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Perceptions of Determinants of Condom Use Behaviors Among Male Clients of Female Sex Workers in Indonesia: A Qualitative Inquiry
Get PDFThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.This study aimed to explore perceived determinants of condom use behaviors among male clients of female commercial
sex workers (FCSWs) in Belu and Malaka districts, Indonesia. One-on-one in-depth interviews guided by the Health
Belief Model (HBM) were used to collect the data from participants (n = 42). The Framework analysis for qualitative
data was employed to analyze the data. Results demonstrated several factors associated with lack of and inconsistent
condom use among the participants. They included self-perceived risk of contracting HIV infection, knowledge of the
severity of HIV illness and its impacts, and condom use: its benefits and its influencing factors. Additionally, factors
including reduced sexual pleasure and the lack of knowledge of how and where to access condoms were important
perceived barriers to condom use among participants. Having seen images of HIV-/AIDS-positive people, knowing
friends and relatives suffering from HIV, and knowing FCSWs as a high-risk group for HIV infection were the cues to
using condoms among several participants. Likewise, self-efficacy was also associated with condom use behaviors among
the participants. The findings indicate the needs for HIV/AIDS interventions that include dissemination of HIV/AIDS
knowledge, condom promotion, and improvement in the availability of condoms for both FCSWs and their clients.The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article
Medical Oncology Group of Australia position statement and membership survey on voluntary assisted dying
Get PDFThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.The controversial topic of voluntary assisted dying (VAD) is receiving significant attention
at state government levels and in the community. Acknowledging potential legalisation
of VAD, the Medical Oncology Group of Australia (MOGA) undertook a survey of members
to inform the development of a position statement on the subject. All MOGA members
were invited to complete an anonymous online survey. The survey comprised
12 closed-response categorical questions. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise
the survey data. Majority views expressed in the survey would form the basis of a MOGA
position statement on VAD. A total of 362 members completed the questionnaire, representing
55% of the membership; 47% of respondents disagreed with VAD; 36% agreed
with VAD and the remaining members (17%) were ‘neutral’. A clear majority position
was not established. Only 14% agreed that physicians involved in VAD should be
required personally to administer the lethal medication; 94% supported conscientious
objection of physicians to the VAD process; 95% agreed that a palliative care physician
consultation should be required and 86% agreed with the need for the involvement of
specialist psychiatry medical services before a patient can be deemed as suitable for VAD.
The MOGA membership expressed a range of views on the topic of VAD. A clear majority-
held view to support a MOGA position that either supports or opposes VAD was not
established. The position statement that flows from the survey encourages informed
debate on this topic and brings into focus important considerations.Non
Resistance to pentamidine is mediated by AdeAB, regulated by AdeRS, and influenced by growth conditions in Acinetobacter baumannii ATCC 17978
Get PDFThis is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.In recent years, effective treatment of infections caused by Acinetobacter baumannii has become challenging due to the ability of the bacterium to acquire or up-regulate antimicrobial resistance determinants. Two component signal transduction systems are known to regulate expression of virulence factors including multidrug efflux pumps. Here, we investigated the role of the AdeRS two component signal transduction system in regulating the AdeAB efflux system, determined whether AdeA and/or AdeB can individually confer antimicrobial resistance, and explored the interplay between pentamidine resistance and growth conditions in A. baumannii ATCC 17978. Results identified that deletion of adeRS affected resistance towards chlorhexidine and 4’,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride, two previously defined AdeABC substrates, and also identified an 8-fold decrease in resistance to pentamidine. Examination of ΔadeA, ΔadeB and ΔadeAB cells augmented results seen for ΔadeRS and identified a set of dicationic AdeAB substrates. RNA-sequencing of ΔadeRS revealed transcription of 290 genes were ≥2-fold altered compared to the wildtype. Pentamidine shock significantly increased adeA expression in the wildtype, but decreased it in ΔadeRS, implying that AdeRS activates adeAB transcription in ATCC 17978. Investigation under multiple growth conditions, including the use of Biolog phenotypic microarrays, revealed resistance to pentamidine in ATCC 17978 and mutants could be altered by bioavailability of iron or utilization of different carbon sources. In conclusion, the results of this study provide evidence that AdeAB in ATCC 17978 can confer intrinsic resistance to a subset of dicationic compounds and in particular, resistance to pentamidine can be significantly altered depending on the growth conditions.This work was supported by the
Australian National Health and Medical Research
Council (Project Grant 1047509) and a Flinders
Medical Research Foundation Grant to MHB and UHS. FGA was supported by AJ and IM Naylon and
Playford Trust Ph.D. Scholarships
Does studying postgraduate palliative care have an impact on student’s ability to effect change in practice?
Get PDF© 2018 Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation. Reprinted with permission of AJAN.Objective
To find out from alumni whether their postgraduate course in palliative care had an impact on their ability to change practice.
Setting
Palliative & Supportive Services, Flinders University has delivered postgraduate palliative care courses via the online learning mode of delivery since 2004.
Subjects
An online survey was administered to alumni asking about such issues as: the impact of learning for practice, and their ability to influence change (Flinders University ethics no: 7154). Seventy-six alumni responded to the survey, and were mostly older female nurses, which is not only a reflection of our student cohort but also of clinical practice.
Primary argument
In this study, we are examining the relevance of our courses to practice, specifically how alumni report the impact of postgraduate study on both their individual clinical practice and organisational systems. Evidence based practice is the cornerstone of nursing and of education programs globally and while our students are learning best practice they report that they cannot easily translate their new knowledge into practice.
Conclusion
Clinicians with postgraduate qualifications can be empowered to expand their clinical skills and more, for example, their leadership capabilities, to critically challenge health care systems and act as a role model for others. However, if we are to truly build the capacity of our students and alumni to implement changes in the workplace then we need to also engage them in evidence to practice strategies and change management theory and practice
A potential link between oxidative stress and endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition in systemic sclerosis
Get PDFThis article was submitted to
Immunological Tolerance and
Regulation,
a section of the journal
Frontiers in Immunology.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums
is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited
and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted
academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not
comply with these terms.Systemic sclerosis (SSc), an autoimmune disease that is associated with a number
of genetic and environmental risk factors, is characterized by progressive fibrosis and
microvasculature damage in the skin, lungs, heart, digestive system, kidneys, muscles,
joints, and nervous system. These abnormalities are associated with altered secretion of
growth factor and profibrotic cytokines, such as transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-b),
interleukin-4 (IL-4), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and connective-tissue growth
factor (CTGF). Among the cellular responses to this proinflammatory environment, the
endothelial cells phenotypic conversion into activated myofibroblasts, a process known
as endothelial tomesenchymal transition (EndMT), has been postulated. Reactive oxygen
species (ROS) might play a key role in SSs-associated fibrosis and vascular damage
by mediating and/or activating TGF-b-induced EndMT, a phenomenon that has been
observed in other disease models. In this review, we identified and critically appraised
published studies investigating associations ROS and EndMT and the presence of
EndMT in SSc, highlighting a potential link between oxidative stress and EndMT in this
condition.This research was
supported by grants from the Qatar National Research Fund
(UREP20-051-3-012) and the Qatar University (QUCG-CHS-
2018/2019-1). The article processing charge (APC) for the
publication of this article was funded by the (Qatar National
Library)
The impact of ethnicity on the prevalence and severity of obstructive sleep apnea
Get PDFThis manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. This author accepted manuscript is made available following 12 month embargo from date of publication (February 2018) in accordance with the publisher’s archiving policyObstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disorder associated with multiple adverse health consequences and its prevalence is increasing in parallel with rising obesity trends. Early support for ethnic differences in OSA prevalence and severity has been derived from studies of relatively homogenous ethnic groups. However, between-study comparisons are problematic given differing methodologies. Recent large inter-ethnic studies examining different ethnic populations using standardized protocols support the notion that Chinese have an increased OSA prevalence and severity compared to those of European descent. Although the evidence is less clear, some data suggest that Hispanic/Mexican Americans also show higher rates of OSA, while OSA prevalence in African Americans is not dissimilar to that of populations of European ancestry. Of the anatomical traits underlying differences in OSA prevalence and severity between ethnic groups (i.e., obesity, fat distribution, and craniofacial structure) obesity appears to be the most important. The effect of ethnicity on non-anatomical factors (i.e., upper airway muscle responsiveness, arousal threshold, and loop gain) responsible for OSA severity and potentially prevalence is currently unknown and needs further research.None
The use of complementary and alternative medicine for breast cancer management in Asian countries
No full textThis abstract was prepared for the inaugural 'HDR Student Conference', Flinders University, November 2018. Copyright © the authorComplementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is a group of non-pharmacological therapies that are used together with or might be used in place of conventional oncology treatment. CAM usage is very common among women with breast cancer in Asian countries. However, studies investigating women experiences in the use of CAM for breast cancer management are limited. An integrative literature review of the literature was conducted to explore the use of CAM for breast cancer management in Asian countries. The included studies were assessed for trustworthiness, value and relevance using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools. The findings from the reviewed studies were synthesised using thematic analysis method. Thirty four articles from 12 Asian countries met the inclusion criteria. The main categories were the prevalence and reasons of using CAM, factors related to the use of CAM, types of CAM used and 'the information sources'. Women in Asian countries use CAM as an adjunct therapy to support medical care. CAM also has been utilised in Asian countries as a main therapy to treat breast cancer. Age, education, income and the cancer stages were found to be associated with this usage. Further research is required to explore women's subjective experience, knowledge, and attitudes regarding their use of CAM for breast cancer treatment as well as the perspectives of those providing CAM, as the perspectives have not been explored in Indonesia. This presentation will discuss the integrative literature review in detail
A novel driving scale for adults experiencing amblyopia and/or strabismus: Psychometric evaluation by Rasch analysis
No full textThis abstract was prepared for the inaugural 'HDR Student Conference', Flinders University, November 2018. Copyright © the authorAim: To evaluate the psychometric properties of a novel driving scale for adults experiencing amblyopia and/or strabismus using Rasch measurement theory. Background: To develop item banks that measure quality of life dimensions, important to adults with amblyopia and/or strabismus, an extensive qualitative study was conducted in Australia and India. Among other findings, the study identified several impacts in driving, which were articulated into country-specific surveys by item refinement and revision processes. This abstract presents the psychometric validation of this scale for the Indian population. Methods: The 18-item driving scale was administered to adults in India, aged over 18 years. Rasch analysis (using Winsteps version 3.92.1) was used to assess the psychometric properties of the scale: functioning of response categories, measurement precision (PSI), fit statistics, dimensionality, targeting and differential item functioning (DIF). Results: Two hundred and thirty two participants (male: 72%, median age: 24 year; range: 18-48 years) completed the survey. The scale had a PSI of 2.44. Two misfit items were fixed by iteratively muting erroneous person responses to each item. Variance explained by the measure was 64%. The eigen value was 2.98 and 5 items loaded over 0.40; however the disattenuated correlations between the item clusters was >0.80, indicating that the items are measuring the same thing. This was further verified by splitting the scale into two and correlating person measures (spearman correlation = 0.78; 61% of the variance was shared by the measures). The final scale had ordered thresholds, PSI, 2.52 and targeting, 2.51 logits. Two items showed notable DIF based on ocular diagnosis. Conclusion: The 18-item driving scale displays valid Rasch- based psychometric properties except for targeting. Implications: The Rasch validated driving scale could be used to measure and compare driving abilities of individuals with amblyopia and/or strabismus
Exploring Women's Experience of Wellbeing in the Cyclone Shelters of Bangladesh
No full textThis abstract was prepared for the inaugural 'HDR Student Conference', Flinders University, November 2018. Copyright © the authorBackground- Bangladesh has a small land area of 147,570 sq. km with a population of 160.80 million, comprising 80.50 million males and 80.30 million females. The total coastal area of Bangladesh is about 47,201 sq. km, almost 32% of the country, accommodating almost 50 million people, majority living below poverty line. This cause a huge group of population exposed to frequent cyclones. Cyclone evacuation centres have been built for affected people. But in many cases these shelters fail to ensure safety, security and basic needs of evacuees. As Bangladesh is among the lowest positioned countries in gender equity, women tend to be more vulnerable in these shelters. So, it is important to understand, from the women's perspective, what it is like to be an evacuee in a shelter and therefore in what ways this experience can be improved. Methodology- As phenomenology describes existential phenomena such as the experience of living in an evacuation centre and illuminates what it is like, phenomenology would be a suitable methodological approach and philosophical framework of the research. Methods/Design- Adult women who have lived experience of staying in cyclone shelters will be recruited from the study area for in-depth interviews. Identities of the participants will be kept confidential and participants will have their freedom to discontinue their participation at any point without further consequences. Thematic analysis will be used to interpret interviews and process the interviews to extract findings. Participants' experiences would be segmented and specified with significant phrases based on their used terms to describe an event or experience. Conclusion- This research will produce knowledge that assists the Government of Bangladesh to improve the existing cyclone preparedness, relief and rehabilitation plans and will provide directions for further research in the field of women and disaster resilience
Ethics and speaking up on matters of care - from an Aboriginal perspective
No full textThis abstract was prepared for the inaugural 'HDR Student Conference', Flinders University, November 2018. Copyright © the authorThis abstract is about presenting to the higher research students of this college about the ethics of talking with Aboriginal people in research work. Presented will be the learning and development of a research model that has taken two distinctive pathways. The first pathway of walking in culture, knowing traditions, leaning into relationships and adhering to protocols and the other pathway is about the ethics of doing research in Aboriginal communities.
This journey with its deeper learning of Aboriginal people and with its local perspective locates the researcher in a process that weaves from the conversations a story work into themes.
As a bridge over these two distinctive knowledges is a guide for design and delivery with beneficial outcomes. A National framework for ethical conduct in research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is that bridge.
Speaking up about their lived experiences has been a small group of South Australia Aboriginal families that represent different clan groups and they care for one or more person(s) living with a disability in Adelaide.
Capturing these lived stories is an Arabana woman researcher to achieve this outcome of ethical conduct