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Communities for Children Final Report: The use of Communities for Children program: Cultural Community Capacity Builder program to improve the Social Determinants of health outcomes in Western Adelaide
No full textThe evaluation of the programs provided by the Communities for Children initiative (CfC) is presented here. This report is divided into five sections. The first section presents the background information on the CfC initiative including an outline of the demographic and epidemiological outcomes for children in the area of focus for this evaluation. Additionally, the introduction outlines some of the theoretical basis for the models of care and the therapeutic models of care that are common in all the programs provided. Subsequent sections provide the therapeutic models of care specific to the particular program provided by the organisation or service. The report also provides a conclusion for each program and a final conclusion for the evaluation research project as a whole
Prevalence and factors associated with trachoma among children aged 1–9 years in Zala district, Gamo Gofa Zone, Southern Ethiopia
No full textThe full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/). By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed.Background: Trachoma is the leading cause of preventable blindness worldwide. It is common in areas where people are socioeconomically deprived. Globally, approximately 1.2 billion people live in trachoma-endemic areas, in which, 40.6 million individuals have active trachoma and 8.2 million have trichiasis. According to the World Health Organization’s 2007 report, globally close to 1.3 million people are blind due to trachoma, while approximately 84 million suffer from active trachoma. The National Survey (2007) of Ethiopia showed a prevalence of 40.1% active trachoma among children aged 1–9 years. Trachoma is still endemic in most parts of Ethiopia.
Objective: To assess prevalence of trachoma and factors associated with it among children aged 1–9 years in Zala district, Gamo Gofa Zone, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region.
Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Zala district from February 28 to March 26, 2014. A total of 611 children were examined for trachoma based on the simplified World Health Organization 1983 classification. A multistage stratified sampling technique with a systematic random sampling technique was used to select study participants. Data were collected by using a semistructured pretested questionnaire and clinical eye examination. The data were entered using EpiData version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 16. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify independently associated factors.
Results: The overall prevalence of active trachoma cases was 224 (36.7%) consisting of 207 (92.4%) trachomatous follicles, eight (3.6%) trachomatous intense, and nine (4.0%) combination of trachomatous follicle and trachomatous intense. Inadequate knowledge of family head about trachoma (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =2.8 [95% CI: 1.9, 4.2]); #10 m latrine distance (AOR =1.6 [95% confidence interval {CI}: 1.09, 2.4]); presence of above two preschool children (AOR =2.2 [95% CI: 1.3, 3.7]), flies on the face (AOR =6.3 [95% CI: 2.7, 14.7]), and unclean face
(AOR =2.4 [95% CI: 1.5, 3.9]) were found to be independently associated with trachoma.
Conclusion: Trachoma among children in Zala district is a disease of public health importance. Factors like inadequate knowledge about trachoma by the head of the family, #10 m latrine distance, presence of above two preschool children, flies on the face, and an unclean face were independently associated with trachoma among children. So strengthening of antibiotic use, face washing, and environmental improvement strategy implementation is mandatory
The influence of distance and quality of care on place of delivery in rural Ghana
No full textThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Facility delivery is an important aspect of the strategy to reduce maternal and newborn mortality. Geographic access to care is a strong determinant of facility delivery, but few studies have simultaneously considered the influence of facility quality, with inconsistent findings. In rural Brong Ahafo region in Ghana, we combined surveillance data on 11,274 deliveries with quality of care data from all 64 delivery facilities in the study area. We used multivariable multilevel logistic regression to assess the influence of distance and several quality dimensions on place of delivery. Women lived a median of 3.3 km from the closest delivery facility, and 58% delivered in a facility. The probability of facility delivery ranged from 68% among women living 1 km from their closest facility to 22% among those living 25 km away, adjusted for confounders. Measured quality of care at the closest facility was not associated with use, except that facility delivery was lower when the closest facility provided substandard care on the EmOC dimension. These results do not imply, however, that we should increase geographic accessibility of care without improving facility quality. While this may be successful in increasing facility deliveries, such care cannot be expected to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality
Corrigendum: Gender Differences in the Physical and Psychological Manifestation of Childhood Trauma and/or Adversity in People with Psychosis
No full textThis 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) or licensor 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.A corrigendum on
Gender Differences in the Physical and Psychological Manifestation of Childhood Trauma and/or Adversity in People with Psychosis
by Sweeney, S., Air, T., Zannettino, L., and Galletly, C. (2015). Front. Psychol. 6:1768. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01768
Due to an oversight by the authors, the co-author Sonal S. Shah was missed. This has been now added in the author list above and the Author Contributions statement has been revised below.
In the section Materials and Methods, sub-section CHILDHOOD TRAUMA AND/OR ADVERSITY, the whole paragraph should be replaced with:
Questions about the occurrence and nature of CTA were included in the SHIP interview. CTA was coded on the basis of responses to the question: “Were there any other very distressing or traumatic events in your childhood (not including parental separation or divorce, or loss of a close relative)?”
Finally, Health (2012) and Bromfield and Holzer (2008) should be removed from the text and from the Reference List.
The authors apologize for these errors. These corrections do not affect the data or the conclusions contained in the manuscript.
The original article has been updated
The Paradoxical Signals of Two TrkC Receptor Isoforms Supports a Rationale for Novel Therapeutic Strategies in ALS
No full textThis 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.Full length TrkC (TrkC-FL) is a receptor tyrosine kinase whose mRNA can be spliced to a truncated TrkC.T1 isoform lacking the kinase domain. Neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) activates TrkC-FL to maintain motor neuron health and function and TrkC.T1 to produce neurotoxic TNF-α; hence resulting in opposing pathways. In mouse and human ALS spinal cord, the reduction of miR-128 that destabilizes TrkC.T1 mRNA results in up-regulated TrkC.T1 and TNF-α in astrocytes. We exploited conformational differences to develop an agonistic mAb 2B7 that selectively activates TrkC-FL, to circumvent TrkC.T1 activation. In mouse ALS, 2B7 activates spinal cord TrkC-FL signals, improves spinal cord motor neuron phenotype and function, and significantly prolongs life-span. Our results elucidate biological paradoxes of receptor isoforms and their role in disease progression, validate the concept of selectively targeting conformational epitopes in naturally occurring isoforms, and may guide the development of pro-neuroprotective (TrkC-FL) and anti-neurotoxic (TrkC.T1) therapeutic strategies
‘Well, if the kids can do it, I can do it’: older rehabilitation patients' experiences of telerehabilitation
No full textThis 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.Background and objective
Although trials continue to emerge supporting the role of telerehabilitation, implementation has been slow. Key users include older people living with disabilities who are frequent users of hospital rehabilitation services but whose voices are rarely heard. It is unclear whether the use of technologies and reduced face-to-face contact is acceptable to these people. We report on a qualitative study of community dwelling participants who had received a home telerehabilitation programme as an alternative to conventional rehabilitation.
Design
Thirteen older participants, three spouses and one carer were interviewed. All had participated in an individualized therapy programme, using a combination of face-to-face and video consults with therapists. The programme used ‘off-the-shelf’ technologies including iPads for videoconferencing and electronic FitBitR devices. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using NVivo software.
Results
Thematic analysis resulted in five emergent themes: (i) telerehabilitation is convenient; (ii) telerehabilitation promotes motivation and self-awareness; (iii) telerehabilitation fosters positive therapeutic relationships; (iv) mastering technologies used by younger relatives is a valued aspect of telerehabilitation; and (v) Telerehabilitation does not replace traditional face-to-face rehabilitation therapies.
Conclusions
Participants found telerehabilitation convenient and motivating, coped well with the technology and developed positive therapeutic relationships. The learning and practice aspects sat well in the context of a rehabilitation programme. The use of commercially available technologies may have contributed to respondents' high levels of acceptability. The perception of telerehabilitation as complementary to in-person care and the expectation of technological support have implications for the implementation and delivery of telerehabilitation services to older people
Ablation of Sphingosine 1-Phosphate Receptor Subtype 3 Impairs Hippocampal Neuron Excitability In vitro and Spatial Working Memory In vivo
No full textThis 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) or licensor 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.Understanding the role of the bioactive lipid mediator sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) within the central nervous system has recently gained more and more attention, as it has been connected to major diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. Even though much data about the functions of the five S1P receptors has been collected for other organ systems, we still lack a complete understanding for their specific roles, in particular within the brain. Therefore, it was the aim of this study to further elucidate the role of S1P receptor subtype 3 (S1P3) in vivo and in vitro with a special focus on the hippocampus. Using an S1P3 knock-out mouse model we applied a range of behavioral tests, performed expression studies, and whole cell patch clamp recordings in acute hippocampal slices. We were able to show that S1P3 deficient mice display a significant spatial working memory deficit within the T-maze test, but not in anxiety related tests. Furthermore, S1p3 mRNA was expressed throughout the hippocampal formation. Principal neurons in area CA3 lacking S1P3 showed significantly increased interspike intervals and a significantly decreased input resistance. Upon stimulation with S1P CA3 principal neurons from both wildtype and S1P−/−3 mice displayed significantly increased evoked EPSC amplitudes and decay times, whereas rise times remained unchanged. These results suggest a specific involvement of S1P3 for the establishment of spatial working memory and neuronal excitability within the hippocampus
Orthotic and therapeutic effect of functional electrical stimulation on fatigue induced gait patterns in people with multiple sclerosis
Get PDFAuthor version made available following 12 month embargo from date of publication (26 March 2016) in accordance with publisher copyright policy. The Version of Record of this manuscript has been published and is available in Disability and Rehabilitation:Assistive Technology http://www.tandfonline.com/10.3109/17483107.2015.1136702.’ABSTRACT
Purpose: To assess the orthotic and therapeutic effects of prolonged use of functional
electrical stimulation (FES) on fatigue induced gait patterns in people with Multiple Sclerosis
(MS). Method: Thirteen people with MS completed 3D gait analysis with FES off and on,
before and after a fatiguing 6-minute walk, at baseline and after 8 weeks of use of FES.
Results: Eleven participants completed all testing. An orthotic effect on gait was not evident
on first use of FES. However, therapeutic effects on gait after 8 weeks use were generally
positive, including increases in walking speed due to improved neuromuscular control and
power generated at the hip and ankle of the more affected limb. The action of FES alone was
not sufficient to overcome all fatigue related deficits in gait but there was evidence 8 weeks
use of FES can ameliorate some fatigue effects on lower limb kinetics, including benefits to
ankle mechanics involved in generating power around push-off during stance. Conclusions: Eightweeks
of FES can benefit the gait pattern of people with MS under non-fatigued and fatigued
conditions.
-IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION
- In some people with MS prolonged use of FES may be necessary before observing positive
orthotic effects.
- Improvements in the neuromuscular control of the more affected lower limb may develop with
prolonged use of FES in people with MS.
- Only some therapeutic benefits of FES are maintained during fatigued walking in people
with MS.
- FES may be considered as a gait retraining device as well as an orthotic intervention for people
with MS