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The impact of dementia education on student paramedics preparedness to care, knowledge, confidence, and attitudes towards dementia: an analytic survey
Get PDFYesParamedics play a vital role in the emergency health care of people living with dementia. People with dementia often have complex needs, posing challenges for paramedics.
Paramedics often lack the confidence and skills to assess people with dementia appropriately and receive little, if any, dementia education.
Aims: To evaluate the impact of dementia education on student paramedics preparedness to care, knowledge, confidence, and attitudes towards dementia.
Methods: A 6-hour education programme on dementia was developed, implemented, and evaluated. A pre-test-post-test design using self-completion validated questionnaires was used to evaluate first year undergraduate student paramedics knowledge, confidence, and attitudes, towards dementia, as well as their preparedness to care for people with dementia.
Results: Forty-three paramedic students attended the education programme with forty-one fully completed questionnaires being collected pre-training and thirty-two post-training. Students reported feeling significantly more preparedness to care for people with dementia after the education session (pFunded by College of Paramedics, Research Grant SchemeResearch Development Fund Publication Prize Award winner, Feb 2023
An Investigation into Durability Aspects of Geopolymer Concretes Based Fully on Construction and Demolition Waste
Get PDFYesThe focus of the construction industry has shifted towards the development of al-ternative, eco-friendly and green construction materials due to the energy-inefficient and carbon-intensive nature of Portland cement (PC) production and aggregate quarrying. Meanwhile, increased number of repetitive re-pair/renovation/maintenance activities and demolition operations for the end-of-life buildings generate significant amounts of construction and demolition waste (CDW). For the purposes of sustainability and upcycling wastes into high-value-added materials with improved greenness, components from CDW streams can be used in producing geopolymer concretes without using PC and natural aggre-gates, given the rich aluminosiliceous nature of CDW components. The focus of current work is therefore on the analysis of durability of aspects (i.e., drying shrinkage and resistance against sulfate attack, cyclic freezing-thawing, and chlo-ride penetration) of geopolymer concretes made entirely of CDW. Different types of bricks, tile, concrete, and glass were used in mixed form as precursors for ge-opolymerization while different-size grains of waste concrete were used as recy-cled aggregates. As alkali activators, sodium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide and sodium silicate were used. In a companion mixture, CDW-based precursors were replaced with slag and class-F fly ash. Results showed that sulfate and cyclic freeze-thaw exposure did not cause any noticeable weight and compressive strength loss in CDW-based geopolymer concretes, while chloride penetration was found comparable to PC-based concrete. While drying shrinkage was found high in entirely CDW-based geopolymer concrete and resulted in surface mi-crocracks, it was possible to lower the drying shrinkage substantially via substi-tution of CDW-based precursors with fly ash and slag.The authors also wish to thank the support of Scientific and Technical Research Council (TUBITAK) of Turkey provided under projects: 218M102 and 117M447.This paper is from the fib Symposium 2023, Building for the future: Durable, Sustainable, Resilient. 5-7 Jun, Istanbul, Turkey
Stabilisation of acrylic latexes containing silica nanoparticles for dirt repellent coating applications
Get PDFYesThis study examines the feasibility of using colloidal silica nanoparticles as active agents in high concentration waterborne polymer latex formulations. We showed that distributing the silica throughout the waterborne emulsion formed a composite coating material with a hydrophilic surface that consequently reduced exterior dirt pickup. Two grades of silica nanoparticles were studied, one using sodium stabilisation and another using epoxysilane modification to introduce glycidox-ypropyltrimethoxysilane surface functionality. Rheological study of the waterborne latex on mixing showed that there was an immediate pH responsive interaction between the silica sols and the polymer latex. Once loading of sodium charge stabilised silica NPs exceeded the volume required for heteroflocculation to occur the mixture demonstrated the potential to gel on standing – a process which took weeks, or months, to occur depending on the pH and relative concentrations used. At least fifty percent silane modification to the NP surface was found to be necessary to maintain a stable colloidal dispersion for long term storage of the waterborne latex. Despite this both grades of silica were found to imbue reductions in dirt pickup when applied to exterior masonry concrete studies over a 3-month weathering testThis work was supported by the Royal Society of Chemistry [E21-8346952505]
Flexural performance of prefabricated U-shaped UHPC permanent formwork - concrete composite beams reinforced with FRP bars
Get PDFYesFinite element (FE) analysis of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforced concrete beams cast in U-shaped ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) permanent formworks is presented in this paper. Concrete damage plasticity (CDP) and FRP brittle damage models were used to simulate the damage behavior of concrete and FRP bars. The results of FE simulation are in good agreement with the experimental results. Furthermore, parametric studies were conducted to investigate the effect of concrete and UHPC strengths, yield strength of steel bars, elastic modulus of FRP bars, ultimate tensile strength of FRP bars, types of UHPC normal strength concrete (NSC) interface and thickness of UHPC under different reinforcement conditions. Flexural performances, in terms of cracking, yield, ultimate loads and corresponding deflections, failure mode, energy dissipation and ductility, were investigated. Traction-separation model was used to describe the bonding degradation and the maximum slip of two types of bonding interfaces (smooth surface and medium-rough surface). Both flexural capacity and resistance to deformation of composite beams are significantly improved by the utilization of hybrid FRP/steel reinforcement. The UHPC formwork can also delay the occurrence and development of cracks. By appropriately increasing the strength of UHPC or elastic modulus of FRP bar, the flexural capacity of composite beams is effectively improved. It is expected that the results presented in this paper can guide the design and construction of U-shaped UHPC permanent formwork-concrete composite beams reinforced with FRP bars
Applicable of teledentistry and digital platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic among dentists in Fiji: A qualitative study
Get PDFYesObjectives: This research aims to explore the perception of dental officers (DOs) and dental managers (DMs) on the use of teledentistry and digital platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic in Fiji. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted among 30 DOs and 17 DMs. The study was conducted in private dental clinics, government dental clinics and the School of Dentistry and Oral Health clinic (SDOH), in the Central Division, Fiji that were selected randomly. The participants were selected using the purposive sampling method using the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data was collected through in-depth interviews via zoom using a self-developed semi-structure open-ended interview questionnaire. Manual thematic analysis of the data was conducted. Results: Five themes emerged from data analysis: utilization of teledentistry and media during the pandemic, usefulness of teledentistry, confidence with teledentistry and digital platforms-associated risks, digital platforms for record keeping, and teledentistry promotion and training. Teledentistry was mostly utilized by private practitioners and the oral surgery department. Practitioners were not in favour of teledentistry as they thought it was putting them at risk. Conclusion: Majority of DOs and DMs were not utilizing teledentistry except for a few private dental practitioners and the oral surgery department. Future research can be conducted in other divisions and include other healthcare professionals.3M Health Care, manufacturers of Cavilon barrier fil
Non-Governmental Organizations’ approaches to women’s empowerment amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Towards decolonizing development praxis in northern Ghana
Get PDFYesThis article examines local non-governmental organizations (LNGOs) approaches to women's empowerment amid crisis and the implications for decolonizing women's empowerment praxis. The article draws on lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic and decolonial critique of development praxis to analyse LNGOs approach to women's empowerment. The study relied on snowballing to select twenty-six LNGOs operating in northern Ghana for in-depth interviews. Our study found that LNGOs deploy local and international frameworks on women's rights and combine these with indigenous knowledge principles and economic empowerment. Yet there are tensions between negotiating culturally appropriate approaches and meeting the interests of philanthro-capitalist donor agencies. The LNGOs are dependent on Western donors for financial resources and have become more vulnerable due to Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath as funding for women's empowerment work continues to dwindle. LNGOs have modified their interventions to address specific needs of beneficiaries arising from the consequences of the crises. This study enriches understandings of the specific vulnerabilities of LNGOs in northern Ghana, resource-scarce and semi-arid settings across the global South. For women's empowerment to achieve meaningful results, especially during and after crisis, activism needs to be centred on indigenous knowledge. This is central to building the resilience of LNGOs and women beneficiaries to effectively position themselves to absorb the shocks that attend crisis and to cope more effectively with it
Survey on Opportunity Management as part of Project Risk Management
No full textNoThe project to set-up the survey in this dataset was supported by the Association for Project Management (APM), and the survey has been sent sent to its corporate member organisations. The survey was intended to help to gain a better understanding of the policies and practice around Opportunity Management as a part of Project Risk Management. The survey has been designed and analysed by members of the APM Risk SIG and Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands). Results of the survey have been presented to APM to help the development of APM's documented approach to Project Risk Management in publications such as the APM Body of Knowledge and SIG Guides. In addition, anonymous and aggregated survey results are used for academic publications, providing more insight into the practice of Opportunity Management. The dataset contains:
- Survey questions as they have been entered into Qualtrics (TM) [PDF]
- Coding scheme that has been used to code the answers to the survey questions [PDF]
- Raw answers to the survey questions (fully anonymized) [CSV]
- Data Management Plan (DMP) for the survey as part of the HREC application [PDF]
- HREC approval from TU Delft for the research protocol [PDF]
- readme.txt file with this contentAssociation for Project Managemen
Perception towards physiotherapy among the general population in Gujrat, Pakistan
Get PDFYesPhysiotherapy is a dynamic profession that employs various therapeutic strategies to help people
regain movement and function in their bodies. Physiotherapists provide comprehensive care for patients with
different medical and surgical conditions. This study aimed to assess the perceptions regarding physiotherapy
among the general population of Gujrat, Pakistan.
Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional survey was carried out among the general population of Gujrat
from March to June 2021. Non-probability sampling technique was used to select the 126 participants >20 years
of age. A self-structured Likert scale questionnaire was developed to collect data. The responses were analyzed
through Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS). P-value less than 0.05 was considered as level of
significance.
Results: Majority of participants (75.4%) were from the age group 20–29 years and 90(71.4%) of the participants
had either undergraduate or postgraduation education. Out of 126 participants, 103(81.75%) participants were
highly aware and had adequate awareness regarding physiotherapy, whereas 20(50.9%) participants showed
moderate awareness and 3(2.4%) of participants showed a deficient level of awareness. No association was seen
between awareness and variables including age, gender, socioeconomic status, and education.
Conclusion: General population of Gujrat were highly aware of physiotherapy. Education plays an impactful role
in better understanding of physiotherapy, so further steps should be taken to increase positive perception in
different socioeconomic statuses, including advertisements, social media campaigns and seminars
Navigating the COVID-19 pandemic two years on: experiences of carers of people with dementia from the British IDEAL cohort
No full textYesWe explored carers experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in England to identify long-term impacts and implications, and to suggest future support for caregivers.
Data were collected during COVID-19 rapid response studies (IDEAL-CDI; INCLUDE) from carers participating in a British longitudinal cohort study (IDEAL). Semi-structured interview data were compared to their accounts from previous interviews conducted during the first 18 months of the pandemic.
There was indication of some return to pre-pandemic lifestyles but without appropriate support carers risked reaching crisis point. Evidence points to a need for assessment and management of support needs to ensure well-being and sustainable dementia caregiving.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through grant ES/V004964/1. Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) through grant ES/L001853/2. Alzheimer’s Society, grant number 348, AS-PR2-16-001
A data collection programme for improving healthcare in UK human spaceflight ventures
Get PDFYesOver the next decade the number of humans venturing beyond Earth is projected to rapidly increase in both quantity and
diversity. Humans will regularly fly to the International Space Station until it is decommissioned by 2031, will return to the
Moon by 2025 via the Artemis programme, and will fly to space via commercial ventures. Spaceflight presents a hazardous
environment for human health. To understand spaceflight-associated health risks further and to increase safety via advanced
healthcare approaches, including personalised medicine, more data must be collected. Importantly, this data must be derived
from a diverse cohort of participants and a range of mission formats. We propose that the UK should start to consider all
citizens venturing into space as potential participants from which health and biological data could be consensually collected.
Importantly, we believe that this routine data collection programme should adopt a similar strategy to the UK National Health
Service and the UK Biobank, by including "omics" data for scientific and healthcare purposes. We consider how such a
world-leading programme, kick-started via a pilot study, might be realised through appropriate policy design, including which
measures to collect, when to collect them, and unique ethical considerations pertaining to the spacefaring population.H.C. is supported by the Horizon Centre for Doctoral Training at the University of Nottingham (UKRI grant no. EP/ S023305/1)