10137 research outputs found
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Effect of Stretching on Chronic Non-Specific Neck Pain and Pressure Pain Threshold: A Pilot RCT
Get PDFNon-specific chronic neck pain commonly affects office workers. Previous studies have explored various forms of physical exercise as therapies to alleviate pain and improve function. However, limited research has investigated stretching as an isolated intervention among office workers, with only one study demonstrating promising results. This pilot study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a 4-week static stretching protocol as a standalone treatment for reducing self-reported pain levels and improving pressure pain threshold (PPT) in women experiencing chronic non-specific neck pain. Sixty-six employed women with moderate to severe chronic neck pain were randomly assigned to either the static stretching (SS) or control group (CG). The SS group performed six neck muscle stretching exercises regularly for 4 weeks. Therapeutic effectiveness was evaluated before treatment initiation and at the end of the 4-week treatment period using the 11-point numerical pain rating scale (NPRS) and pressure pain threshold (PPT). Significant findings revealed a decrease in PPT in favor of the SS group, indicating reduced pressure pain sensitivity (p=0.013). However, there was no significant difference in NPRS between the two groups at the 4-week assessment (p=0.798). Our findings suggest that static stretching leads to a decrease in PPT but does not influence NPRS in women with chronic non-specific neck pain. Further evaluation of static stretching in a larger population with non-specific chronic neck pain is warranted. Additionally, future studies should investigate the optimal training dosage required to induce physiological and neuromuscular changes potentially linked to decreased neck pain and increased PPT levels.13pubpub
Idioms of distress and ethnopsychology of pregnant women and new mothers in Sierra Leone [Working paper]
No full textAbdulai Jawo Bah - ORCID:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3334-7882Alastair Ager - ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9474-3563
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9474-3563Studies suggest high rates of ante- and post-natal depression in low- and middle-income
countries (LMICs), yet relatively little scholarship addresses how perinatal women experience
and express psychological distress in these low-resource settings. To address this gap, we
conducted a rapid ethnographic study including 96 free list interviews with community members
and 16 key informants (KI) pile sorts. Thematic analysis of data was supported by frequency
analysis and multidimensional scaling. Participants included pregnant and new mothers, nonpregnant and non-lactating mothers, elderly women, and men in the community to gauge a
diverse range of views. Twenty signs of distress were identified. The heart (at), mind (maynd)),
and body (bodi) comprised the self-concept and were related to sadness, stress, loneliness, anger,
worry, and thinking too much. They used the heart and mind to describe problems associated
with emotions and thoughts respectively. Participants articulated several idioms of distress,
including stres(stress), poil at (spoil heart), and ed nor de or e wan go off (pre-psychosis or
crase), that occur within a context of poverty, marital disharmony or inter-partner conflict and
gender inequality. These idioms of distress exist as discrete indicators with overlapping features,
operating on a continuum of severity that could progress over time, both within and across
idioms. These findings can inform mental health literacy and communications that is less
stigmatizing; the development of culturally salient screening tools and interventions that are
locally appropriate. This could potentially increase uptake and engagement with services, and
enhance therapeutic outcomes for perinatal women with psychological distress
Nature-based interventions for older adults: a systematic review of intervention types and methods, health effects and pathways
Get PDFGail Carin-Levy - ORCID: 0000-0001-6487-3343
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6487-3343Background
Nature-based interventions (NBIs) may support older adults’ health and well-being, but it remains unclear which interventions are most effective, for whom and in which contexts. The existing Wilkie and Davinson framework explains the pathways between NBIs and health outcomes but underemphasises the effects of environmental qualities. Therefore, the study aims to critically examine existing NBIs and their associated health outcomes, with a focus on identifying the environmental qualities and pathways that are either facilitating or impeding.
Methods
The review sought 16 databases for any nature-based interventions aimed at enhancing health outcomes where participants are older adults aged ≥65. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool assessed risk of bias. Narrative synthesis was used for result presentation.
Results
Of 6143 articles retrieved, 84 studies were included. Participants were primarily community dwelling without specific conditions. Most studies were quantitative experiments. Interventions were predominantly multicomponent, with restoring psychological capacities as the most common pathway. Spiritual, behavioural and socioecological changes were identified. Some health mechanisms were specific to outdoor interventions, but indoor interventions showed comparable outcomes.
Conclusions
The study predominantly included community-dwelling participants without specific health conditions, potentially limiting the generalisability of findings to older adults with multimorbidity or those in alternative living environments. Multicomponent interventions challenged direct associations between pathways and outcomes. Results extend existing frameworks by identifying spiritual, behavioural and socioecological benefits. Limited detailing of environmental qualities warrants further research to associate them with specific health outcomes.
Registration
The protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42024496114).This systematic review is supported by funding from the Advanced Care Research Centre, University of Edinburgh. J.L. is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) North East and North Cumbria (NENC) (NIHR200173). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afaf08454pubpub
Foster carers in Scotland’s knowledge and awareness of speech, language, and communication needs
No full textUp to 90% of children experiencing care have speech, language and communication Needs (SLCN) (Clegg et al., 2021). Despite this, there has been no research into foster carers in Scotland’s knowledge and awareness of SLCN, their experience of supporting children with SLCN, or training they receive in this area. Thirty-nine foster carers in Scotland responded to an online questionnaire exploring their experiences. Findings suggested that foster carers are experienced in caring for children with SLCN, with or without a neurodevelopmental condition, and can identify many communication difficulties. They are confident in using strategies to support SLCN. Very few participants had received training specifically for SLCN; those who had found it useful, and the majority of those who hadn’t stated they would value training in SLCN. To uphold Article 12 (the right of a child to express their views and have these listened to and taken seriously in all matters affecting them) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), recently incorporated into domestic law in Scotland (2024), we recommend the development and delivery of a national SLCN training programme for foster carers, with speech and language therapists being best placed to enact this.24pubpub
Your Expert Guide: The Periodic Table for Kids
No full textItem is not available in this repository.Kit Chapman - ORCID: 0000-0002-5945-0554 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5945-0554inpressinpres
Has Read and Publish affected how researchers’ feel about publishing Open Access?
Get PDFAuthor: Aaron James Worsley
Title: Has Read and Publish affected how researchers’ feel about publishing Open Access?
Abstract: This dataset contains six interview transcripts taken from recordings where the interviewer asked participants about their views about the Open Access Publishing model “Read and Publish.” The text was transcribed verbatim and anonymised. The data were thematically analysed.
Date: March - May 2025.
Contact email: [email protected]
[email protected]
UV Spectrophotometric analysis of phosphate content in plant-based milk alternatives in relation to Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease
No full textAlison Lyles - ORCID: 0009-0004-5467-2256
https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5467-2256AM restricted until 12 months after publication.Background: Managing dietary phosphorus is critical in advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD), where excess intake can lead to complications such as hyperphosphataemia. Plant-based milk alternatives (PBMAs) are increasingly consumed, yet their phosphorus content, particularly in relation to phosphate additives, remains poorly defined in the UK. Objective: This study aimed to quantify and compare the total phosphorus content and phosphorus-to-protein ratio (PPR) in a range of commercially available UK PBMAs, with and without phosphate additives, using UV spectrophotometric analysis. Materials & Methods: Fourteen PBMAs (from seven plant sources) were analysed using the molybdenum blue method. Samples were categorised based on presence or absence of phosphate additives. Phosphorus content (mg/100g) and PPR (mg/g protein) were calculated and compared with previously documented data for cow’s milk. Results: PBMAs with phosphate additives contained significantly higher phosphorus levels (mean 58.47 mg/100g) than those without (mean 7.38 mg/100g; p < .001). Similarly, PPR was substantially higher in additive-containing PBMAs (mean 197.76 mg/g) versus additive-free options (mean 16.25 mg/g; p < .001). Some PBMAs with additives had phosphorus content and PPR values exceeding those of cow’s milk, raising concerns for phosphate management in CKD. Conclusion: Phosphate additives significantly increase the phosphorus load and PPR of PBMAs, which may not be readily apparent to consumers or clinicians due to insufficient labelling. For patients with advanced CKD, selecting additive-free PBMAs may support better phosphorus control and dietary management.https://doi.org/10.1053/j.jrn.2025.07.002inpressinpres
Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 Vaccine Experiences and Safety-Related Reports on Vaccine Confidence among Nursing Students in Delta State College of Nursing Science Agbor, Nigeria
Get PDFBackground: Vaccine confidence is crucial for public health but remains a challenge in developing nations like Nigeria. This study explores vaccination confidence among nursing students at Delta State College of Nursing Science, Agbor. focusing on trends experiences with vaccines and potential impacts on future vaccination decisions. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 279 nursing students at DSCNSA was conducted on vaccination experiences, exposure to and impact of safety-related information about COVID-19 vaccines. Results: Only 37.3% had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, primarily Moderna and Pfizer, although 47.1% could not remember the brand. A total of 52.8% reported experiencing mild side effects, and one student reported having a seizure. Although many students expressed concerns about safety and efficacy, 91.7% showed a positive perception towards vaccination. Also, 93.6% of the 84.2% who are aware of COVID-19 safety/risk reports trusted the sources, 95.3% say it impacted their overall confidence in vaccines, and 55.1% are truly sceptical about future vaccinations. Vaccine perception shared association with history of COVID-19 vaccination (P = 0.0280). Females were more influenced by safety concerns while males were more likely to consider future vaccinations. Vaccine confidence also varied by religious affiliation, student year, and side effects experienced after COVID-19 vaccination, with those experiencing mild side effects showing a higher inclination to receive future vaccinations. Conclusion: This study indicates that Nigerian nursing students have mixed views on vaccines with concerns about safety and efficacy remaining prominent. Addressing these concerns through accurate information is essential to boosting vaccine confidence. © 2025, Nigerian Medical Association. All rights reserved.https://doi.org/10.71637/TNHJ.V25I1.98725pubpub
Understanding and addressing mental health needs and non-communicable disease in situations of fragility: RUHF research programme synopsis
No full textAlastair Ager - ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9474-3563 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9474-3563Sophie Witter - ORCID: 0000-0002-7656-6188 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7656-6188Karin Diaconu - ORCID: 0000-0002-5810-9725 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5810-9725Item restricted until publication.Background: Fragile settings – marked by conflict and political, environmental, social, or economic crisis – present severe challenges to population health and the delivery of services. This is particularly the case for health conditions that require continuity of care such as non-communicable disease and mental ill-health. Objectives: To understand existing patterns of health seeking in relation to noncommunicable disease and mental health and the barriers to equitable access to quality provision. To then evaluate the feasibility, effectiveness and quality of interventions designed to address these conditions in contexts of fragility. Design and methods: Building on a foundation of focused scoping reviews, we used participatory methods – including group model building – to map pathways of access to community and health system resources in relation to non-communicable diseases and mental health. We then used a range of surveys and key informant interviews to evaluate implemented interventions. In addition, we undertook a series of global reviews of relevant topics, such as conceptualisation of fragility, the role of trust in health-seeking for noncommunicable disease care in fragile settings, analysis of policy and funding priorities of global actors regarding non-communicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries, and the political economy of NCD policy adoption and implementation at national level. Setting and participants: Field studies were focused at the district or governorate level in a range of fragile settings, including Lebanon, Sierra Leone, El Salvador and, latterly, Nigeria and Gaza. Participants included service users, (formal and informal) health providers and policy makers. Interventions: Interventions addressing NCDs included treatment protocols for hypertension and diabetes (with report cards and desk guides supporting primary care-based disease management) and a local co-created salt reduction programme (featuring community drama, school outreach and radio messaging). Mental health needs were primarily addressed in relation to the provision of community-based psychosocial support either through specific interventions (including a lay-woman-led problem solving intervention for perinatal women) or the development of assessment tools (such as a Participatory Assessment Tool for Mapping Social Connections) and contextually valid screening measures (including the Sierra Leone Psychological Distress Scale and the Sierra Leone Perinatal Psychological Distress Scale) to inform interventions. The programme also developed relevant training interventions. Main outcome measures: Measures focused on access to, and utilisation and quality of, services, including user perceptions of provision. Results: We identified a range of barriers to effective health provision in fragile settings. These reflected the cultural, political, social, economic particularities of the setting and its health system. However, trust (in specific health providers, within social and community networks, and in government) was consistently found to be a key factor in securing targeted outcomes. The skills, methods and confidence of providers was also found to be an important influence on such outcomes. Providing contextually relevant training, mentorship and tools equipped health providers in primary care settings to maintain effective, evidencebased management of diabetes and hypertension despite the ongoing challenges of their fragile context. Mobilisation of community-level resources to address non-communicable disease and mental health needs was demonstrated as relevant, feasible and potentially effective in all settings. Limitations: There was great diversity across the particular settings studied, as well as ongoing gaps in knowledge in relation to these conditions in particular. Caution should be shown in generalisation of specific findings to other situations that may not share important features. The COVID 19 pandemic disrupted data collection in both Sierra Leone and Lebanon, although the targeted power of studies was generally secured. More generally, the pandemic significantly impacted health systems operations in all settings studied, an influence that is discussed in all relevant papers. Conclusions: The research programme contributed to addressing gaps in the literature regarding effective tools and strategies to strengthen provision regarding mental health and non-communicable disease in fragile settings. Assessment of needs and barriers to accessing services is an important foundation for effective working in such contexts. This is achievable with research methods (such as group model building and remote data capture) that can accommodate the diverse challenges and uncertainty associated with these settings. Incorporating such information in service design – at the level of the community, health facility or policymaker – can secure improvement in access to, and quality of, important services. Donors and policy makers need to attend not just to the drivers of fragility but also to coherent investment in public health systems and in processes of community engagement if health needs are to be meaningfully addressed. Future work: The conceptualisation of fragility (and resilience) developed through this programme is informing the design of community, health system and wider cross-sectoral interventions in fragile contexts through the ReBuild for Resilience programme in settings including Sierra Leone, Lebanon, Myanmar and Nepal. Further work across diverse contexts of fragility is required to both identify common features and principles required for health response in these settings and refine strategies and tools that can readily be adapted to the unique characteristics of any particular context.This research was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Global Health Research programme (16/136/100) using UK aid from the UK Government to support global health research. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the UK government.inpressinpres
Contemporary Children’s Rights Issues in Early Childhood
No full textCaralyn Blaisdell - ORCID 0000-0002-5491-7346 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5491-7346Item is restricted until 12 months after publication in this repository.Childhood can be seen as socially constructed, across time, geographies, and contexts. Young children have been particularly constructed, at least in the Global North, as vulnerable, dependent, innocent, and incompetent, and thus increasingly deserving of protection, provision, and investment in the early years. This construction has been substantially supported by child development, with its extensive history of research attention to young children, including infants. In turn, this construction has been challenged by the arguments that have emerged in recent debates: i.e., that children are (also) social actors, express their agency, and have human rights. The social constructions, as argued in this Chapter, are not just academic insights; they have very real policy and practice implications for young children. This Chapter considers three contemporary issues, which are illuminated by considering how young children and early childhood are socially constructed, and provide insights to their rights. First, the chapter explores young children’s participation rights and how they can be restricted or enhanced by intergenerational relations and power. Second, the chapter considers the pervasiveness of young children’s construction as ‘vulnerable’ and dependent, which has led both to policy and practice investment in early years but has not always focused attention on how young children are made situationally vulnerable. Third, the chapter discusses the challenge of decolonial and anti-racist thought in early childhood studies and the construction of children as co-creators of more just futures. The chapter concludes by considering the learning from young children and early childhood studies for the wider fields of childhood studies, children’s right studies, and human rights: about the need to bring in relationality to rights, while ensuring respect for children’s human dignity; the questioning of vulnerability as being useful or unique to children, and the challenge of considering the universal vulnerability of everyone; and the fundamental unsettling of Global North assumptions by considering antiracism and decolonization.inpressinpres
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