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Psychometric properties for Persian version Demoralization Scale-24 (DS-24) in Iranian cancer patients
No full textBackground: This study focuses on the phenomenon of demoralization, a common experience among terminally ill patients, especially those diagnosed with cancer. The primary objective is to adapt and validate a practical assessment tool for demoralization, the Demoralization Scale-24 (DS-24), within the context of Iranian society.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we employed the DS-24 as the principal instrument, which had been exactly translated and evaluated for its psychometric properties in 160 Persian cancer patients. The assessment included exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), as well as evaluations of convergent validity and internal consistency or reliability.
Results: The CFA unveiled a five-factor model, consistent with the original structure of the DS-24. Moreover, statistically significant correlations were observed between the DS-24 and both the Beck Depression and MUNSH happiness scales. Cronbach\u27s alpha indicated high internal consistency, with a value of .92 for the total score.
Conclusion: In Iran, like in other countries, the demoralization questionnaire demonstrates significant validity and reliability. This ensures the timely diagnosis of demoralization in cancer patients and the prompt initiation of therapeutic interventions
Workplace circulation design and movement: a case study of three Australian campus buildings
No full textThis paper explores the interconnections between a building’s spatial qualities and office workers’ health behaviours, specifically focusing on physical activity, circulation route usage, and sitting time. A mixed methods approach was adopted to examine three workplace buildings, using spatial analysis, physical activity measurement, and a survey of 99 participants. The findings revealed statistical differences in movement patterns among workers in the three case studies. The analysis highlighted the predominantly sedentary nature of the workplaces, staff’s prioritisation of the quickest route, their willingness to incorporate personal physical activity into the workday, and the significant impacts of circulation space design on movement patterns. In response to the pressing need for increased physical activity and reduced sedentary behaviour at work, a greater understanding of the embodied movement of workers must be central in workplace briefing, design, management, and research. We argue that circulation spaces in workplaces should be designed as more than just enablers of workplace functionality and emergency egress
Balance and strength measures are associated with incident dementia in older men
No full textBackground: As people age the risk of dementia increases. Balance and strength deteriorate with ageing, but their associations with dementia are not clear. We aimed to determine relationships of balance and strength performance with incident dementia in the Health in Men Study (HIMS) cohort.
Methods: We used wave 4 of the HIMS as baseline for analyses (2011–2013), following 1261 men until December 2017 via data linkage to determine incident dementia. Balance was measured using a modified Balance Outcome Measure for Elder Rehabilitation (mBOOMER) Score and strength with the knee extension test. Cox proportional hazards regression was used, adjusting for sociodemographic and health data. Strength and balance scores were analysed non-linearly using restricted cubic splines.
Results: 13.7% of men were diagnosed with dementia over a mean period of 4.7 (SD 1.5) years. Higher baseline mBOOMER scores were associated with a reduced risk of incident dementia, with greater changes in risk at higher mBOOMER scores (9 vs 8: HR 0.80, 95% CI 0.73–0.88; 12 vs 11: 0.49, 95% HR 0.36–0.68). Higher baseline lower limb strength was associated with a reduced risk of incident dementia, with greater changes occurring at lower scores, plateauing at around 25 kg (5 vs 4: HR 0.93, 95% CI 0.89–0.98; 25 vs 24: HR 0.99, 95% CI 0.95–1.03).
Conclusions: This study demonstrated a non-linear association of better performance in both strength and balance with reduced likelihood of incident dementia. These results raise the hypot
National Bowel Cancer Screening Program: Western Australian general practice follow-up processes of positive immunochemical faecal occult blood test results
Get PDFThe National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) aims to maximise the early detection of bowel cancer through immunochemical Faecal Occult Blood Test (iFOBT) screening. This report details findings of a project that investigated the management of patients who return positive +iFOBTs through the program within Western Australian (WA) general practice settings. The specific objectives were to i) explore processes used by WA general practitioner (GPs) to follow-up NBCSP participants with a +iFOBT; and ii) gain insight into the effectiveness of these current approaches to improve the program and guide future projects. The project utilised an explanatory, sequential mixed method design via a modified Delphi technique. The first Delphi round involved key informant interviews with 16 GPs. Key findings from these interviews guided the second Delphi round - an online questionnaire, completed by 14 GPs. The study established a baseline of follow-up processes of +iFOBT NBCSP patients within WA general practice for future analysis and insights, and defines a deeper understanding of experiences of GPs in managing these patients.https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/nursing_reports/1001/thumbnail.jp
HIV transcription persists in the brain of virally suppressed people with HIV
No full textHIV persistence in the brain is a barrier to cure, and potentially contributes to HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. Whether HIV transcription persists in the brain despite viral suppression with antiretroviral therapy (ART) and is subject to the same blocks to transcription seen in other tissues and blood, is unclear. Here, we quantified the level of HIV transcripts in frontal cortex tissue from virally suppressed or non-virally suppressed people with HIV (PWH).
HIV transcriptional profiling of frontal cortex brain tissue (and PBMCs where available) from virally suppressed (n = 11) and non-virally suppressed PWH (n = 13) was performed using digital polymerase chain reaction assays (dPCR). CD68+ myeloid cells or CD3+ T cells expressing HIV p24 protein present in frontal cortex tissue was detected using multiplex immunofluorescence imaging.
Frontal cortex brain tissue from PWH had HIV TAR (n = 23/24) and Long-LTR (n = 20/24) transcripts. Completion of HIV transcription was evident in brain tissue from 12/13 non-virally suppressed PWH and from 5/11 virally suppressed PWH, with HIV p24+CD68+ cells detected in these individuals. While a block to proximal elongation was present in frontal cortex tissue from both PWH groups, this block was more extensive in virally suppressed PWH.
These findings suggest that the brain is a transcriptionally active HIV reservoir in a subset of virally suppressed PWH
Remote community energy insecurity – some preliminary observations on electricity disconnections, energy costs and the transition to renewables in the Kimberley
Get PDFAs Australia adopts a Carbon Neutral future, energy insecurity in remote Indigenous Australia remains a major impediment to equity and development.
“Energy security” is the term used to describe reliability of electricity connection, and for the vast majority of Australians, energy security is not a challenge. This is not the case for many remote Indigenous households, including approx. 1200 in the Kimberley, who have a prepaid system for their power connection.
Electricity disconnections are disproportionately high for households that have a prepay system, where consumers must pay in advance for their power. When their credit runs out, they are immediately disconnected. A recent study in Nature revealed households in Alice Springs town camps experienced disconnections at a ratio of 1 in 3 during times of ‘extreme heat’ – defined as over 35 degrees.
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A systematic review of meta-analyses on the impact of formative assessment on K-12 students learning: Toward sustainable quality education
No full textFormative assessment in K-12 education has been a notable teaching and learning focus area in schools over the last 20 years, as evidenced by numerous recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses investigating and summarizing the evidence for formative assessments’ effectiveness and sustainability. This umbrella review systematically reviews meta-analyses investigating the effects of formative assessment on learning, summarizes the current findings, and assesses the quality and risk of bias in the published meta-analyses. Meta-analyses were identified using systematic literature searches in the following databases: Scopus, ERIC, Academic Research Complete, ProQuest, APA PsycArticles, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, and Humanities International Complete. Thirteen meta-analyses, each of which examined the effects of formative assessment on learning in K-12 students, were included in this umbrella review. The review considered evidence for the potential effectiveness of using formative assessment in class with primary and secondary school students. Formative assessment was found to produce trivial to large positive effects on student learning, with no negative effects identified. The magnitude of effects varied according to the type of formative assessment. The 13 included meta-analysis studies showed moderate (n = 10), high (n = 1), and low (n = 2) methodological quality (AMSTAR-2), although the robustness of the evidence (i.e., GRADE analysis) was very low (n = 9), low (n = 3), and moderate (n = 1). These findings offer valuable insights for designing and implementing different types of formative assessment aimed at optimizing student learning and ensuring the sustainability of assessment practices. However, the low-to-very-low certainty of the available evidence precludes robust recommendations regarding optimal formative assessment strategies for learning in K-12 student
Parents\u27 experiences of perinatal child protection processes: A systematic review and thematic synthesis informed by a socio-ecological approach
No full textBackground: Nationally and internationally, researchers and practitioners are increasingly expressing concerns regarding the number of babies removed by child protection systems soon after birth and how child protection processes in the perinatal period (conception to one year following birth) impact families.
Aim: This systematic review synthesises qualitative studies to gain an understanding of the experiences and needs of pregnant women, mothers, and fathers involved in perinatal child protection processes that occur in health, welfare, and legal systems.
Methods: Multi-disciplinary electronic databases (13) were searched for relevant peer-reviewed journal articles written in English and published since 2000. Twenty-four articles met the inclusion criteria. Analysis adopted a socio-ecological approach and thematic synthesis. An expert advisory group comprised of lived experience advisors, service providers, and academics contributed to development of the thematic framework.
Results: Although the reviewed studies were conducted between 2005 and 2023 with diverse participants from six countries, they highlight parents’ similar experiences of perinatal child protection processes. Parents’ experiences were synthesised according to spheres of the socio-ecological model: (i) At the individual level, parents described their love, hope, confusion, fear, agency, and anguish. (ii) Within relationships parents recounted broken parent-baby bonds, limited personal and professional support, and the implications of trauma and trust for parent-professional relationships. (iii) When engaging with organisations parents reported pervasive surveillance and harmful processes, inadequate communication and support, and power imbalances. (iv) At policy and societal levels parents’ experiences pointed to dominant Western norms and values, increased poverty and homelessness, compromised rights, and prejudicial perinatal policies. Also synthesised are parents’, professionals’, and researchers’ recommendations for improving perinatal child protection processes and supporting families.
Conclusions: Over the last 20 years, qualitative studies from around the globe have consistently reported the adverse biopsychosocial impacts of removing babies from their families. Addressing poverty and trauma, redressing power imbalances, and mitigating the enduring impact of perinatal child protection processes is critical for parents’ to be able to keep or be reunified with their babies. Shifts at institutional, policy, and societal levels are needed to: prioritise prevention and early intervention; enable relational practice and cross-sector collaboration; and move beyond traditional Western notions of family. Centring parents’ voices in efforts to improve child protection processes before and after birth will help inform the delivery of early and appropriate support to meet parents’ identified needs and promote family wellbeing
