcing safety protocols. Athletic trainers (ATs) have been a major influence in striving to achieve these goals by expanding their typical roles to lead in promoting the safe delivery of sport programs.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the psychosocial lived experiences of ATs as they practiced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
DESIGN
Qualitative study.
SETTING
National Collegiate Athletic Association Divisions I, II, and III.
PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS
A total of 27 ATs practicing at the collegiate level (Divisions I, II, and III) who were actively involved in planning and implementing return-to-sport protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Semi-structured interviews were conducted via Zoom. Inductive conventional content analysis identified emerging themes that characterized participants' narratives. Three members of the research team were involved in the analysis process and used field notes, continuous member checking, peer review, and multiple-researcher triangulation to establish data credibility and confirmability.
RESULTS
Three higher-order themes related to ATs' psychosocial lived experiences emerged: (1) internalized experience, (2) interpersonal interactions, and (3) AT identity. Several subthemes were also identified to further organize elements that characterized or differentiated participants' lived experiences.
CONCLUSIONS
Athletic trainers encountered significant challenges in maintaining their psychosocial health during the pandemic as they strived to assist others in this regard. Providing effective psychological and social support resources and strategies for ATs may not only allow them to better support themselves but may also enhance their ability to deliver professional services and promote psychosocial health among their athletes and other stakeholders in their respective sport systems in the future.
Topics: Humans; Pandemics; COVID-19; Sports; Athletes; Surveys and Questionnaires; Qualitative Research
PubMed: 37648219
DOI: 10.4085/1062-6050-0517.22 -
The cognitive adaptability and resiliency employment screener (CARES): tool development and testing.Frontiers in Psychiatry 2023To decrease psychological risk for content moderators, the study initiated the first steps of developing a robust employment screening tool, namely, the Cognitive...
INTRODUCTION
To decrease psychological risk for content moderators, the study initiated the first steps of developing a robust employment screening tool, namely, the Cognitive Adaptability and Resiliency Employment Screener.
METHOD
The study consisted of three phases with 4,839 total participants.
RESULTS
In Phase 1, a set of 76 items were developed and tested via exploratory factor analysis, yielding three factors (i.e., Psychological Perseverance & Agility, Rumination & Emotional Lingering, and Expressiveness & Sociability) and also reducing the scale to 68 items. In Phase 2 through confirmatory factor analysis, the three-factor structure showed good fit (CFI = 0.92, RMSEA = 0.05) and demonstrated sufficient overall reliability. In Phase 3, the convergent validity and divergent validity of the tool were established relative to constructs such as resilience, cognitive control and flexibility, emotion regulation, and optimism.
DISCUSSION
Altogether, the findings revealed that the scale demonstrated good psychometric properties that, pending future studies, may serve as a promising employment screener for content moderators.
PubMed: 37840784
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1254147