ABSTRACT
There is an upward trend for parents to resort to assisted reproductive technology [ART] treatment due to delayed childbirth or birth difficulties. This study investigates the pregnancy health and birth outcomes of women who underwent ART and analyzes the factors that influence birth weight to become<10 percentile when undergoing ART. This study analyzed results of the first wave of the Taiwan Birth Cohort study. Through stratified systematic sampling, 24,200 mother-and-child sampling pairs were obtained from a total of 206,741 live births in Taiwan in 2005; 366 of the babies were born with the use of ART. During pregnancy, mothers who used ART suffered from higher risks of complication than the natural conception counterparts, including gestational diabetes mellitus [GDM], pregnancy induced hypertension [PIH], and placenta previa. Additionally, babies born through ART had poorer outcomes than the natural conception groups: the low birth weight [<2500g] was 33.1% compared to 6.4% for babies born naturally. Pregnancy health and birth outcomes of women who underwent ART were worse than those who got natural conception. Types of maternal complication among ART women included GDM, PIH, and placenta previa. Having multiple births was the most important factor that causes low birth weight in babies. The results of this study can be used as a reference for the health and care of mothers and babies who use ART
ABSTRACT
<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>Problem-based learning (PBL), a pedagogic concept using a student-centred approach and problem-solving through small group discussions, has been adopted in varying degrees for years at all 11 medical institutes in Taiwan. Much evidence has shown that a number of factors can seriously affect student performance in PBL courses, such as the design of PBL scenarios, the tutors' character and students' attitudes and efforts.</p><p><b>MATERIALS AND METHODS</b>The aim of this study was to examine how the personal characters or knowledge base of Taiwanese medical students influence their performance in a hybrid-PBL curriculum. A total of 309 (234 male, 75 female) high-school entry undergraduate medical students participated in this survey. Self-assessed personal traits were presented in a 44-item questionnaire with a Big Five factor structure. Knowledge base was assessed by students' score point average (SPA) based on their previous 4-year education in medical school. Peer-assessed performance of students in the PBL curriculum was carried out using a well-developed, reliable and validated evaluation form.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Each student's peer-evaluated PBL performance can be divided into 5 principal components, which included control-lead, assist-coordinate, written organisation and compromise- comply (Eigen value >1). The consistency and reliability of the Big Five questionnaire on personal traits was analysed and discordant items were deleted (Cronbach's alpha = 0.72 to 0.86 after deletion). The relationship between the personal traits, knowledge base and PBL performance, as analysed by simple regression, showed that "extraversion" and "openness to experience" were positively related to the "assist-coordinate" characteristic in PBL performance, and "conscientiousness" was positively related to the "control-lead" characteristic in PBL performance. The SPA was positively related to the "assist-coordinate" or "control-lead" characteristic in PBL performance. The "agreeableness" was negatively correlated with the "control-lead" characteristic in PBL performance. After stepwise regression between the Big Five and each component of PBL performance, only the correlation between conscientiousness and control/lead, and between extraversion and assist/coordinate remained significant.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Knowledge and personality characteristics appear to be associated with student performance in a hybrid-PBL curriculum. The implications of this study on the future development and application of this assessment tool in medical schools are presented.</p>