Ensuring cultural sensitivity for Muslim patients in the Australian ICU: Considerations for care

Australia is a diverse and multicultural nation, made up of a population with a predominant Christian faith. Islam, the second largest religion in the world, has demonstrated significant growth in Australia in the last decade. Coming from various countries of origin and cultural backgrounds, Muslim beliefs can range from what is considered ‘traditional’ to very ‘liberal’.It is neither possible nor practical for every intensive care clinician to have an intimate understanding of Islam and Muslim practices, and cultural variations amongst Muslims will mean that not all beliefs/practices will be applicable to all Muslims. However, being open and flexible in the way that care is provided and respectful of the needs of Muslim patients and their families is essential to providing culturally sensitive care.This discussion paper aims to describe the Islamic faith in terms of Islamic teachings, beliefs and common practices, considering how this impacts upon the perception of illness, the family unit and how it functions, decision-making and care preferences, particularly at the end of life in the intensive care unit.     

Caring for Dying Patients: Attitude of Nursing Students and Effects of Education

Background:

Education about caring for dying patients could be effective in changing nursing students’ attitude toward caring for dying patients.

Aim:

The aim of the present study was to examine the nursing students’ attitude toward caring for dying patients and effects of education on their attitude.

Materials and Methods:

The present study enjoys a quasi-experimental method with using one-group pre-test/post-test design conducted in Bam in southeast of Iran. The attitude of nursing students was measured using Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying (FATCOD) scale before and after an educational intervention. Data were analyzed using non-parametric tests in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 18 software.

Results:

Of 32 students, 30 participated in this study (response rate of 94%). Only 20% of the students reported previous experience of dying patients in their clinical courses. Students showed moderately negative to neutral attitudes toward caring for dying patients. Education has improved students’ attitude significantly (mean score of FATCOD before study were 3.5 ± 0.43 and after intervention were 4.7 ± 0.33) (P < 0.001).

Conclusion:

Educational programs about death and caring for dying patients should be added to undergraduate nursing curricula. Further research recommended examining nursing students’ knowledge about caring for dying patients and the effect of education on their knowledge.     

成纤维细胞生长因子受体2基因rs1219648位点多态性与青海回族女性乳腺癌易感性的关联研究

目的  探究成纤维细胞生长因子受体2（FGFR2）基因rs1219648位点单核苷酸多态性（SNP）与青海地区回族女性乳腺癌易感性的关系。方法  采用病例对照研究,利用TaqMan-MGB探针法对青海地区110例回族女性乳腺癌病例和110例正常回族女性对照进行FGFR2基因rs1219648位点基因型检测,利用多元Logistic回归分析该位点不同基因型与乳腺癌易感性之间的关系。结果  FGFR2基因rs1219648位点基因型频率在病例组和对照组之间的差异具有统计学意义（P =0.001）。FGFR2基因rs1219648位点A >G改变可以显著的增加青海地区回族女性人群乳腺癌易感性。其中,在校正初潮年龄、是否绝经、乳腺良性疾病史和乳腺癌家族史因素后,该位点A >G的改变仍可以显著增加该地区回族女性人群乳腺癌患病风险（■AG-GG/AA= 2.37,95%CI：1.18,4.73）。结论  FGFR2基因rs1219648位点A >G改变可显著增加青海地区回族女性乳腺癌的患病风险,预期可以作为该地区女性乳腺癌易感性的重要生物标志物。

     

Compassion or condemnation? South African Muslim students' attitudes to people with HIV/AIDS

Given the dearth of literature on the influence of religiosity on attitudes toward people with HIV/AIDS, the present study surveyed these variables in a sample of South African Muslim university students using the Religious Orientation Scale (ROS) and an attitude to people with HIV scale. Gender differences in attitudes towards people with HIV were also examined. The sample comprised 90 male and female undergraduate and postgraduate Muslim students. While both males and females displayed high religiosity scores, male students were found to be significantly more religious than female students. No gender differences were found on the attitude to people with HIV scale, with students indicating positive attitudes to people with HIV. Higher religiosity was significantly correlated with a more positive attitude to people with HIV. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

替硝唑片在回族和汉族健康人体的药动学研究

目的:研究回族和汉族健康志愿者单剂量口服替硝唑片的药动学。方法:健康志愿者20名(回族、汉族各10名,男女各半)单剂量口服替硝唑片1g,采用高效液相色谱法测定血浆中替硝唑的含量。用DAS程序软件进行数据处理并采用SPSS软件进行统计学分析。结果:回族、汉族受试者单剂量口服替硝唑片1g的主要药动学参数:Cmax分别为(20.25±4.05)、(19.04±2.42)μg·mL-1,tmax分别为(2.10±0.66)、(2.15±0.47)h,t1/2分别为(16.81±1.56)、(16.94±2.40)h,AUC0～72分别为(483.51±116.83)、(454.37±59.74)mg.h.L-1,AUC0～∞分别为(514.25±130.78)、(486.14±65.63)mg.h.L-1。男、女受试者的主要药动学参数:Cmax分别为(17.16±1.28)、(22.12±2.79)μg·mL-1,tmax分别为(2.20±0.59)、(2.05±0.55)h,t1/2分别为(17.32±1.97)、(16.43±1.97)h,AUC0～72分别为(406.83±44.40)、(531.05±84.54)mg.h.L-1,AUC0～∞分别为(437.11±54.73)、(563.27±100.06)mg.h.L-1。结论:替硝唑片在回族和汉族健康志愿者体内药动学参数不存在种族差异,但存在性别差异。     

宁夏回族自治区0～6岁儿童残疾现况调查

[目的]对宁夏回族自治区0～6岁儿童听力残疾、视力残疾、言语残疾、智力残疾、肢体残疾现患率调查,为制定残疾儿童工作政策提供依据. [方法]采用多阶段分层、不等比例、整群随机抽样方法进行抽样,使用国家标定的相应诊断标准进行确诊. [结果]宁夏13个县(区)共调查4627名儿童,确诊残疾儿童99名,现患率21.61‰,城镇儿童残疾现患率为17.05‰,农村儿童残疾现患率为24.54‰,农村儿童残疾现患率高于城镇(χ2=429,P＜0.05).其中调查回族儿童2060名,确诊残疾儿童54名,现患率26.21‰,高于汉及其他民族的17.92‰(P＜0.05);残疾顺位依次为智力残疾、肢体残疾、言语残疾、视力残疾、听力残疾、精神残疾.[结论]宁夏儿童尤其是回族儿童残疾现患率高.优生优育、积极开展残疾预防和早期干预是降低残疾的重要措施.     

Screening for alcoholism among alcohol users in a traditional Arab Muslim society

The Short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (S-MAST) was applied to 140 alcohol users in the traditional Muslim society of Kuwait. One hundred were confirmed alcoholics and 40 were self-disclosed social drinkers in the community. The questionnaire significantly discriminated between the groups. Its sensitivity level was 100% and its specificity 82.5%. Although all except one of the S-MAST items elicited significant differences between the groups in question, it appears that the particular sociocultural conditions of the setting may influence the validity of some of them.