Stakeholder collaboration in long-term care of older people in Lithuania

Demographic situation, changes in the role of women in society and growing demand for long-term care (LTC) of older people have challenged the ability to meet the growing LTC needs in most developed countries. In countries where responsibility for LTC is still largely laid on families, it is, however, even more critical and calls for improvements in formal LTC systems. More intensive stakeholder collaboration in LTC policy development, organising and delivery are of primary importance in improving LTC systems. Such collaboration, however, is not always successful; thus, it is critical to understand what makes it effective and efficient. In this paper, we specifically look into multistakeholder collaboration in LTC in Lithuania, one of the fastest ageing countries in the EU, with the demand for LTC services growing fast and exceeding the supply despite rising business and NGO engagement. To determine facilitators of such collaboration, we build on the data obtained through eight focus group discussions with all key stakeholder representatives (LTC policymakers, organisers and service providers [public, private and NGOs], 54 participants in total). Our findings indicate that in addition to national and organisational level facilitators studied in prior research, there are important individual level factors, such as meaningfulness at work, concern and care for others, possibility for personal growth and development, satisfaction with supervision, a sense of belonging and role clarity. On the other hand, our results show that collaboration is constrained by a shortage of human resources, increased workload caused by growing LTC demand, bureaucratic requirements, legal restrictions, lack of awareness of LTC service availability among elder persons, and prevailing social norms and attitudes to institutionalised care. Interestingly, a lack of financial resources is not perceived as a major constraint.     

Exploring Mothers’ Perspectives About Why Grandparents in Appalachia Give Their Grandchildren Cariogenic Foods and Beverages: A Qualitative Study

BackgroundDental caries is the most common chronic childhood disease. Past studies revealed that grandparents provide their grandchildren with cariogenic foods and beverages (eg, those with free sugars and/or modified starches). Qualitative research can help identify what drives this phenomenon.ObjectiveOur aim was to examine mothers’ explanations for why grandparents in north central and central Appalachia give their grandchildren cariogenic foods and beverages.DesignA qualitative study on children’s oral health in Pennsylvania and West Virginia from 2018 through 2020 was performed. In-person, semi-structured interviews were conducted. Qualitative data from interviews were recorded, transcribed, and then coded using NVivo. Data analysis for this study was performed using thematic analysis with iterative theme development.Participants/settingThe participants were 126 mothers of children aged 3-5 years from West Virginia (n = 66) and Pittsburgh, PA (n = 60).Main outcome measuresMothers’ perspectives about why grandparents give their grandchildren cariogenic foods and beverages were analyzed.ResultsIn the study sample, 85% of mothers (n = 107/126) named at least 1 of their children’s grandparents as a member of their social network responsible for their children’s oral health. From these interviews, 85% of mothers (n = 91/107) discussed that grandparents gave their grandchildren cariogenic foods and beverages. The mothers described the following 4 themes to explain why grandparents gave their grandchildren cariogenic foods and beverages: privilege of the grandparent role; responsibilities of the grandparent role; symbol of care and affection; and limited consideration or understanding of the detrimental impact.ConclusionsGrandparents play a role in giving their grandchildren cariogenic foods and beverages, which could potentially contribute to childhood caries. Research is needed to develop effective social interventions to help some grandparents understand the implications of a cariogenic diet on their grandchildren’s oral health and/or decrease their provision of cariogenic foods and beverages.     

Microspheres of essential oil in polylactic acid and poly(methyl methacrylate) matrices and their blends

This study is focussed on micro-encapsulation of essential oils in polylactic acid (PLA) and a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix as well as blends of the same. Microspheres were prepared by the solvent evaporation technique and characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR). The encapsulation efficiencies and release profiles of the essential oils were studied by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and head-space solid-phase microextraction GC-MS, respectively. Furthermore, the microspheres were tested for antibacterial activity against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial strains.

The results showed that the microspheres compositions (PLA/PMMA ratio) have significant effect on their characteristics. The process adopted for preparing the microspheres promoted formation of spherical particles at the sizes of 1.5–9.5?µm. The highest encapsulation efficiency of the prepared microspheres was observed in systems consisting of linalool (81.10?±?10.0?wt. % for PLA system and 76.0?±?3.3?wt. % for PMMA system). Confirmation was also made that the release rate of the microspheres was affected by the size of the same.     

Interleukin 1 alpha (IL1A) polymorphisms and risk of endometriosis in Iranian population: a case-control study

Abstract

Endometriosis is one of the most common gynecological diseases and a major cause of pain and infertility. It is influenced by genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors. Recently, genome-wide association studies have revealed a strong association between IL1A single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and increased risk of endometriosis in Japanese women. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association of three IL1A SNPs, rs17561, rs1304037, and rs2856836 with the risk of endometriosis in Iranian population. Totally, 105 women with diagnosis of endometriosis and 102 healthy women as control group were included. Three SNPs of the IL1A, rs17561?G/T, rs1304037 A/G, and rs2856836 T/C, were genotyped by PCR and RFLP. The rs2856836?TC genotype was significantly higher (p?=?.002; OR?=?3.1, 95% CI: 1.5–6.5) in the patients (28.1%) than the control group (12.7%). The rs2856836?CC genotype was significantly higher (p?=?.047; OR?=?2.3, 95% CI: 1.0–5.3) in the patients (17.5%) than the control group (10.8%). The rs2856836 C allele was significantly higher (p?=?.001; OR?=?2.2, 95% CI: 1.4–3.6) in the patients (31.6%) than the control group (17.2%). The IL1A rs2856836 T/C SNP was associated with susceptibility to endometriosis and the rs2856836 C allele may increase the risk of endometriosis in Iranian women.     

高龄产妇产后抑郁影响因素的质性研究

目的 探究高龄产妇产后抑郁的影响因素，为护理人员今后在临床工作中提供个性化的护理服务提供参考依据。方法 采用质性研究中的现象学研究法对2021年12月至2022年4月在内蒙古医科大学附属医院妇产科建档分娩的16例高龄产妇进行半结构式访谈，并以Colaizzi现象学研究方法进行资料分析。结果 提炼出影响高龄产妇产后抑郁的4个主题：躯体性压力源；负性心理体验；社会支持缺乏，矛盾出现；角色转变对高龄产妇的影响。结论 需重视高龄产妇产后的主观感受，加强产前产后健康宣教，构建以家庭为中心的高龄产妇产后护理模型，减少产后抑郁的发生。