Death and Religion in a Changing World, SECOND EDITION

Death and Religion in a Changing World is a comprehensive and accessible study of the intersection of death and religion, examining how everyday people enact religious responses to death in the twenty-first century. With contributions from leading religious studies scholars, this book moves away from the field's focus on traditional beliefs to explore how religious traditions evolve in relation to their changing social contexts. Employing an ethnographic approach, Death and Religion in a Changing World further details how people from a wide variety of religious traditions and people without religious affiliation draw on and adapt religious practices as they respond to death in modern societies. Every chapter in this second edition has been thoroughly updated and new chapters on the ethical issues of dying, including life-prolonging medical treatments, palliative care, physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia, and the modern hospice movement have been added. This book also covers emerging social and religious phenomena, such as public shrines, the Covid-19 pandemic, funeral celebrants, death with dignity, spiritual bereavement groups, and online funeral practices. This cutting-edge work is essential reading for students and scholars of religion who are approaching the subjects of death and religion, and ritual studies. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Kathleen Garces-Foley.

Changes in Diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus during the Covid-19 Pandemic at a large Maternity Hospital in Southwest Ireland

Background Targeted screening for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) occurs routinely at 24-28 weeks gestation using the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists recommended discontinuing the OGTT to minimise hospital visits. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG), random plasma glucose (RPG), and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) were instead proposed for diagnosing GDM. This study retrospectively compared testing patterns and putative diagnostic rates for GDM in pregnancies using the HSE guidelines pre- and post-pandemic. Methods Pregnancies with complete gestation in the 18 months before (Group1) or 18 months after (Group2) adoption of revised HSE guidance at CUMH (01/05/2020) were included. Women with pre-existing diabetes mellitus were excluded. Results were extracted from databases at the Departments of Clinical Biochemistry and Haematology at CUH. Diagnostic cut-offs for GDM were: OGTT (FPG >=5.1 mmol/L or 2-h plasma glucose >=8.5 mmol/L), FPG (>=5.1 mmol/L), RPG (>=9 mmol/L), and HbA1c (>=39 mmol/mol). Diagnostic rates were compared using Chi-square analysis. The study was approved by the Cork Teaching Hospitals Clinical Research Ethics Committee. Results In Group1, 43.8% of 6,737 pregnancies had an OGTT, compared with 20.5% of 6,743 pregnancies in Group2. After implementing the revised guidelines, OGTT requests were 34.5% and 79.7% lower for primary and secondary care, respectively. Comparing Group1 with Group2, FPG was measured in 46.9 vs 49.8%, RPG in 13.3 vs 11.8%, and HbA1c in 23.7 vs 51.9%. The positive rate for GDM testing was 15.9% in Group1 and 22.0% in Group2 (p<0.00001). Conclusions OGTT use fell significantly with revised HSE guidelines, although only a modest reduction was observed in primary care. HbA1c use in pregnancy doubled during the pandemic. The proportion of pregnancies with biomarkers positive for GDM showed a small but significant increase upon adopting the new diagnostic guidelines.

Adaptive capacity: A qualitative study of midlife Australian women's resilience during COVID-19

This article explores adaptive capacity as a framework for understanding how South Australian women in midlife (aged 45-64) demonstrated resilience during the early phases of COVID-19. In-depth interviews were undertaken with 40 women mid-2020 as a follow-up study to interviews with the same women undertaken 2018-19 (before COVID-19 emerged). Transcripts were analysed following a critical realist approach using Grothmann and Patt's construct of adaptive capacity as a framework for analysis. This enabled authors to unpack the mechanisms of resilience that shaped women's experiences of appraising, and then showing an intention to adapt to COVID-19 adversity. Findings support the explanatory utility of adaptive capacity to understand resilience processes in the context of person-environment changes - the environment being the COVID-19 context - and women's capability to adapt to social distancing and lockdown conditions. With COVID-19 evoking health, social and economic challenges at incomparable scales, potentially fracturing mental stability, this article provides insight useful to policy makers and health professionals to support resilience as the pandemic continues.Copyright © 2022 The Authors

How did the covid-19 pandemic affect lower respiratory tract infections in young children in England? : Kimberley Foley

Background Social distancing policies to reduce transmission of covid-19 also reduced children's exposures to endemic respiratory viruses. We aimed to examine the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on lower respiratory tract infections in under 5s presenting to primary care in England. Methods Longitudinal trends analysis using electronic health records from a nationally representative primary care database. Our target population was children aged <5 years registered with a primary care practice from January 2015 to March 2021. Our main outcome was total weekly contacts with primary care for a lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI). We defined three pandemic phases from March 2020 - March 2021: i) first national lockdown (late March to early June 2020), ii) childcare settings reopened and second national lockdown with schools open (mid-June to mid-December 2020) and iii) third national lockdown with schools closed (late December 2020 to end of March 2021). We compared outcomes during each of the three phases with corresponding calendar weeks during pre-pandemic years 2015 to 2019. Results Our study population included 843 020 children <5 years who had 1 076 181 contacts with primary care for LRTIs. During the first phase (first lockdown) there were falls of 79.3% (95% CI: 73.6 to 84.5) from an average of 28 547 primary care contacts for LRTI in 2015 - 2019 to 5915 in 2020;there was a 78.9% (95% CI: 73.7 to 83.9) fall in phase two (childcare settings reopened and second lockdown) from 107 873 to 22 792 contacts;and a 77.7% (95% CI: 73.5 to 81.4) fall in phase three (third lockdown) from 57 200 to 12 764 contacts. Conclusions Children under 5 in England had fewer contacts with primary care for LRTIs during the covid-19 pandemic. This change likely reflects lower prevalence of respiratory illness due to fewer social contacts. This may impact on future health service use as these children have had less exposure, and therefore may have less immunity, to respiratory diseases. Key messages • Children under 5 had fewer contacts with primary care for lower respiratory tract infections during the covid-19 pandemic in England likely due to the restrictions in place to reduce social contacts. • The falls in lower respiratory tract infections during the covid-19 pandemic in under 5s may mean they have less immunity to respiratory viruses which may impact upon their future health service use.

The patient and public involvement of adults with cerebral palsy in doctoral research during the pandemic: ref lections on the process, chal lenges, impact and experiences

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a lifelong disability, where people experience complications as they age in addition to their underlying condition. Including the views of people with CP through public and patient involvement (PPI) ensures that research is relevant and meaningful in addressing their concerns. However, there is a lack of evidence on incorporating the voices of adults with CP in the research process. Further, there is no guidance on how to involve people with CP in PPI during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this paper aims to provide an overview of how adults with CP were involved in a doctoral research process during the pandemic. Methods: This paper describes the PPI process and its impact at various stages of the doctoral research process and reflects on the experiences from the perspective of the researcher and adults with CP. Results: A panel of adults with CP was established and consulted throughout the research to support development of the research question, study documentation, data collection, analysis, interpretation and dissemination of findings. The researcher and adult reflections highlighted the value of collaboration and the positive impact on research at each stage. Although meetings were adapted due to the pandemic, the values of PPI were adhered to throughout the doctoral research. Conclusion: Involving adults with CP positively impacts the research process and ensures meaningful change. Reflective findings may help other researchers involve adults with CP and adapt to remote PPI processes.

Exploring the Use of Technology in our Community Rehabilitation Service during the Pandemic

In March 2020 with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Acquired Brain Injury Ireland as a specialist community rehabilitation service provider, moved from a face-to-face to a largely tele-rehabilitation model of service in the community. Our services are inter-disciplinary led with highly trained Rehabilitation Assistants working on a one-to-one basis with the client to implement the Individualised Rehabilitation Plan. Due to successive national lockdowns, social distancing measures and the health and safety risk posed by the pandemic, this model of service, largely provided in the person's home was on longer possible. Therefore, we quickly adapted to provide our range of interventions using a variety of online platforms and methods of engagement. Almost a year into the pandemic we conducted a survey of our clients which aims to provide a snapshot of how they are experiencing their usage of technology during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey was administered using Survey Monkey software in February 2021 during our third National Level 5 lockdown. A total of nine questions were asked, eight multiple choice, one open-ended where respondents were invited to submit their ideas for the future use of technology in their rehabilitation. There were 134 respondents in total, all ABI Ireland clients currently using our services. Overall, clients' use of technology during the pandemic has been largely positive. In the main, they had access to the necessary equipment and broadband services that they needed to get on-line. Many continue to require on-going support to engage. The respondents provided ratings on how useful or not technology usage was during the pandemic and how easy/difficult they found using technology for rehabilitation, The research explored the advantages and disadvantages of using technology and respondents were asked to rate their future preferences. Finally, the research explores respondents' ideas for the future in relation to using technology. The responses were wide and varied with training in tech for cited, as well as information on the most appropriate apps/ online resources. More creative solutions are required for those with sensory, visual and hearing impairments. It is clear from our findings that, despite the drawbacks, technology has an important role in the future delivery of rehabilitation programs and that clients want to have a combination of in-person and tech responses available to them. Many respondents used the opportunity to point out that nothing takes the place of human contact.

‘Going digital’ - Lessons for future coastal community engagement and climate change adaptation

Recent decades have witnessed a steady increase in efforts from a range of actors to facilitate and support meaningful and effective engagement with coastal communities and stakeholders. Indeed, this move towards improved participatory approaches are increasingly framed as being integral to successful and sustainable management of coastal resources and spaces, including in the context of climate adaptation The effectiveness of the processes, structures and frameworks underpinning coastal community engagement has always been subject to external and internal drivers;however, the global threat posed by COVID-19 presented, and continues to present, an unexpected shift in approach, and the need for rapid adaptation by those of us working within these spheres. Using the Coastal Communities Adapting Together (CCAT) project as a case study, we explore how engagement with coastal communities and stakeholders in the project areas of Fingal, Ireland, and Pembrokeshire, Wales, has been impacted and forced to adapt as a result of COVID-19. Through a qualitative data collection process, we explore how project teams across different scales have rapidly adapted their models of community and stakeholder engagement, identify successes and failures, and explore challenges that have been faced. Finally, we consider if the legacy of COVID-19 has provided an opportunity for coastal community engagement approaches being used across the globe to become more diverse, adapting to new technologies and increasing accessibility and effectiveness. Insights identified as fundamental to successful adaptation and enhancing resilience include: a rapid response to change, adoption of a diversity of techniques, broadened participation and supported social learning and knowledge exchange.