Tag: nevin manimala

Am J Occup Ther. 2023 Jul 1;77(4):7704205140. doi: 10.5014/ajot.2023.050150.

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANCE: Outcomes research on the impact of seating and mobility services delivered using a short-term medical mission (STMM) model is limited.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of seating and mobility services on the occupational performance of individuals with disabilities in El Salvador.

DESIGN: One-group retrospective pretest-posttest.

SETTING: Clinical (El Salvador).

PARTICIPANTS: Individuals with disabilities in El Salvador.

OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Survey and the standardized Wheelchair Outcome Measure (WhOM) for those who received a wheelchair as their mobility device.

METHOD: Participants rated satisfaction with performance of preferred in-home and out-of-home occupations on the WhOM before and after receiving seating and mobility services.

RESULTS: For most survey questions assessing the impact on activities of daily living, more than 86% of the respondents selected agree or strongly agree. Nearly half of the respondents reported that questions regarding work and education were not applicable. Participants’ WhOM scores (n = 86) demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in performance satisfaction for both in-home (p < .001; d > 1) and out-of-home (p < .001; d > 1) occupations after they received services, with a huge effect size (d > 2).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The findings suggest that seating and mobility services provided by rehabilitation professionals in El Salvador improved occupational performance for people with disabilities. Compared with STMMs that solely provide equipment, the findings emphasize the importance of professional service provision with education and training as best practice. What This Article Adds: Seating and mobility services delivered through a STMM model may improve occupational performance for individuals with disabilities. However, STMMs should be carefully planned in collaboration with in-country partners, provide customized seating systems, and include education and training from licensed rehabilitation professionals.

PMID:37540763 | DOI:10.5014/ajot.2023.050150

Am J Occup Ther. 2023 Jul 1;77(4):7704345010. doi: 10.5014/ajot.2023.050247.

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANCE: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted participation in routines and daily activities. It is unclear how children reengaged in activities during the pandemic, particularly as a new school year began. Differences in school instruction mode (in person, hybrid, or remote) during the pandemic could further affect activity participation.

OBJECTIVE: To examine changes in sedentary and nonsedentary activity participation in children and to determine whether school instruction mode was associated with participation.

SETTING: Home-based survey of U.S. residents.

PARTICIPANTS: Parents of 208 children (46.2% female) between ages 5 and 18 yr were surveyed at two waves: March through April 2020 and October 2020.

OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Frequency of sedentary (indoor play, electronic device usage) and nonsedentary (outdoor play, leisure and extracurriculars) activity participation was observed. Descriptive and inferential statistics of the changes from Wave 1 to Wave 2 and linear regression were used to determine statistically significant variables associated with activity participation.

RESULTS: Nonsedentary activity participation increased and sedentary activity decreased from Wave 1 to Wave 2. Instruction mode was statistically associated with nonsedentary, but not sedentary, participation. Negative mood, local COVID-19 severity, and household income were also associated with nonsedentary and sedentary participation.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Children’s participation in sedentary and nonsedentary activities normalized during the new school year; however, many factors likely contributed to these changes. What This Article Adds: Despite differences in school instruction mode and the influence of mental health early in the pandemic, children’s nonsedentary activity participation increased. Occupational therapy practitioners can reinforce the importance of reengaging in activities and regular routines to promote health and well-being during challenging situations.

PMID:37540762 | DOI:10.5014/ajot.2023.050247

Sci Adv. 2023 Aug 4;9(31):eadf3984. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adf3984. Epub 2023 Aug 4.

ABSTRACT

The glioblastoma (GBM) stem cell-like cells (GSCs) are critical for tumorigenesis/therapeutic resistance of GBM. Mounting evidence supports tumor-promoting function of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), but their role in GSCs remains poorly understood. By combining CRISPRi screen with orthogonal multiomics approaches, we identified a lncRNA DARS1-AS1-controlled posttranscriptional circuitry that promoted the malignant properties of GBM cells/GSCs. Depleting DARS1-AS1 inhibited the proliferation of GBM cells/GSCs and self-renewal of GSCs, prolonging survival in orthotopic GBM models. DARS1-AS1 depletion also impaired the homologous recombination (HR)-mediated double-strand break (DSB) repair and enhanced the radiosensitivity of GBM cells/GSCs. Mechanistically, DARS1-AS1 interacted with YBX1 to promote target mRNA binding and stabilization, forming a mixed transcriptional/posttranscriptional feed-forward loop to up-regulate expression of the key regulators of G₁-S transition, including E2F1 and CCND1. DARS1-AS1/YBX1 also stabilized the mRNA of FOXM1, a master transcription factor regulating GSC self-renewal and DSB repair. Our findings suggest DARS1-AS1/YBX1 axis as a potential therapeutic target for sensitizing GBM to radiation/HR deficiency-targeted therapy.

PMID:37540752 | DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adf3984

Contemp Nurse. 2023 Aug 4:1-18. doi: 10.1080/10376178.2023.2238095. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: As Artificial Intelligence and social robots are increasingly used in health and social care, it is imperative to explore the training needs of the workforce, factoring in their cultural background.

OBJECTIVES: Explore views on perceived training needs among professionals around the world and how these related to country cultures.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional, descriptive, mixed-methods international online survey.

METHODS: Descriptive statistical analysis explored the ranking across countries and relationships with three Hofstede cultural dimensions. Thematic analysis was conducted on an open-ended text responses.

RESULTS: A sample of N = 1284 participants from eighteen countries. Knowing the capabilities of the robots was ranked as the top training need across all participating countries and this was also reflected in the thematic analysis. Participants’ culture, expressed through three Hofstede’s dimensions, revealed statistically significant ranking differences.

CONCLUSIONS: Future research should further explore other factors such as the level of digital maturity of the workplace.

IMPACT STATEMENT: Training needs of health and social care staff to use robotics are fast growing and preparation should factor in patient safety and be based on the principles of person- and culture-centred care.

PMID:37540738 | DOI:10.1080/10376178.2023.2238095

PLoS One. 2023 Aug 4;18(8):e0289704. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289704. eCollection 2023.

ABSTRACT

Photoacoustic and absorption spectroscopy imaging are safe and non-invasive molecular quantification techniques, which do not utilize ionizing radiation and allow for repeated probing of samples without them being contaminated or damaged. Here we assessed the potential of these techniques for measuring biochemical parameters. We investigated the statistical association between 31 time and frequency domain features derived from photoacoustic and absorption spectroscopy signals and 19 biochemical blood parameters. We found that photoacoustic and absorption spectroscopy imaging features are significantly correlated with 14 and 17 individual biochemical parameters, respectively. Moreover, some of the biochemical blood parameters can be accurately predicted based on photoacoustic and absorption spectroscopy imaging features by polynomial regression. In particular, the levels of uric acid and albumin can be accurately explained by a combination of photoacoustic and absorption spectroscopy imaging features (adjusted R-squared > 0.75), while creatinine levels can be accurately explained by the features of the photoacoustic system (adjusted R-squared > 0.80). We identified a number of imaging features that inform on the biochemical blood parameters and can be potentially useful in clinical diagnosis. We also demonstrated that linear and non-linear combinations of photoacoustic and absorption spectroscopy imaging features can accurately predict some of the biochemical blood parameters. These results demonstrate that photoacoustic and absorption spectroscopy imaging systems show promise for future applications in clinical practice.

PMID:37540721 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0289704

PLoS One. 2023 Aug 4;18(8):e0289615. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289615. eCollection 2023.

ABSTRACT

Addressing risks and pandemics at a country level is a complex task that requires transdisciplinary approaches. The paper aims to identify groups of the European Union countries characterized by a similar COVID-19 Resilience Index (CRI). Developed in the paper CRI index reflects the countries’ COVID-19 risk and their readiness for a crisis situation, including a pandemic. Moreover, the study detects the factors that significantly differentiate the distinguished groups. According to our research, Bulgaria, Hungary, Malta, and Poland have the lowest COVID-19 Resilience Index score, with Croatia, Greece, Czechia, and Slovakia following close. At the same time, Ireland and Scandinavian countries occupy the top of the leader board, followed by Luxemburg. The Kruskal-Wallis test results indicate four COVID-19 risk indicators that significantly differentiate the countries in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the significant factors are not only COVID-19-related factors, i.e., the changes in residential human mobility, the stringency of anti-COVID-19 policy, but also strictly environmental factors, namely pollution and material footprint. It indicates that the most critical global environmental issues might be crucial in the phase of a future pandemic. Moreover, we detect eight readiness factors that significantly differentiate the analysed country groups. Among the significant factors are the economic indicators such as GDP per capita and labour markets, the governance indicators such as Rule of Law, Access to Information, Implementation and Adaptability measures, and social indicators such as Tertiary Attainment and Research, Innovation, and Infrastructure.

PMID:37540717 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0289615

JMIR Rehabil Assist Technol. 2023 Aug 4;10:e46217. doi: 10.2196/46217.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Conservative scoliosis therapy in the form of assisted physiotherapeutic scoliosis exercises is supplemented by self-contained training at home, depending on the approach (eg, Schroth, the Scientific Exercises Approach to Scoliosis). Complex exercises, lack of awareness of the importance of training, and missing supervision by therapists often lead to uncertainty and reduced motivation, which in turn reduces the success of home-based therapy. Increasing digitalization in the health care sector offers opportunities to close this gap. However, research is needed to analyze the requirements and translate the potential of digital tools into concrete solution concepts.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential for optimizing home-based scoliosis therapy in terms of motivation, assistive devices, and digital tools.

METHODS: In collaboration with the Institute of Physiotherapy at the Jena University Hospital, a survey was initiated to address patients with scoliosis and physical therapists. A digital questionnaire was created for each target group and distributed via physiotherapies, scoliosis forums, the Bundesverband für Skoliose Selbsthilfe e. V. newsletter via a link, and a quick response code. The survey collected data on demographics, therapy, exercise habits, motivation, assistive devices, and digital tools. Descriptive statistics were used for evaluation.

RESULTS: Of 141 survey participants, 72 (51.1%; n=62, 86.1%, female; n=10, 13.9%, male) patients with scoliosis with an average age of 40 (SD 17.08) years and 30 scoliosis therapists completed the respective questionnaires. The analysis of home-based therapy showed that patients with scoliosis exercise less per week (2 times or less; 45/72, 62.5%) than they are recommended to do by therapists (at least 3 times; 53/72, 73.6%). Patients indicated that their motivation could be increased by practicing together with friends and acquaintances (54/72, 75%), a supporting therapy device (48/72, 66.7%), or a digital profile (46/72, 63.9%). The most important assistive devices, which are comparatively rarely used in home-based therapy, included balance boards (20/72, 27.8%), wall bars (23/72, 31.9%), mirrors (36/72, 50%), and long bars (40/72, 55.6%). Therapists saw the greatest benefit of digital tools for scoliosis therapy in increasing motivation (26/30, 87%), improving home therapy (25/30, 83%), monitoring therapy progress (25/30, 83%), and demonstrating exercise instructions (24/30, 80%).

CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we investigated whether there is any potential for improvement in home-based scoliosis therapy. For this purpose, using online questionnaires, we asked patients with scoliosis and therapists questions about the following topics: exercise habits, outpatient and home-based therapy, motivation, supportive devices, and digital tools. The results showed that a lack of motivation, suitable training equipment, and tools for self-control leads to a low training workload. From the perspective of the patients surveyed, this problem can be addressed through community training with friends or acquaintances, a supportive therapy device, and digital elements, such as apps, with training instructions and user profiles.

PMID:37540557 | DOI:10.2196/46217

Interact J Med Res. 2023 Aug 4;12:e46042. doi: 10.2196/46042.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: In recent years, HIV infection in students has been an ongoing concern worldwide. A large number of articles have been published; however, statistical analysis of the data presented in these publications is lacking.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to detect and analyze emerging trends and collaborative networks in research on HIV/AIDS among students.

METHODS: Research publications on HIV/AIDS among students from 1985 to 2022 were collected from the Web of Science Core Collection. A topic search was used for this study, and articles in English were included. CiteSpace was used to generate visual networks of countries/regions, institutions, references, and keywords. Citation analysis was used to discover milestones in the field and trace the roots of the knowledge base. Keyword analysis was used to detect research hotspots and predict future trends.

RESULTS: A total of 2726 publications met the inclusion criteria. Over the past 38 years, the number of publications annually has been on the rise overall. The United States had the highest number of publications (n=1303) and the highest centrality (0.91). The University of California system was the core institution. The main target population of studies on HIV/AIDS among students were medical and university students. These studies focused on students’ knowledge, attitudes, risk behaviors, and education about HIV/AIDS. The recent bursting keywords (gay, sexual health, adherence, barriers, mental health, HIV testing, stigma, and antiretroviral therapy) revealed research trends and public interest on this topic.

CONCLUSIONS: This study identified countries/regions and institutions contributing to the research area of HIV/AIDS among students and revealed research hotspots and emerging trends. The field of research on HIV/AIDS among students was growing rapidly. The United States was at the center, and the University of California system was the core institution. However, academic collaboration should be strengthened. Future research may focus on exploring gay students, sexual health, adherence, barriers, mental health, HIV testing, stigma, and antiretroviral therapy.

PMID:37540553 | DOI:10.2196/46042

J Med Internet Res. 2023 Aug 4;25:e47582. doi: 10.2196/47582.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The internet is a primary source of health information for patients, supplementing physician care. Google Trends (GT), a popular tool, allows the exploration of public interest in health-related phenomena. Despite the growing volume of GT studies, none have focused explicitly on oncology, creating a need for a systematic review to bridge this gap.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to systematically characterize studies related to oncology using GT to describe its utilities and biases.

METHODS: We included all studies that used GT to analyze Google searches related to malignancies. We excluded studies written in languages other than English. The search was performed using the PubMed engine on August 1, 2022. We used the following search input: “Google trends” AND (“oncology” OR “cancer” or “malignancy” OR “tumor” OR “lymphoma” OR “multiple myeloma” OR “leukemia”). We analyzed sources of bias that included using search terms instead of topics, lack of confrontation of GT statistics with real-world data, and absence of sensitivity analysis. We performed descriptive statistics.

RESULTS: A total of 85 articles were included. The first study using GT for oncology research was published in 2013, and since then, the number of publications has increased annually. The studies were categorized as follows: 22% (19/85) were related to prophylaxis, 20% (17/85) pertained to awareness events, 11% (9/85) were celebrity-related, 13% (11/85) were related to COVID-19, and 47% (40/85) fell into other categories. The most frequently analyzed cancers were breast (n=28), prostate (n=26), lung (n=18), and colorectal cancers (n=18). We discovered that of the 85 studies, 17 (20%) acknowledged using GT topics instead of search terms, 79 (93%) disclosed all search input details necessary for replicating their results, and 34 (40%) compared GT statistics with real-world data. The most prevalent methods for analyzing the GT data were correlation analysis (55/85, 65%) and peak analysis (43/85, 51%). The authors of only 11% (9/85) of the studies performed a sensitivity analysis.

CONCLUSIONS: The number of studies related to oncology using GT data has increased annually. The studies included in this systematic review demonstrate a variety of concerning topics, search strategies, and statistical methodologies. The most frequently analyzed cancers were breast, prostate, lung, colorectal, skin, and cervical cancers, potentially reflecting their prevalence in the population or public interest. Although most researchers provided reproducible search inputs, only one-fifth used GT topics instead of search terms, and many studies lacked a sensitivity analysis. Scientists using GT for medical research should ensure the quality of studies by providing a transparent search strategy to reproduce results, preferring to use topics over search terms, and performing robust statistical calculations coupled with sensitivity analysis.

PMID:37540544 | DOI:10.2196/47582

Fam Med. 2023 Jul 24. doi: 10.22454/FamMed.2023.966628. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The number of family physicians who include obstetric care in their scope of practice is declining, resulting in lower access for patients to obstetric care, especially in rural and underserved communities. In our study, we aimed to understand the experiences of mid- to late-career family physicians and capture suggestions regarding how to maintain obstetric deliveries as part of practice throughout their careers.

METHODS: We administered a 30-item online survey to mid- to late-career family physicians regarding their obstetrical care practice and their suggestions for family physicians to continue attending deliveries throughout the course of their career. We developed descriptive statistics of individual and practice characteristics and thematically analyzed open-text comments offering suggestions for continuing to provide obstetric care.

RESULTS: About 1,500 family physicians agreed to participate in the online survey, 992 of whom responded to an open-text question asking for suggestions for family physicians hoping to continue providing obstetric care throughout their careers (56% response rate). The primary themes included suggestions regarding interprofessional relationships, call coverage/backup, training and education, practice characteristics, practice setting, work-life balance, job seeking, policy, and compensation.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings revealed individual- and structural-level considerations to improve longevity in obstetric scope of practice. Support from multiple levels is necessary to ensure that competent family physicians continue attending deliveries throughout their careers. Practices and hospital systems can have a sizeable impact by directly helping family physicians provide obstetric primary care within their scope of practice, while national organizations can influence health care system-level changes.

PMID:37540537 | DOI:10.22454/FamMed.2023.966628