Development and Functionality of a Parsimonious Digital Food Frequency Questionnaire for a Clinical Intervention among an Indigenous Population.

Nutrition-related chronic diseases are a major problem among Indigenous populations. Appropriate dietary intake assessment tools are needed for nutritional surveillance and intervention; however, tools designed to measure the habitual dietary intake of Indigenous persons are largely lacking. We developed a digital food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to measure habitual consumption among Australian Aboriginal adults and support personalized nutrition counseling. The primary contributors to energy, select nutrients, and inter-person variation (83 food groups) were identified from nationally representative 24 h recall (24HR) data, and they accounted for >80% of the total intake and inter-person variation of the nutrients of interest. Based on community input, a meal-based FFQ format was adopted, with a main food/beverage list of 81 items and the capacity to report on >300 additional items via the digital platform. The nutrient database was based on the Australian Food and Nutrient Database. Data for the first 60 study participants (70% female; median age: 48 years) were used to assess the FFQ's utility. The participants' median [IQR] reported energy intake (10,042 [6968-12,175] kJ/day) was similar to their median [IQR] estimated energy expenditure (10,197 [8636-11,551] kJ/day). Foods/beverages on the main FFQ list accounted for between 66% and 90% of the participants' reported energy and nutrient intakes; the remainder came from participant-selected extra items. The digital FFQ platform provides a potentially valuable resource for monitoring habitual dietary intake among Aboriginal adults and supporting chronic disease prevention and management interventions.

Parents' experiences of mathematics learning at home during the COVID-19 pandemic: a typology of parental engagement in mathematics education.

The COVID pandemic disrupted the schooling of students worldwide resulting in many having had a period of at-home learning. Many parents found themselves assuming responsibility for supporting their children's at-home learning. Parents often find it difficult to support their children's mathematics learning compared with other curriculum areas. There has been limited research exploring parental engagement in mathematics education generally, and little into parental engagement in mathematics education during the COVID pandemic. This paper examines how parents supported their child's mathematics education during the school closures and identifies the factors that impacted this engagement. The Ecologies of Parental Engagement (EPE) model was used to help describe the engagement of different parents in mathematics education during the school closures and to examine the way the home space and available capital shaped parental engagement. Eight parents were selected from a larger Australian study that explored the impact of the pandemic-induced period of at-home schooling on primary school mathematics and science. One-on-one narrative interviews were conducted online with participants. Analysis identified three categories of parental engagement: monitors, facilitators, and enhancers. Parents in each category responded to their role in at-home learning differently, and accessed and activated different capital to support their child's at-home learning in mathematics during the pandemic. Results highlight the value of emotional capital, as well as knowledge of mathematics and mathematics education, with implications for schools hoping to engage parents in mathematics learning. The study offers a typology to be explored in future research concerning parental engagement in mathematics education.

'In the Islands people don't really talk about this stuff, so you go through life on your own': An arts-based study exploring intimate relationships with young people in Samoa.

This study explores conceptualisations and understandings of intimate relationships with young people in Samoa - an at-risk group experiencing high rates of intimate partner violence and alienation from sexual and relationship health promotion. Insights contribute to the immediate need to advance knowledge and practice around prevention with this group. An arts-based approach, which included a two-day interactive drama workshop coupled with follow-up, peer-led focus groups, was used to explore perceptions and understandings related to intimate relationships with 15 tertiary educated young people (nine female and six male) from across Samoa. Intersectionality informed the data collection and thematic analysis, examining participants' lived experiences and the ways multiple and intersecting identities interact within social and cultural systems to influence and inform these experiences. Outcomes highlight important tensions for young people, including the way in which age, gender, religion and sexuality interact with social hierarchies and power structures, socially prescribed gender norms, family structures and globalisation. This research provides insights that can inform the development of prevention strategies to address the root causes of intimate partner violence, building the knowledge and skills required for establishing intimate relationships free from violence with young people.

Suiga/Change: An Ethnodrama Exploring Challenges in Intimate Relationships With Young People in Samoa.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant global issue and there is an immediate need to strengthen knowledge and support innovative action, particularly with young people and people in diverse cultural settings. This ethnodrama provides insights into the way young people in Samoa, a Pacific Island nation reporting high rates of IPV, experience and perceive IPV and challenges within intimate relationships. Suiga/Change is an authentic, emotive, and powerful story of four young people who represent the diversity and lived experiences of the wider population of young people in Samoa. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

The Integrity Full Replacement Alternating Mattress.

The Integrity Full Replacement Alternating Mattress, manufactured and distributed by Sumed, is an innovative alternative for those users who find conventional alternating pressure mattresses uncomfortable. The mattress is designed with smaller cells than conventional alternating mattresses and this has a number of benefits for the user, in that posture within the bed is not compromised as the cells alternatively inflate and deflate, maintaining mobility and function. Furthermore, users report that the small cell size results in their experiencing far more comfort on this mattress comparered with other alternating mattresses previously tried, as they feel far less movement with the alternation. Importantly, the construction of the mattress affords significant safety to the user in the event of power failure, and this is particularly pertinent in the community setting where the user is monitored less frequently. This article discusses pressure injury prevention in the community and describes how the Integrity mattress provides a solution.

Partnership working in services for children: use of the common assessment framework.

Transformation in the structure and delivery of services for children and young people in the UK Children Act (Department for Education & Skills, 2004. The Children Act. London: HMSO) initiated new alliances between statutory, public and voluntary agencies. Traditional relationships and notions of partnership have been extended, necessitating an innovative approach to dialogue and multiple perspectives. Hudson's assertion that although the "rhetoric on partnering remains strong, the real policy thrust is now about choice and contestability" (2006, Journal of Integrated Care, 14(1), 13-21) exemplifies the dynamic policy context around notions of partnership and the rationale for collaborative advantage. This paper explores the experiences of practitioners working in a relatively new multi-agency context--the common assessment framework (CAF). Envisaged as a standardized approach to the assessment of need and as a tool to facilitate integrated working, the CAF is utilized by practitioners in the UK to improve outcomes for children and young people. We present data from a study that employed an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach and gathered semi-structured interviews with 20 practitioners. Interviews drew upon their experiences of interprofessional working in which diversity, partnership working, and competing aims and objectives emerged as significant themes. The insights that were gained are discussed in terms of their potential impact on service delivery in the UK and their contribution toward responsive practice across dynamic professional boundaries.

An essential guide to managing seated patients in the community.

More and more clinicians working in the community are faced with the difficult task of advising and solving patients' seating problems. Frequently, important education on the relationship between sitting and pressure damage is unavailable, which results in people often making inadvisable choices on seating solutions and as a consequence, spending large sums of money which is then wasted. This article aims to provide clinicians with basic information on the relationship between sitting and pressure damage, how to conduct a simple seating assessment and what different types of armchairs are available for purchase.

Treating a pressure ulcer with bio-electric stimulation therapy.

Mr Jones lived independently until he developed necrotic pressure ulcers over his heels and could no longer mobilize to care for himself. He was transferred to a nursing home where he lived for 18 months and where the nurses could care for his wounds. The wound had been on his right heel without changing over the 18 months and, although attempts to hydrate the eschar had been somewhat successful, the necrotic tissue proved stubborn creating large quantity of fibrous slough. Mr Jones was initially assessed by the tissue viability consultant on 14 March 2005 and agreed to the application of bio-electric stimulation therapy (POSiFEC). The wound change was immediate and was fully healed by 16 June 2005, 12 weeks after his initial assessment. This article outlines his care and the background to bio-electrical stimulation in wounds.

Reducing pressure ulcer incidence in a long-term setting.

Selection of appropriate pressure prevention equipment relies on risk assessment and clinical assessment of the resident/patient. Decisions are then made in combination with manufacturer's recommendations, such as interface pressure testing. However, risk assessments can over-predict and laboratory investigations do not necessarily provide an accurate picture of how individual patients will react to pressures from support services. There are few studies on visco-elastic mattresses and their benefits in reducing pressure ulcer incidence. Therefore, a small study was undertaken to review the efficacy of a pressure-reducing visco-elastic foam mattress. For the benefit of the study, a 20-bedded nursing home was provided with 20 visco-elastic mattresses (Pressurease) and 20 pressure-reducing cushions (Mediform Visco). The study aimed to demonstrate a reduction in pressure ulcer prevalence. The study involved 21 residents over a 6-month period. There was a 58.3% prevalence (of Stirling grade 1-2 pressure damage) at trial initiation. The results showed an 85.7% decrease of pressure ulcers within 4 weeks, and an overall decrease of 82.5% over the 6-month period. Comfort levels, scored by residents on a visual analogue scale, demonstrated the Pressurease mattress to be superior to the nursing home standard mattress.

Hand-washing and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Effective hand-washing, including drying to decrease skin surface microbial counts, is recognized as a critical factor in infection control policies. It is also recognized that hand-washing is not always undertaken as it should be. Spending large amounts of time with the hands in water is not enough to control infection as the technique of washing hands is more important than merely the length of time under water. Therefore, ways of promoting hand hygiene must be found, as well as finding ways of ensuring that healthcare workers follow hygiene guidelines.

Reducing pressure ulcer incidence in a long-term setting.

Selection of appropriate pressure prevention equipment relies on risk assessment and clinical assessment of the resident/patient. Decisions are then made in combination with manufacturer's recommendations, such as interface pressure testing. However, risk assessments can over-predict and laboratory investigations do not necessarily provide an accurate picture of how individual patients will react to pressures from support surfaces. There are few studies on visco-elastic mattresses and their benefits in reducing pressure ulcer incidence. Therefore, a small study was undertaken to review the efficacy of a pressure-reducing visco-elastic foam mattress. For the benefit of the study, a 20-bedded nursing home was provided with 20 visco-elastic mattresses (Pressurease) and 20 pressure-reducing cushions (Mediform Visco). The study aimed to demonstrate a reduction in pressure ulcer prevalence. The study involved 21 residents over a 6-month period. There was a 53.8% prevalence (of Stirling grade 1-2 pressure damage) at trial initiation. The results showed an 85.7% decrease of pressure ulcers within 4 weeks, and an overall decrease of 82.5% over the 6-month period. Comfort levels, scored by residents on a visual analogue scale, demonstrated the Pressurease mattress to be superior to the nursing home standard mattress.

Russka pressure-relieving low air-loss mattress system.

Pressure ulcers are distressing, frequently occur in immobile and malnourished patients and the cost to patients in terms of pain and anguish must be a prime consideration. There is little information on the incidence and prevalence of pressure ulcer development within the independent sector, as this is difficult to obtain. However, with advances in treatment and technology, combined with more people with complex and multiple needs being cared for at home, the requirement for specialist pressure-relieving support surfaces in the community is increasing. This article reviews the need for clinical and cost-effective pressure-relieving surface solutions in the community and introduces the concept of the Russka pressure-relieving low air-loss system.

ProfiCare: an alternating pressure-relieving mattress.

Risk assessment tools should only act as a guide to patient status rather than definitive diagnosis. Emphasis must be placed on not using the Waterlow score in isolation but in conjunction with clinical judgement. We must therefore attempt to minimize opportunities for disagreement over pressure ulcer risk scores through the selection of appropriate support surfaces based on a thorough consideration of costs of pressure ulcers for the patients, institutions and healthcare professionals. This product focus advocates that ProfiCare replacement mattresses are an option as they are designed for use on a hospital bed frame and provide alternating and static patient support surfaces.

BagBath: the value of simplistic care in the community.

Community nurses need to manage and embrace both the clinical and public health needs of their clients, which requires both ingenuity and improvisation. Although the community care environment is very different to hospital care, like all professionals, community nurses must live with the inevitability of change. The modern nurse must offer high-quality patient care and should be constantly striving for cost-effective methods of providing that care. In this product focus, the cost-effectiveness and infection control potential of the prevalent practice of "bed bathing" is compared with the new concept of BagBath (Westholme Ltd). BagBath is a quick-drying one-step bed bath product offered as an alternative to the bowl of water, soap, flannel and towel.

The cost-effective use of BagBath: a new concept in patient hygiene.

The future of nursing promises dynamic change and continual challenges, with exciting healthcare reform in progress and technologies as yet undreamed of on the nursing horizon. The modern nurse must offer high-quality patient care and should be constantly striving for cost-effective methods of providing that care. In this product focus, the prevalent practice of 'bed bathing' is considered along with cost-effectiveness of the practice and infection control potential when compared with the new concept of BagBath (Westholme Ltd). BagBath is a quick-drying one-step bed bath product offered as an alternative to the bowl of water, soap and flannel.

Vicair Academy Mattress in the prevention of pressure damage.

There are many costs associated with the development of pressure ulcers, both in terms of the patient experience and those associated with healing. If patients who are deemed to be at risk are identified and suitable preventive equipment is provided, incidence of pressure ulcer development can be reduced significantly. Pressure-reducing mattresses are primarily used to prevent pressure ulcers from occurring, in conjunction with other preventive measures, such as repositioning. The Vicair Academy Mattress, manufactured by Vicair BV and distributed by Gerald Simonds, uses Vicair's 'dry air' flotation system to offer maximum pressure and shear protection to patients who are at high risk of developing pressure ulcers.