Diabetes care and service access among elderly Vietnamese with type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND: Vietnamese patients are disproportionately represented in type 2 diabetes mellitus statistics and also incur high rates of diabetes complications. This situation is compounded by limited access to health care. The aim of this project was to gain a deeper understanding of the difficulties Vietnamese patients experience when accessing services and managing their type 2 diabetes mellitus, and to identify factors that are important in promoting health service use. METHODS: Three focus groups with 15 Vietnamese participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus, 60 to >70 years of age, were conducted in Vietnamese. Open-ended questions were used and focussed on experiences of living with diabetes and access to healthcare services in the Inner Northwest Melbourne region. Audio recordings were transcribed and then translated into English. Data were analysed using a thematic analysis framework. RESULTS: Findings indicate four main themes, which together provide some insight into the experiences of living with diabetes and accessing ongoing care and support, for elderly Vietnamese with type 2 diabetes. Themes included: (1) the value of being healthy; (2) controlling diabetes; (3) staying healthy; and (4) improving services and information access. CONCLUSIONS: Participants in this study were encouraged to adhere to diabetes self-management principles, based largely on a fear of medical complications. Important aspects of healthcare access were identified as; being treated with respect, having their questions answered and having access to interpreters and information in Vietnamese. Attention to these details is likely to lead to improved access to healthcare services and ultimately to improve glycemic control and overall health status for this community

Feminist Catholic Organizational Identity: A Phenomenological Study of Charism in the Lay Educator of a Notre Dame de Namur Learning Community

The Catholic schools of women’s religious congregations in the United States possess a distinctive Catholic identity, owed in great part to the charism of their founders and the feminist worldview that emerged in the sisters’ mission, communal narratives, and ministries. With the decline of women religious across the country, schools and congregations ask questions for the future of that identity in the hands of lay educators. As with many religiously sponsored schools, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and their lay partners in education are engaged in these critical questions for their own learning communities across the country. This study proposes feminist Catholic organizational identity, a charism inspired phenomenon present in the Catholic schools of women’s religious congregations. This organizational phenomenon arises from the lived experience of lay educators as they seek to embody the charism and Catholic identity of the sponsoring congregation. Using an emergent and feminist hermeneutic phenomenology, this research provides understanding for how female lay educators in a Notre Dame de Namur learning community construct and enact this distinctive identity. Narrative phenomenological data was collected from eight, diverse female lay educators in semi-structured interviews. Feminist and hermeneutic research principles centered the life experience, professional contributions, and reflections of the participants. An interdisciplinary conceptual framework rooted in feminist theories of Catholic theology, organizational theory, and education was applied as a hermeneutic lens in the generation of participant themes and a general description of the organizational phenomenon. Key findings were organized in thematic categories aligned with individual life experiences prior to and during one’s relationship with Notre Dame de Namur as well as organizational experiences for the learning community. First, feminist Catholic organizational identity became a source of attraction for those potential educators whose personal formation and feminist perspective aligned with that vision in the learning community. This inclusive worldview and experiential resonance led to a deeper relationship with Notre Dame de Namur. Second, the lived experience of the lay educator revealed the significance of belonging, mentorship from sisters, and partnership with female lay colleagues for imprinting newer educators with the feminist Catholic beliefs, stories, and practices of the Notre Dame de Namur community. Third and finally, feminist Catholic organizational identity is the visible witness of a systemic and integrated 21st century iteration of Notre Dame de Namur charism in these lay women and their learning community. In this, these educators claim the call and responsibility to embody a charism and legacy that is much bigger than they are: “We are Notre Dame de Namur.

New record of parasitic isopod (Isopoda: Bopyridae) infecting the branchial chamber of blue swimming crab Portunus pelagicus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Decapoda: Portunidae) in the Philippines

A parasitic disease causing swollen carapace in commercially important blue swimming crab (Portunus pelagicus L.) has not received considerable attention; neither its causative agent is identified nor its seasonality is recorded. This study aimed to identify the parasite in P. pelagicus inhabiting the Manila Bay. Parasite found in the branchial chamber were isolated, preserved in ethanol and examined. A total of 292 crab specimens were examined and ten were found to be infected (3.42% prevalence with 0–2 parasites per host). Infections were only observed in November 2014 and between January and June 2015. The highest prevalence of infection (10.34%) was recorded in January 2015 whereas the greatest intensity of infection (up to two parasites per infected crab individual) was recorded from February to April 2015. The parasite, based on morphology, was identified as Allokepon monodi. This study presents the third record of female and second record of male A. monodi infecting a crab species. It also represents the first record of male A. monodi in P. pelagicus and in the Philippines. We recommend further studies on the impacts and economic implications of the disease

Reproductive coercion as a form of family violence against immigrant and refugee women in Australia

This is an openaccess 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 creditedReproductive coercion (RC), generally considered a form of intimate partner violence (IPV), refers to perpetrator behaviours and actions that are intended to interfere with and control the autonomous decision-making of a person regarding their reproductive health. To date there are few studies that document RC as experienced by immigrant and refugee women. In this article, we explore cases of RC as described by women who were part of a larger qualitative study investigating violence against immigrant and refugee women in southern Australia. The study aimed to identify the types of RC detailed in immigrant and refugee women's narratives, and to illustrate the contexts in which these experiences occurred. Analysis followed Baxter and Jack's (2008) case study methodology; whereby particular "cases" are used to describe a phenomenon in context. Thirteen women from seven countries described experiences that fit definitions of RC. The cases describe various types of RC including violence during pregnancy with the intent of causing miscarriage, forced abortion, contraception sabotage and forced pregnancy. As well as intimate partners, some women described multiple perpetrators being complicit in their experience of RC, especially in regard to controlling women's access to, and interactions with health services. More information is needed about immigrant and refugee women's experiences of RC, and how vulnerability to multi-perpetrator violence affects health service access. In particular knowledge about how multi-perpetrator RC can affect consent processes for women who already face barriers to health care requires attention. Further research is required to address knowledge gaps about appropriate prevention and advocacy work about RC in refugee and migrant communities, and what training is needed for professionals in the family violence sector, women's health services, women's organisations, multicultural and ethno-specific services.fals

Adaptive Radiation within Marine Anisakid Nematodes: A Zoogeographical Modeling of Cosmopolitan, Zoonotic Parasites

Parasites of the nematode genus Anisakis are associated with aquatic organisms. They can be found in a variety of marine hosts including whales, crustaceans, fish and cephalopods and are known to be the cause of the zoonotic disease anisakiasis, a painful inflammation of the gastro-intestinal tract caused by the accidental consumptions of infectious larvae raw or semi-raw fishery products. Since the demand on fish as dietary protein source and the export rates of seafood products in general is rapidly increasing worldwide, the knowledge about the distribution of potential foodborne human pathogens in seafood is of major significance for human health. Studies have provided evidence that a few Anisakis species can cause clinical symptoms in humans. The aim of our study was to interpolate the species range for every described Anisakis species on the basis of the existing occurrence data. We used sequence data of 373 Anisakis larvae from 30 different hosts worldwide and previously published molecular data (n = 584) from 53 field-specific publications to model the species range of Anisakis spp., using a interpolation method that combines aspects of the alpha hull interpolation algorithm as well as the conditional interpolation approach. The results of our approach strongly indicate the existence of species-specific distribution patterns of Anisakis spp. within different climate zones and oceans that are in principle congruent with those of their respective final hosts. Our results support preceding studies that propose anisakid nematodes as useful biological indicators for their final host distribution and abundance as they closely follow the trophic relationships among their successive hosts. The modeling might although be helpful for predicting the likelihood of infection in order to reduce the risk of anisakiasis cases in a given area

First molecular identification of the zoonotic parasite Anisakis pegreffii (Nematoda: Anisakidae) in a paraffin-embedded granuloma taken from a case of human intestinal anisakiasis in Italy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Anisakiasis is an important fish-borne zoonosis provoked by larval stages of nematodes belonging to the genus <it>Anisakis</it>. The detection and identification of human infections is difficult. This is due to: a) the low specificity of the clinical features and symptomatology related to human infections; b) the paucity of diagnostic features of larvae found in granulomatous lesions characteristic of "invasive anisakiasis"; and c) the lack morphological characters diagnostic at the specific level when larvae of <it>Anisakis </it>are detected. Thus, molecular-based diagnostic approaches are warranted.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>We have developed a PCR method that amplifies the DNA of <it>Anisakis </it>spp. in fixed paraffin-embedded tissues. This method was applied to a granuloma removed from a human case of intestinal anisakiasis in Italy. Specific primers of the mtDNA <it>cox2 </it>gene were used and sequence analysis was performed according to the procedures already established for species of <it>Anisakis</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The sequence obtained (629 bp) was compared with those of the other species of <it>Anisakis </it>which have so far been genetically characterized and with sequences obtained from larval stages of <it>Anisakis </it>collected from the Mediterranean fish <it>Engraulis encrasicolus</it>. This enabled the genetic identification of the larva in the human tissue as <it>A. pegreffii</it>. This is the first instance of human intestinal anisakiasis diagnosed using PCR of DNA purified from a fixed eosinophilic granuloma embedded in paraffin.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The case of human anisakiasis presented reinforces the pathological significance of the species <it>A. pegreffii </it>to humans. The molecular/genetic methodological approach based on mtDNA <it>cox2 </it>sequence analysis, described here, can allow easy and rapid identification of <it>Anisakis </it>spp. in formalin-fixed and paraffin embedded tissues removed from cases of either gastric or intestinal human anisakiasis.</p