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TAYLOR G., PAPADOPOULOS I., DUDAU V., MAERTEN M., PELTEGOVA A. & ZIEGLER M. (2011) Intercultural education of nurses and health professionals in Europe (IENE). International Nursing Review, 188-195 This paper presents the results of a needs analysis carried out during a 2-year European Union-funded project titled 'Intercultural education of nurses and health professionals in Europe'. The study aimed to explore the perceived learning and teaching needs of students and practitioners of health-care professions in relation to preparation for working in another European country and/or in a multicultural environment. The participating countries were: Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Romania and the UK. Questionnaires, consisting of open questions, were completed by a total of 118 participants. Data analysis adopted both a priori and inductive approaches. The predetermined constructs of cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural sensitivity and cultural competence were used to structure suggestions for theoretical input and practical activities and experiences. Inductive analysis revealed other emergent themes that underpin all four of these constructs. Practical experiences form a fundamental part of preparation for labour mobility and/or for practice within a multicultural environment. However, health-care practitioners need to be adequately prepared for such experiences and value the opportunity to learn about culture, to explore values and beliefs, and to practise intercultural skills within the safe environment of an educational establishment, facilitated by skilled teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Studies revealed unidirectional associations between frailty and medication‐related problems (MRPs) among older adults. Less is known about the association between frailty and the risk of MRPs. We aimed to assess the bi‐directional association between frailty and the risk of MRPs in community‐dwelling older adults in five European countries. Methods: Participants were 1785 older adults in the population‐based Urban Health Centres Europe project. Repeated assessments were collected at baseline and one‐year follow‐up, including frailty, the risk of MRPs, and covariates. Linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the unidirectional associations. A cross‐lagged panel modeling was used to assess bi‐directional associations. Results: The unidirectional association between frailty at baseline and the risk of MRPs at follow‐up remained statistically significant after adjusting for covariates (β = 0.10, 95%CI:0.08, 0.13). The association between the risk of MRPs at baseline and frailty at follow‐up shows similar trends. The bi‐directional association was comparable with reported unidirectional associations, with a stronger effect from frailty at baseline to the risk of MRPs at follow‐up than reversed path (Wald test for comparing lagged effects: p < 0.05). Conclusion: This longitudinal study suggests that a cycle may exist where older adults with higher frailty levels are more likely to have a higher risk of MRPs, which in turn contributes to developing a higher level of frailty. Further research is needed to validate our findings and explore underlying pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health and social care systems face difficulties in managing multimorbidity, disease burden and complex needs in long‐term conditions such as Parkinson's disease. Objective: This study aimed to develop a European understanding of how health and social care professionals can collaborate with stakeholders from different organizations and sectors to enhance the management of Parkinson's disease in a community setting by identifying the existing gaps in this process and how people with Parkinson's disease and their family carers could benefit from these partnerships. Methods: A mixed‐methods sequential study was conducted in Denmark, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom. The findings from the qualitative phase are presented. Individual semistructured interviews were analysed using Braun's and Clarke's thematic analysis. A meta‐ethnography approach was used to analyse and synthesize cross‐national findings. Results: A total of 41 healthcare professionals and 39 stakeholders from different disciplines and sectors were interviewed in the four countries. The participants acknowledged a lack of awareness of available resources and poor communication between the different support systems in the management of Parkinson's disease. To promote multiagency collaborations, the participants highlighted the need to organize services along the Parkinson's disease journey, patient involvement and strategic involvement of carers in organizing resources and Parkinson's disease care pathways. According to the participants, the benefits from multiagency partnerships could lead to an enhanced continuity of care and specialized knowledge, mobilization of resources in the community, personalized support and improved access to services. Conclusions: Policymakers are called upon to create formal structures that facilitate multisectoral collaborations to promote an integrated system of care for the management of Parkinson's disease in the community. To address this challenge, we propose five strategies showing how organizations can work together to optimize the use of resources and enhance the management of Parkinson's disease throughout the illness trajectory. Patient or Public Contribution: Patient and Public Involvement groups made up of stakeholders, healthcare professionals, patients with Parkinson's disease and family carers participated in the design of the study, the development of the interview guides and the validation of the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim was to determine whether commercial baby foods marketed within Europe (up to 36 months of age) have inappropriate formulation and high sugar content and to provide suggestions to update European regulations and recommendations as part of a nutrient profile model developed for this age group. The latter was produced following recommended World Health Organization (WHO) steps, including undertaking a rapid literature review. Packaging information from countries across the WHO European region was used to determine mean energy from total sugar by food category. The percentage of products containing added sugar and the percentage of savoury meal‐type products containing pureed fruit were also calculated. A total of 2,634 baby foods from 10 countries were summarised: 768 sold in the United Kingdom, over 200 each from Denmark (319), Spain (241), Italy (430) and Malta (243) and between 99–200 from Hungary, Norway, Portugal, Estonia and Slovenia. On average, approximately a third of energy in baby foods in these European countries came from total sugar, and for most food categories, energy from sugar was higher than 10%. Use of added sugars was widespread across product categories, with concentrated fruit juice most commonly used. Savoury meal‐type purees did not contain added sugars except in United Kingdom and Malta; however, fruit as an ingredient was found in 7% of savoury meals, most frequently seen in UK products. Clear proposals for reducing the high sugar content seen in commercial baby foods were produced. These suggestions, relating to both content and labelling, should be used to update regulations and promote product reformulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do individuals deal with group disadvantage when their fellow in-group members conceive it as legitimate? Integrating research on the normative conflict model (Packer, 2008, Pers. Soc. Psychol. Rev., 12, 50) and collective action, we expect high identifiers to reject the in-group norm of legitimacy that justifies the inequality, and to assert that the group is actually able and willing to contest the disadvantage by collective means. In Study 1 and Study 2, we tested this hypothesis in different intergroup contexts. The results confirmed our predictions and also showed one boundary condition for high identifiers, namely that the content of the social identity supports resistance. In Study 3, we found support for our hypothesis using artificial groups and manipulating identification experimentally. These results show that even when a disadvantaged group appears to accept its situation, high identified in-group members will still contest this and, moreover, expect other in-group members to support them in this endeavour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Ageing is a multifaceted and inevitable process involving a decline in health and well-being that could be ameliorated by dietary modification. We review and discuss the evidence for nutritional interventions that may support healthy ageing. Methods The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses ( PRISMA) guidelines were used to identify randomised controlled trials investigating the role(s) of fatty acids and micronutrients in relation to markers of healthy ageing. Results European dietary surveys suggest that diets in elderly people are generally high in saturated fat, whereas intakes of vitamin D, magnesium, potassium, zinc and copper are below recommended levels. Thirty-four studies meeting the criteria were found, with 12 of these investigating the role of fatty acids and 22 considering intakes of micronutrients in relation to healthy ageing. Overall, these studies suggested that certain nutrients were consistent with healthy ageing; for example, omega-3 fatty acids were helpful for cognitive health, whereas combinations of calcium, vitamin D and K were linked with better bone health. Conclusions Vitamin, mineral and fatty acid intakes are in need of improvement to help elderly populations achieve optimal diet quality and support healthy ageing. This could involve the judicious use of supplements alongside dietary advice. Additional research is needed to determine optimal nutrient doses, combinations and forms in relation to desired health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To undertake a systematic literature review to examine the effect of food cost on diet quality and risk factors for chronic disease, specifically focusing on diet-related lifestyle diseases affecting the Australian population. Methods: A search of six databases resulted in the inclusion of one systematic review, three cohort studies, 41 cross-sectional studies and four modelling studies in this review. Results: Between 2000 and 2006, the price of healthy foods has increased more than the price of less healthy foods. Healthy Food Access Basket surveys show that a healthy diet may often be unaffordable for low- and average-income households. Diets of higher energy density were associated with lower diet cost, whereas diets of higher nutrient density and nutritional quality were associated with higher diet cost. Recent studies report an inverse association between food price and food consumption. Consequently, an increase in food cost was associated with a significant reduction in weight, waist circumference, body mass index, obesity and insulin resistance. Conclusions: Manipulation of food cost may alter food consumption and therefore risk factors for chronic disease. Further longitudinal studies investigating the impact of pricing strategies on diet quality and disease risk are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]