Subject(s)
Neck Pain/therapy , Nerve Block/methods , Pregnancy Complications/therapy , Radiculopathy/therapy , Adult , Female , Humans , PregnancyABSTRACT
This qualitative study engaged a group of young people in participatory research and evaluation activities in order to study to what extent engaging youth in health interventions can inform research and evaluation processes. We applied a youth participatory research and evaluation approach (PRE) to inform research and evaluation on the impact of a Chagas disease control program in southern Ecuador. Our main interest was to examine the methodological contributions of PRE to knowledge sharing for health intervention planning in the context of global health and neglected tropical diseases. The results of this study suggest that by demystifying research and evaluation practices and rendering them accessible and relevant, marginalized youth can develop critical and reflexive thinking skills that could be useful for decision-making on health promotion. Our findings also reveal the potential of youth as active participants in project development in ways that enhance, validate, and improve health interventions. Young people are interested in learning about and sharing local knowledge that can benefit research and evaluation processes. Despite the numerous strengths demonstrated by PRE, the inherent complexities of international development, such as cultural differences, asymmetrical power relations, and the ongoing challenges of sustainability, remain.
Subject(s)
Chagas Disease/prevention & control , Chagas Disease/psychology , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Health Promotion/methods , Adolescent , Community-Based Participatory Research , Ecuador , Female , Health Education/methods , Humans , Interinstitutional Relations , Interviews as Topic , Male , Program Evaluation , Research , Self Concept , Social Media , Social PerceptionABSTRACT
On 5 August 2008, the National Centre of Microbiology in Madrid, Spain, notified an increase in Salmonella Kedougou isolations compared to 2007, with 21 cases including 19 children under one year of age. Active case finding and a matched case-control study were carried out to confirm this increase, identify source, transmission mode and risk factors in order to implement control measures. Cases were defined as any child under one year of age with S. Kedougou isolated since 1 January 2008, and were matched for age, sex, medical practitioner and diagnosis week with controls who were selected among patients of the cases' medical practitioners. An ad hoc questionnaire was completed for cases and controls and a univariate analysis was conducted to identify risk factors. We found 42 isolates from 11 of the 19 Spanish Regions. Completed questionnaires were available for 39 of 42 patients identified; 31 were children under one year of age and fulfilled the case definition. The median age of the 31 cases was 4.3 months and 13 were male. Main symptoms were diarrhoea (n=31) and fever (n=13). Ten cases required hospitalisation. All 31 cases had consumed infant formula milk of Brand A which was associated with illness in the univariate analysis (exact matched odds ratio: 74.92; 95% confidence interval: 12.89-infinity). All patient isolates showed indistinguishable pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns. Five milk samples from three cases' households were negative for Salmonella. Our results suggest that Brand A was the transmission vehicle of S. Kedougou in the outbreak that occurred in Spain between January and August 2008. Food safety authorities recalled five batches of Brand A milk on 26 August 2008. No further cases have been detected as of 15 September 2009.
Subject(s)
Disease Outbreaks , Infant Formula , Salmonella Food Poisoning/epidemiology , Salmonella/isolation & purification , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Case-Control Studies , Child , Child, Preschool , Disease Outbreaks/statistics & numerical data , Female , Foodborne Diseases/epidemiology , Foodborne Diseases/etiology , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Male , Middle Aged , Salmonella Food Poisoning/diagnosis , Salmonella Food Poisoning/etiology , Serotyping , Spain/epidemiology , Young AdultABSTRACT
The B(E2;0(+)(1)-->2(+)(1)) values for the radioactive neutron-rich germanium isotopes (78,80)Ge and the closed neutron shell nucleus 82Ge were measured at the HRIBF using Coulomb excitation in inverse kinematics. These data allow a study of the systematic trend between the subshell closures at N=40 and 50. The B(E2) behavior approaching N=50 is similar to the trend observed for heavier isotopic chains. A comparison of the experimental results with a shell model calculation demonstrates persistence of the N=50 shell gap and a strong sensitivity of the B(E2) values to the effective interaction.
