Development of the Preverbal Visual Assessment (PreViAs) questionnaire

Background

Visual cognitive functions of preverbal infants are evaluated by means of a behavioral assessment. Parents or primary caregivers may be appropriate to certify the acquisition of certain abilities.

Aims

To develop the PreViAs (Preverbal Visual Assessment) questionnaire to assess visual behavior of infants under 24 months of age and to assess the normative outcomes for each item at each age.

Study design

The process was divided into three phases: scale development (items and domains generation), pilot testing, and exploratory analysis.

Results

The final version of the PreViAs questionnaire consisted of 30 items, each related to one or more of four domains (visual attention, visual communication, visual–motor coordination, and visual processing). For the exploratory analysis, 298 children (159 boys and 139 girls) were recruited. Their ages ranged from 0.1 to 24 months (mean, 11.2 months). Internal consistency of the questionnaire was high for all domains (Cronbach's α coefficients of 0.85–0.94).

Conclusions

The PreViAs questionnaire is a useful scale for assessing visual cognitive abilities of infants under 24 months of age. It is easy and feasible to complete by primary caregivers.     

小班规范化培训模式对社区护士血糖监测认知效果的分析

[目的]对社区护士进行小班规范化培训,调查培训前、后血糖监测知识知晓率变化情况,并进行原因分析,为社区护士培训模式提供依据。[方法]选取2017年5月30日北京市朝阳区23家社区卫生服务中心在编在岗护理人员108人,每组20人或21人,每3个月1次,每组培训2次,调查培训前后社区护士血糖监测知识知晓率情况并进行统计分析。[结果]经过培训,社区护士血糖监测知晓率明显提高,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。不同特征护士血糖监测知晓率提高程度不同,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05)。[结论]小班规范化培训可有效提高社区护士血糖监测的知晓率,适于在社区开展。但应根据护理人员的不同特征进行针对性培训,以全面提高社区护士血糖监测知识认识水平。     

Differences in social isolation between young and old elderly in urban areas of Beijing,China: A cross-sectional study

ObjectivesTo understand the differences in social isolation among older adults and to identify risks associated with social isolation.MethodsTotally 485 participants aged 60 and older were recruited for this study. The Lubben Social Network Scale-6 and the Chinese version of the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey were used to measure social isolation and the different types of social support that the participants experienced.ResultsThe proportions of young elderly (60–74 years of age) and old elderly (greater than 74 years of age) that experienced social isolation in this study were 24.4% and 33.1%, respectively. For the young elderly, three types of social support were observed to be protective factors to help avoid social isolation, and the positive effect of social support obtained from friends and neighbors was slightly stronger than that of family members. Old elderly with only a senior high school education background were at high risk of being socially isolated. Only support from friends was observed to be a protective factor for the old elderly.ConclusionsThe study indicated that different ages of older adults experienced different aspects of social relationships. We propose that nursing interventions for the elderly should focus on individualized social support as a protective factor to help older adults avoid being socially isolated.     

Genital psoriasis: a questionnaire‐based survey on a concealed skin disease in the Netherlands

Background Psoriatic lesions may involve nearly all sites of the body. Involvement of the genital skin is frequently classified as part of intertriginous psoriasis without special awareness and treatment for this presentation of the disease. Gaining knowledge about the frequency of the involvement of genital skin in these patients will improve the overall care for patients with psoriasis. Objectives We studied the prevalence of genital psoriasis in the Netherlands and epidemiological characteristics of this specific presentation of the disease. Furthermore, we studied the relation between flexural and genital psoriasis. Patients/Methods A self‐administered questionnaire was sent to all 5300 members of the Dutch Psoriasis Society. Sociodemographic patient characteristics and disease‐related data (such as localization of psoriatic lesions, involvement of the genitalia, age at onset of genital psoriasis and severity of genital psoriatic lesions) were collected and analysed. Results A response rate of 37% was achieved. Almost 46% of the responding patients with psoriasis, that is 16.5% of all potential responders (n = 5300), report genital involvement at some time during the course of their disease. The genitalia can become affected at any age. Many patients with current genital involvement (38%) do not have the flexural skin affected. Conclusions A large part of patients with psoriasis suffer from genital psoriasis, which was not associated with flexural involvement in at least one third of them. More attention to the genital region is required in the current standard treatment of both male and female psoriatic patients at any age.     

The critical appraisal of focus group research articles

Objectives: To determine whether the three mailings routinely used by researchers for epidemiological surveys are useful and appropriate, by comparing social characteristics and selected disease histories to find out if there are differences between individuals responding at different times.

Methods: Social characteristics and selected disease histories of 11,797 British women still under general practitioner observation in the Royal College of General Practitioners' Oral Contraception Study were compared. The women aged 40-78 at December 1992 were sent health survey questionnaires via their general practitioners between November 1994 and July 1995.

Results: Significant differences in the characteristics of first, second and third mailing respondents and non-respondents were found for smoking habits, social class, parity, area of residence, further contact, bronchitis, hysterectomy and mental illness. First mailing respondents were more likely to be from a non-manual social class, have a parity of less than three, live in England, and be happy to be contacted again, but were less likely to have had bronchitis or mental illness and were less likely to have been smokers at the time of recruitment than second mailing respondents. A comparison of second and third mailing respondents on the above factors showed no significant differences between the two groups.

Conclusions: The inclusion of third mailing respondents did not significantly change the social or health characteristic profile of the cohort and suggests that the effort and resources expended in carrying out a third mailing may not be justified.