Improving health and well-being through community health champions: a thematic evaluation of a programme in Yorkshire and Humber.

AIMS: The contribution that lay people can make to the public health agenda is being increasingly recognised in research and policy literature. This paper examines the role of lay workers (referred to as 'community health champions') involved in community projects delivered by Altogether Better across Yorkshire and Humber. The aim of the paper is to describe key features of the community health champion approach and to examine the evidence that this type of intervention can have an impact on health. METHODS: A qualitative approach was taken to the evaluation, with two strands to gathering evidence: interviews conducted with different stakeholder groups including project leads, key partners from community and statutory sectors and community workers, plus two participatory workshops to gather the views of community health champions. Seven projects (from a possible 12) were identified to be involved in the evaluation. Those projects that allowed the evaluation team to explore fully the champion role (training, infrastructure, etc.) and how that works in practice as a mechanism for empowerment were selected. In total, 29 semi-structured interviews were conducted with project staff and partners, and 30 champions, varying in terms of age, gender, ethnicity and disability, took part in the workshops. RESULTS: Becoming a community health champion has health benefits such as increased self-esteem and confidence and improved well-being. For some champions, this was the start of a journey to other opportunities such as education or paid employment. There were many examples of the influence of champions extending to the wider community of family, friends and neighbours, including helping to support people to take part in community life. Champions recognised the value of connecting people through social networks, group activities, and linking people into services and the impact that that had on health and well-being. Project staff and partners also recognised that champions were promoting social cohesiveness and helping to integrate people into their community. CONCLUSIONS: The recent public health White Paper suggested that the Altogether Better programme is improving individual and community health as well as increasing social capital, voluntary activity and wider civic participation. This evaluation supports this statement and suggests that the community health champion role can be a catalyst for change for both individuals and communities

Structural validity of the mood and behavior rating scale for youth – Parent Form (MBRSY-PF): A Parent informant questionnaire to assess bipolar disorder in children and adolescents

Empirically validated techniques to reliably assess for bipolar disorder in children and adolescents are crucial toward timely and effective treatment efforts. Rating scales and behavior checklists are often considered a valuable alternative to the semi-structured interview, as they can provide quantified information regarding symptom experience, and values can be compared to both age and gender norms as a supplement to clinical expertise (Kahana, Youngstrom, Findling, & Calabrese, 2003). Converse to semistructured interviews, rating scales are brief and time efficient, inexpensive, simple to administer, require much less training to deliver and interpret, and can be utilized for screening purpose by a wide variety of practitioners (Kahana et al.). For these reasons, high quality and psychometrically sound rating scale measures that address the specific assessment issues for pediatric bipolar disorder, and possess the advantages listed above, would have valuable clinical utility. However, while a number of promising such measures do exist and have been subjected to some psychometric study, definitively rigorous instruments meeting these qualifications are deficient within the literature overall (Kahana et al.). To address this missing aspect within the literature as a whole, an experimental version of the Mood and Behavior Rating Scale for Youth – Parent Form (MBRSY-PF) has been developed by Perry and Bard in 2005. The measure holds promise in addressing the sparseness in both number and rigor of measures currently detailed within the literature, though the psychometrics of the MBRSY-PF have not yet been studied formally. The purpose of the research study that follows will be to conduct a three-level investigation of the structural validity of the MBRSY-PF as a parent informant questionnaire to assess for bipolar disorder in children and adolescents

Synthesis, Purification, and Characterization of Mercaptosuccinic Acid-Carbon Quantum Dots

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are carbon-based nanoparticles that are typically synthesized from citric acid (primary carbon source). In our research, we use alternative carbon sources, namely water-soluble thiols and polycarboxylic acids. For this project, mercaptosuccinic acid (MSA) and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) were used as the primary carbon sources. After their synthesis in a conventional microwave, these CQDs were thoroughly purified through centrifugation, fluorescent flash chromatography, and dialysis. Fluorescent flash chromatography displayed three distinguished fractions of our MSA-CQD samples: yellow, green, and blue in color. The purified CQDs were then analyzed using UV-visible and fluorescence spectroscopy to observe their structural and functional properties. The analysis of these nanomaterials determined their stability which can be applicable for their use as future biological and chemical sensors. Heavy metal ion sensing was performed, with fluorescent quenching observed with the addition of this metal ion. CQD samples were pH adjusted in a phosphate buffer, and it was noted that the emission wavelength and intensity of fluorescence was stable in, and well beyond, the physiological pH range. The quantum yield of the MSA-CQD fractions was also analyzed.Chemistry Department at the University of the Sout

Subjective well-being of mental health nurses in the United Kingdom: Results of an online survey

The aim of the present study was to measure the subjective well-being of a group of 225 UK registered mental health nurses (MHN) using three survey measures, and to identify whether certain demographic and workplace factors correlated with subjective well-being measure scores. An online survey incorporating the subjective well-being questions used by the Office for National Statistics, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale was administered to members of two professional bodies for MHN. There was good consistency between the three subjective well-being measures, each demonstrating that UK MHN had a relatively low subjective well-being. Apart from the Office for National Statistics question, 'Overall, to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?', demographic and workplace factors did not correlate with subjective well-being measure scores, although the characteristics of being male, living alone, and being aged 40-49 years were associated with lower mean scores on all three measures. The findings of the exploratory study suggest that a similar study should be undertaken with a larger representative population of MHN, and that qualitative research should explore why and how UK MHN have relatively low subjective well-being. The limitations of this study, namely the response rate and sample representativeness, mean that the results of the present study must be tested in further research on the MHN population

Peliosis Hepatis With Intrahepatic Hemorrhage: Successful Embolization of the Hepatic Artery

Peliosis hepatis is defined as the appearance of blood filled lakes in the hepatic parenchyma. It has been associated with various pharmacological agents and infections. Treatment has been primarily symptomatic and includes discontinuation of offending medications, partial hepatectomy or occasionally liver transplantation. We report a 58 year old white female on hormone replacement therapy who developed symptomatic peliosis hepatis and underwent successful superselective hepatic artery embolization with control of bleeding

Community based weighing of newborns and use of mobile phones by village elders in rural settings in Kenya: a decentralised approach to health care provision

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Identifying every pregnancy, regardless of home or health facility delivery, is crucial to accurately estimating maternal and neonatal mortality. Furthermore, obtaining birth weights and other anthropometric measurements in rural settings in resource limited countries is a difficult challenge. Unfortunately for the majority of infants born outside of a health care facility, pregnancies are often not recorded and birth weights are not accurately known. Data from the initial 6 months of the Maternal and Neonatal Health (MNH) Registry Study of the Global Network for Women and Children's Health study area in Kenya revealed that up to 70% of newborns did not have exact weights measured and recorded by the end of the first week of life; nearly all of these infants were born outside health facilities.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To more completely obtain accurate birth weights for all infants, regardless of delivery site, village elders were engaged to assist in case finding for pregnancies and births. All elders were provided with weighing scales and mobile phones as tools to assist in subject enrollment and data recording. Subjects were instructed to bring the newborn infant to the home of the elder as soon as possible after birth for weight measurement.</p> <p>The proportion of pregnancies identified before delivery and the proportion of births with weights measured were compared before and after provision of weighing scales and mobile phones to village elders. Primary outcomes were the percent of infants with a measured birth weight (recorded within 7 days of birth) and the percent of women enrolled before delivery.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The recorded birth weight increased from 43 ± 5.7% to 97 ± 1.1. The birth weight distributions between infants born and weighed in a health facility and those born at home and weighed by village elders were similar. In addition, a significant increase in the percent of subjects enrolled before delivery was found.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Pregnancy case finding and acquisition of birth weight information can be successfully shifted to the community level.</p

Night nursing – staff's working experiences

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although the duties and working conditions of registered, and enrolled nurses have previously been described from different perspectives, they have not been examined from the night nursing aspect. The aim of the study was to describe the night nursing staff's working experiences.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The design of the study is qualitative and descriptive. Interviews were conducted with 10 registered and 10 enrolled nurses working as night staff at a Swedish University Hospital. The interview guide was thematic and concerned the content of their tasks, as well as the working conditions that constitute night nursing. In addition, the interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using content analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The night duties have to be performed under difficult conditions that include working silently in dimmed lighting, and making decisions when fatigue threatens. According to the night staff, its main goals are to provide the patients with rest and simultaneously ensure qualified care. Furthermore, the night nursing staff must prepare the ward for the daytime activities.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The most important point is the team work, which developed between the registered and enrolled nurses and how necessary this team work is when working at night. In order for nurses working at night to be fully appreciated, the communication between day and night staff in health care organizations needs to be developed. Furthermore, it is important to give the night staff opportunities to use its whole field of competence.</p