Noninvasive mechanical ventilation assistance in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a systematic review

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Respiratory failure is the most common cause of death in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and morbidity is related to poor quality of life (QOL). Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) may be associated with prolonged survival and QOL in patients with ALS. OBJECTIVES: To assess whether NIV is effective and safe for patients with ALS in terms of survival and QOL, alerting the health system. DESIGN AND SETTING: Systematic review was conducted in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses reporting standards using population, intervention, comparison, and outcome strategies. METHODS: The Cochrane Library, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, LILACS, EMBASE, and CRD databases were searched based on the eligibility criteria for all types of studies on NIV use in patients with ALS published up to January 2022. Data were extracted from the included studies, and the findings were presented using a narrative synthesis. RESULTS: Of the 120 papers identified, only 14 were related to systematic reviews. After thorough reading, only one meta-analysis was considered eligible. In the second stage, 248 studies were included; however, only one systematic review was included. The results demonstrated that NIV provided relief from the symptoms of chronic hypoventilation, increased survival, and improved QOL compared to standard care. These results varied according to clinical phenotype. CONCLUSIONS: NIV in patients with ALS improves the outcome and can delay the indication for tracheostomy, reducing expenditure on hospitalization and occupancy of intensive care unit beds. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO database: CRD42021279910 — https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=279910.

Oral health knowledge, attitude and oral hygiene practices among adults in Rwanda

Introduction: oral diseases (OD), commonly dental caries and periodontitis are a major public health problem. Poor oral hygiene has been associated with OD, causing tooth loss, which leads to disability and compromised patients' oral health. In Rwanda, OD is among the leading causes of morbidity at the health center level. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and oral health practices among adult participants in Rwanda Methods: a descriptive cross-sectional study was done among participants attending public health facilities in Nyarugenge District, Rwanda. Participants were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using frequency distribution, percentage distribution, and bivariate and multivariate logistic regression at a 5% significant level. Results: among 426 participants who were interviewed, 39.44% (n=168) were 18-27 years old and the majority, 61.5% (n=262) were female. Poor oral health knowledge was found in 42% (n=179) of the participants, whilst 12.44% (n=53) showed poor oral health attitudes, and 67.37% (n=287) were found to have poor oral health practice. Participants with a high school level of education were more likely to have better oral health knowledge and the results were statistically significant aOR: 1.79, 95% CI 1.14; 2.82; p = 0.011 Conclusion: the findings of our study showed that almost half of the participants had poor oral health knowledge. Oral health attitude and oral hygiene practices were also lacking. There is a need to enhance oral health education in this community to improve their oral health knowledge, attitudes, and practices.

Influence of small-group experiential learning of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine on the oral health knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors of elderly patients with diabetes

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: This study aimed at the oral health problems of elderly patients with diabetes. A training course of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine was constructed, helping patients improve their oral health quality of life. METHODS: A randomized controlled prospective experimental study was conducted. A total of 190 elderly patients were divided randomly into an observation group and a control group with 95 cases in each. The control group received regular health education, while the observation group was based on the control group to implement the integrated experiential learning of traditional Chinese and Western medicine in small groups. The oral health knowledge, attitude, behavior, and blood glucose control status along with the oral health quality of life of the two groups were compared before the intervention and at 3-month postintervention. RESULTS: Three months after the intervention, the fasting blood glucose control and the 2-h postprandial blood glucose/glycosylated hemoglobin levels in the observation group were significantly better than in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). The oral health quality of life in the observation group was significantly better than in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The small-group experiential learning model of integrated Chinese and Western medicine can promote the transformation of knowledge-beliefs-behaviors in elderly patients with diabetes, which is conducive to controlling blood sugar levels and improving the quality of oral health.

Knowledge of reproductive health among eighth-grade students from three selected private institutions in the Philippines

Background@#Reproductive health (RH) education in the Philippines has yet to realize the aspirations of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, based on trends reported by the National Demographics and Health Survey (2013 and 2017). @*Objectives@#This paper report on a subset of data collected from 2016 to 2017 for a research that aimed to describe what a set of eight grade students learned about reproductive health through their knowledge and attitudes towards family planning and related topics. @*Methodology@#The findings come from a subset of a 63-items survey administered online, highlighting sexual health knowledge, sexual health practices, sexual health attitudes, and quality of RH education. The study used a four-question quiz adapted from the World Health Organization questionnaire, Illustrative questionnaire for interview-surveys with young people, which eight graders are expected to know. Sexual health practices and attitudes, and quality of reproductive health classes were adapted from the New Brunswick Students' Ideas about Sexual Health Education instrument. @*Results@#The results showed that only nine percent of respondents (both male and female) answered all questions correctly in the WHO four-question quiz. There was marked difference between male and female responses in the sexual health practices and attitudes questions; most respondents who reported sexual activities also reported not using contraception (65.22% for males and 12.5% for females). Ten percent indicated never having RH education classes, with 52% only having had zero to one RH education classes. @*Conclusion@#Overall, findings suggest there are several variables that preclude successful RH education. Thus, other sources of education can be explored and integrated into the curriculum, such as the home, the community, media, and even peers.

ATTITUDES TOWARD PERSONS WHO ABUSE DRUGS IN ONE URBAN COMMUNITY OF WOODBROOK IN PORT OF SPAIN -TRINIDAD & TOBAGO / Atitudes em relação a pessoas que abusam de drogas em uma comunidade urbana de Woodbrook em Port of Spain - Trinidad e Tobago / Actitudes en relación a personas que hacen uso excesivo de drogas en una comunidad urbana de Woodbrook en Puerto de España - Trinidad y Tobago

ABSTRACT Objective: this study will present insights on the situation in the surveyed sample as it relates to attitudes towards persons who abuse alcohol by age and gender and would constitute a platform upon which further research can be conducted by researchers in the drug field. Method: this cross-sectional study examines the profile of a sample of residents in the Electoral District of Woodbrook, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The sample consisted of 121 respondents. Results: alcohol was the most abused drug (85.2%), followed by marijuana (86%), cocaine (69%) and cocaine derivative (41.8%). The prevailing attitude towards persons who abused alcohol was ambivalence (64.8%); this was followed to a lesser extent by an attitude of negativity (34.4%), and the least significant attitude among respondents was premised on positivity (.8%). Respondents also held a negative attitude towards those who abused cocaine and marijuana. Conclusion: the high level of ambivalence towards alcohol use may be intertwined with the social acceptability and high usage of this drug reported from among those surveyed in the Electoral District of Woodbrook.

RESUMO Objetivo: este estudo apresentará insights sobre a situação na amostra pesquisada no que se refere a atitudes em relação às pessoas que abusam de álcool por idade e sexo e que constituiria uma plataforma sobre a qual mais pesquisas podem ser conduzidas por pesquisadores no campo das drogas. Método: transversal que examina o perfil de uma amostra de residentes no Distrito Eleitoral de Woodbrook, Port of Spain, Trinidad e Tobago. A amostra foi composta por 121 respondentes. Resultados: o álcool foi a droga mais utilizada (85,2%), seguido pela maconha (86%), cocaína (69%) e derivado de cocaína (41,8%). A atitude predominante em relação às pessoas que abusaram do álcool foi a ambivalência (64,8%); isso foi seguido em menor medida por uma atitude de negatividade (34,4%), e a atitude menos significativa entre os entrevistados foi baseada na positividade (0,8%). Os entrevistados também mantiveram uma atitude negativa em relação àqueles que abusaram de cocaína e maconha. Conclusão: o alto nível de ambivalência em relação ao uso de álcool pode estar interligado com a aceitabilidade social e alto uso dessa droga relatada entre os entrevistados no Distrito Eleitoral de Woodbrook.

RESUMEN Objetivo: este estudio presentará un informe sobre la situación en la muestra investigada en lo que se refiere a actitudes hacia las personas que hacen uso excesivo de alcohol por edad y sexo, y que constituiría una plataforma sobre la cual los investigadores pueden conducir más investigaciones en el campo de las drogas. Método: transversal que examina el perfil de una muestra de residentes en el Distrito Electoral de Woodbrook, Puerto de España, Trinidad y Tobago. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 121 participantes. Resultados: el alcohol fue la droga más utilizada (85,2%), seguida por la marihuana (86%), cocaína (69%) y derivado de la cocaína (41,8%). La actitud predominante en relación a las personas que hicieron uso excesivo de alcohol fue la ambivalencia (64,8%), seguido en menor medida por una actitud negativa (34,4%), y la actitud menos significativa entre los entrevistados se basó en la positividad (0,8%). Los entrevistados también mantuvieron una actitud negativa hacia los que hacen uso excesivo de la cocaína y marihuana. Conclusión: el alto nivel de ambivalencia en relación al uso de alcohol puede estar interconectado con la aceptabilidad social y el uso excesivo de esta droga mencionada entre los entrevistados en el Distrito Electoral de Woodbrook.

Structural Equation Modeling on Quality of Life in Older Adults with Osteoarthritis

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to explore how individual factors, physiologic factors, symptoms, environmental factors, functional status and health perception predict the quality of life (QOL) for older adults with osteoarthritis and to provide guidelines for interventions and strategies to improve QOL in these patients. The conceptual model was based on the Wilson and Cleary's Model. METHODS: Data were analyzed using SPSS WIN 20.0 and AMOS 19.0 program. RESULTS: The proposed model was a good fit for the data based on the model fit indices. Based on the constructed model, individual factors, social support, functional status and health perception were founded to have direct effects on QOL. Symptom had a indirect effect on QOL. Social support had a significant effect on QOL, and this model explained 63.6% of the variance in QOL. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that nursing strategies to increase QOL in this population should contain social support to promote QOL and manage functional limitations and health perception.