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Objective: To explore the barriers associated with the adoption of the Alberta Nutrition Guidelines for Children and Youth in schools according to characteristics of the innovation (guidelines) and the organization (schools). Design: Cross-sectional telephone survey. Setting and Participants: Schools in Alberta, Canada. Principals from 357 schools. Main Outcome Measure: Barriers to adopting the nutrition guidelines. Analysis: A 19-question telephone survey, including open- and closed-ended questions, was used to obtain information regarding schools' characteristics and barriers to adopting the guidelines. Qualitative data were coded according to common themes a priori, based on constructs from the Diffusion of Innovations framework. Results: Schools reported many barriers related to the relative advantage, compatibility, and complexity of adopting the guidelines. Parents' resistance to change and cost were the key reported barriers. Lack of knowledge, student preferences, the physical location of the school, and barriers related to the provision of healthful food were also reported. Conclusions and Implications: Disseminating guidelines without providing adequate support for their implementation may not promote change within the school setting. School nutrition initiatives need to involve the parents and have access to sufficient financial and human resource support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of citations a peer-reviewed article receives is often used as a measure of its importance and scientific impact. This paper identifies, describes and categorizes the highly cited papers in addiction research on cannabis, heroin, cocaine and psychostimulants. Highly cited papers were identified in the Web of Science Core Collection database. Several bibliometric indicators were calculated. Social network analysis was applied to draw groups of authors and institutions with the greatest number of collaborations and co-words. The number of citations for the top 100 cited articles ranged from 649 to 4,672. The articles were published in 40 journals. The subject category Substance Abuse included 10 papers. The United States was the most productive country (79 papers), followed by the United Kingdom (9). The main funding institutions were the National Institutes of Health in the United States. The network of collaboration between authors distributes the 352 researchers into 53 groups. The three most cited works address the neural basis of drug craving as an incentive-sensitization theory of addiction, the clinical and research uses of the Addiction Severity Index, and the neurocircuitry of addiction. Scientific literature on addictions is widely dispersed both in multidisciplinary and specific journals of neurology, psychiatry and addictions, with relatively few publications providing most of the citations. An ongoing challenge for this field is the concentration of highly cited papers coming from a select number of countries, with the United States being the research hub of the world, with the highest volume of publications and total citations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Researchers administering surveys seek to balance data quality, sources of error, and practical concerns when selecting an administration mode. Rarely are decisions about survey administration based on the background of study participants, although socio-demographic characteristics like age, education, and race may contribute to participants' (non)responses.Objectives: In this study, we describe differences in paper- and web-based surveys administered in a national cancer survivor study of women with a history of cancer to compare the ability of each survey administrative mode to provide quality, generalizable data.Methods: We compared paper- and web-based survey data by socio-demographic characteristics of respondents, missing data rates, scores on primary outcome measure, and administrative costs and time using descriptive statistics, tests of mean group differences, and linear regression.Results: Our findings indicate that more potentially vulnerable patients preferred paper questionnaires and that data quality, responses, and costs significantly varied by mode and participants' demographic information. We provide targeted suggestions for researchers conducting survey research to reduce survey error and increase generalizability of study results to the patient population of interest.Conclusion: Researchers must carefully weigh the pros and cons of survey administration modes to ensure a representative sample and high-quality data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The adoption and use of health information technology (IT) continues to grow around the globe. In Switzerland, the government nor professional associations have to this day provided incentives for health IT adoption.Objective: We aim to assess the proportion of physicians who are routinely working with electronic health data and describe to what extent physicians exchange electronic health data with peers and other health care providers. Additionally, we aim to estimate the effect of physicians' attitude towards health IT on the adoption of electronic workflows.Methods: Between May and July 2013, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1200 practice based physicians in Switzerland. Respondents were asked to report on their technical means and where applicable their paper-based workarounds to process laboratory data, examination results, referral letters and physician's letters. Physicians' view of barriers and facilitators towards health IT use was determined by a composite score.Results: A response rate of 57.1% (n=685) was reached. The sample was considered to be representative for physicians in Swiss ambulatory care. 35.2% of the respondents documented patients' health status with the help of a longitudinal semi-structured electronic text record generated by one or more encounters in the practice. Depending on the task within a workflow, around 11-46% of the respondents stated to rely on electronic workflow practices to process laboratory and examination data and dispatch referral notes and physician's letters. The permanent use of electronic workflow processes was infrequent. Instead, respondents reported paper-based workarounds affecting specific tasks within a workflow. Physicians' attitude towards health IT was significantly associated with the adoption of electronic workflows (OR 1.04-1.31, p<0.05), but the effect sizes of factors related to the working environment (e.g., regional factors, medical specialty, type of practice) were larger.Conclusion: At present, only a few physicians in Swiss ambulatory care routinely work with electronic health data. Until more of their peers participate in electronic exchange of structured clinical information, most physicians will continue to stay in paper-based systems and workarounds. The survey found that physicians with a positive attitude towards health IT were more likely to adopt electronic workflows, but the impact is minor. It will likely be necessary to introduce financial incentives and develop national standards in order to promote the adoption by a critical mass of practicing clinicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: A new patient-reported outcome (PRO) instrument to measure fatigue symptoms and impacts in relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) was developed in a qualitative stage, followed by psychometric validation and migration from paper to an electronic format.Methods: Adult patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) were interviewed to elicit fatigue-related symptoms and impacts. A draft questionnaire was debriefed in cognitive interviews with further RRMS patients, and revised. Content confirmation interviews were conducted with patients with progressive-relapsing multiple sclerosis (PRMS) and relapsing secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis (RSPMS). Psychometric analyses used data from adult patients with different RMS subtypes and matched non-RMS controls in a multicenter, observational study. After item reduction, the final instrument was migrated to a smartphone (eDiary) and usability was confirmed in interviews with additional adult RMS patients.Results: The qualitative stage included 37 RRMS, 5 PRMS, and 5 RSPMS patients. Saturation of concepts was reached during concept elicitation. Cognitive interviews confirmed that participants understood the instructions, items, and response options of the instrument-named FSIQ-RMS-as intended. Psychometric validation included 164 RMS and 74 control patients. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were demonstrated. The symptoms domain discriminated along the RMS symptom-severity continuum and between patients and controls. Patients were able to attribute fatigue-related symptoms to RMS. Usability and conceptual equivalence of the eDiary were confirmed (n = 10 participants).Conclusions: With 7 symptom items and 13 impact items (in 3 impacts subdomains: physical, cognitive and emotional, and coping) after item reduction, the FSIQ-RMS is a comprehensive, valid, and reliable measure of fatigue-related symptoms and impacts in RMS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of depression related to precarious employment (PE) has become a significant public health concern, given the declining trend of the standard employment relationship. Research has focused on the mental health detrimental effects of employment conditions, whereas there is scarce evidence concerning the burden of depression that could be prevented by targeting precariousness. This paper estimates the impact of PE on the risk of depression and the attributable fraction within the active and working salaried population in Spain. Observational cross-sectional on data drawn from the Spanish portion of European Health Survey 2020. After applying selection criteria and descriptives, binary logistic regression models stratified by sex are used to examine the associations between a 9-categories combination of employment precariousness and occupational social class, and depressive symptoms. There is a higher risk of depression among individuals in PE and among those who are unemployed, with a notable gradient based on occupational social class for women. Adjusting by sex, age and foreign-born origin, we estimate that approximately 15.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.0%–26.2%) of depression cases among the working population and 33.3% (95% CI: 23.2%-43.2) among the active population can be attributed to PE. These findings highlight the public health impact of PE on mental health, provide evidence to estimate the economic burden linked to employment-related mental health, and underscore the need for policy changes and interventions at the level of labour markets and workplaces to mitigate the detrimental effects of PE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Validation and CO2 ejector simulation using HEM. • The only cross-sectional area parameter that affects the primary flow rate of a CO2 ejector is the nozzle throat cross-sectional area. • The nozzle throat and mixing chamber cross-sectional area have a significant effect on the secondary flow rate and entrainment ratio of the CO2 ejector. • The inlet cross-sectional area of the nozzle almost does not affect the secondary flow rate and entrainment ratio. • The pre-mixing chamber and the diffusion chamber outlet cross-sectional area do not have a significant effect within a certain range. In this paper, based on the homogeneous equilibrium model, the effects of nozzle inlet cross-sectional area, nozzle throat cross-sectional area, pre-mixing chamber cross-sectional area, mixing chamber cross-sectional area, and diffusion chamber outlet cross-sectional area on the performance of the ejector of a CO 2 transcritical refrigeration system are analyzed by using Ansys Fluent. The simulation results show that the primary flow rate of the ejector is sensitive only to the nozzle throat cross-sectional area, while the entrainment ratio is strongly influenced by the nozzle throat and the mixing chamber cross-sectional area, and there is an optimum value. The nozzle inlet cross-sectional area has no significant effect on the performance of the ejector. The pre-mixing and diffusion chamber outlet cross-sectional areas do not have a significant effect on the performance within a limited range, but deviating too much from the optimum value can also lead to degradation of ejector performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To chart peer-reviewed literature regarding the psychological and social health outcomes of physical activity (PA) around menopause in a systematic manner.Methods: Nine electronic databases and 10 core journals were searched using specific search strings to identify eligible articles. Manual checking of reference lists was also performed. The selection process was guided by the stages in PRISMA-ScR.Results: Eighty peer-reviewed articles representing 67 studies from 25 countries were included. All articles were published between 1994 and 2021. For all studies, surveys were the primary method of measuring psychological and social health outcomes, in cross-sectional studies (36 papers), intervention studies (33), longitudinal cohort studies (10) and one paper reporting a mixed-method study. The dataset comprised a total of 103,826 women, with an average age of 52.6 and a variety of menopausal states. Most of the studies involved primarily Caucasian, relatively healthy, married and employed participants. Nineteen psychological and social health outcomes were assessed, including psychological menopause symptoms (N = 34), quality of life (N = 33), depression (N = 30), anxiety (N = 11), mental wellbeing (N = 21), perceived stress (N = 9), satisfaction with life (N = 7) and self-esteem (N = 5).Conclusions: Collectively, the findings of these studies indicate a relatively evident positive impact of PA on the respective health outcomes, with only a few studies reporting no association. It is also noteworthy that most studies did not report any difference related to menopausal status. Future studies would benefit from, inter alia, a qualitative approach to lived experiences of psychological and social health outcomes of PA during the menopausal transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore antimicrobial management processes in Australian residential aged care facilities (RACFs), including antimicrobial prescribing, supply, administration, and documentation to inform surveillance activities. Voluntary, online cross-sectional survey. The survey was disseminated to all South Australian RACFs (n = 237) seeking participation from an infection prevention and control lead (preferred respondent), a nurse or senior RACF staff member, or an aged care pharmacist. The survey was open during May-June 2023. Questions aimed to understand clinical and medication management systems, sources of antimicrobial prescription and supply, management by external health care providers and documentation of antimicrobial administration. A process map of antimicrobial management in RACFs was developed. Of the 54 RACFs included in the analysis (29.5% response rate), most used an electronic clinical documentation system (74.1%) or a hybrid electronic paper-based system (22.2%). Medication charts were either electronic (81.0%), hybrid (5.6%), or paper-based (13.0%). Antimicrobials were prescribed by the resident's usual general practitioner, but also by locums, hospital or specialist physicians, nurse practitioners, virtual care physicians, and dentists. Oral, topical, and inhaled antimicrobial formulations were usually supplied by community pharmacies, and intravenous formulations were predominately supplied by hospitals for administration by outreach nurses. Almost all RACFs (96.2%) had imprest stock of antimicrobials that included both oral and intravenous formulations. Antimicrobials were predominately administered by an enrolled nurse or a registered nurse. Antimicrobial management in RACFs is complex, particularly during care transitions. Multiple prescribers and sources of antimicrobials, use of different systems for clinical documentation, particularly by external health care providers, and clinical governance relating to imprest supplies were identified as key areas where medication management could be improved. Addressing these gaps will facilitate comprehensive, real-time antimicrobial surveillance in Australian RACFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the selection mechanism underlying the association between overweight/obesity and educational aspirations of adolescents. This is a cross-sectional study based on a survey conducted in secondary schools in Spain in 2016. We estimate linear probability models to determine the association between adolescents' body mass index (BMI) and their expectations to obtain a university degree, as well as their school choices representing the most usual path towards higher studies. To address the potential endogeneity of BMI, we use the instrumental variables (IV) method. Additionally, we account for potential unobserved heterogeneity by including school fixed-effects and a wide set of individual and family characteristics in our analysis. Our results indicate that adolescents with a higher BMI have lower expectations to obtain a university degree and are less likely to enrol in high school with the intention to pursue higher education in the future. The estimated effect is quite sizable and statistically significant only for girls. We estimate that a five-unit increase in BMI (e.g., the change between healthy weight and overweight) reduces girls' expectations to complete higher education by 19 percentage points and odds of enrolling in high school (vs. vocational training) by 21 percentage points. We provide empirical evidence supporting the selection hypothesis behind the relationship between BMI and adolescents' educational aspirations. That is, unhealthy weight in adolescence is associated with poorer aspirations for further education. Lower educational aspirations during adolescence can lead to lower academic achievement, which in turn, may result in poorer health, labour market outcomes, and well-being during adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examine the relationship between nutrition knowledge, diet quality, and eating behavior among active-duty US Army Soldiers. Cross-sectional study with data collection in February 2018 via paper surveys during the validation of the Military Eating Behavior Survey. Among 440 US Army Soldiers, nutrition knowledge was positively and significantly associated with diet quality (b = 0.29, P < 0.001). For every 1-point increase in nutrition knowledge, the Healthy Eating Index-2015 score was expected to increase by 0.29 points. Nutrition knowledge was not significantly associated with skipping breakfast (odds ratio, 1.01; 95% confidence interval, 0.98–1.04) or dining out (odds ratio, 1.01; 95% confidence interval, 0.98–1.03). The outcomes of this study warrant further investigation to determine what interventions provide the strongest outcomes for improving nutrition knowledge and diet quality, as well as create and support an environment that enhances healthy behaviors regarding nutrition that lead to improved diet quality among active-duty Soldiers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Latent class analyses identify 15 types of drinking in Great Britain in 2019. • Alcohol consumption varies substantially across types of occasion. • Occasions that span the off-trade and on-trade involve particularly heavy drinking. • Heavy drinking is common across most occasion types, but so is moderate drinking. • Most heavy drinking takes place in off-trade only drinking occasions. This paper aimed to (i) update a previous typology of British alcohol drinking occasions using a more recent and expanded dataset and revised modelling procedure, and (ii) estimate the average consumption level, prevalence of heavy drinking, and distribution of all alcohol consumption and heavy drinking within and across occasion types. The paper uses a cross-sectional latent class analysis of event-level diary data that includes characteristics of 43,089 drinking occasions in 2019 reported by 17,821 adult drinkers in Great Britain. The latent class indicators are characteristics of off-trade only (e.g. home), on-trade only (e.g. bar) and mixed trade (e.g. home and bar) drinking occasions. These describe companions, locations, purpose, motivation, accompanying activities, timings, consumption volume in units (1 UK unit = 8g ethanol) and beverages consumed. The analysis identified four off-trade only, eight on-trade only and three mixed-trade occasion types (i.e. latent classes). Mean consumption per occasion varied between 4.4 units in Family meals to 17.7 units in Big nights out with pre-loading. It exceeded ten units in all mixed-trade occasion types and in Off-trade get togethers, Big nights out and Male friends at the pub. Three off-trade types accounted for 50.8% of all alcohol consumed and 51.8% of heavy drinking occasions: Quiet drink at home alone, Evening at home with partner and Off-trade get togethers. For thirteen out of fifteen occasion types, more than 25% of occasions involved heavy drinking. Conversely, 41.7% of Big nights out and 16.4% of Big nights out with preloading were not heavy drinking occasions. Alcohol consumption varies substantially across and within fifteen types of drinking occasion in Great Britain. Heavy drinking is common in most occasion types. However, moderate drinking is also common in occasion types often characterised as heavy drinking practices. Mixed-trade drinking occasions are particularly likely to involve heavy drinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The present study aimed to review the association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and depression and compare the prevalence of depression among people with and without OSA.Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis following PRISMA guidelines. We searched for papers published between 1 January 2010 and 20 October 2019 listed on the following databases: Embase, Ovid MEDLINER(R) and PsychINFO. The search terms included a combination of keywords related to sleep apnea and depression. We also completed a manual search of the references listed in the articles retrieved and grouped them according to study design: cross-sectional, case-control and longitudinal. Scale scores were standardised for comparison.Results: Our search strategy yielded 1158 papers, of which 34 were considered suitable of review and 11 reported data that could be used for meta-analysis. Data from the 6 cross-sectional studies found no compelling evidence of an association between OSA and depression (odds ratio = 1.12, 95 % confidence interval, 95 %CI = 0.78, 1.47), but the meta-analysis of 5 longitudinal studies indicated that people with OSA were at greater risk of developing depression during follow-up than those without OSA (non-specific risk ratio (RR) = 2.18, 95 %CI = 1.47, 2.88), although there was evidence of high study heterogeneity (I2 = 72.8 %).Discussion: The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies is consistent with the hypothesis that OSA may increase the risk of depression. Sample characteristics and various methodological issues create uncertainty about the validity and generalizability of these associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bisexual people have been found to be at increased risk of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) when compared to heterosexual and gay or lesbian people. The purpose of this review was to update the estimated risk of NSSI for bisexual people and to examine variables that have been associated with NSSI in this population.Methods: The protocol for this paper was pre-registered (CRD42019145299). An electronic search of PsycINFO, CINAHL Plus, PubMed, Ovid Online and Web of Science was undertaken from earliest available date to October 2019. Twenty-four eligible papers were identified. Meta-analyses, including moderator analysis, were conducted to ascertain NSSI risk and a narrative synthesis was undertaken of predictors and correlates. All studies were assessed for risk of bias.Results: Bisexual people had up to six times the odds of engaging in NSSI compared to other sexualities. Mental health variables of anxiety and depression symptoms were found to be most commonly associated with NSSI for this population. The majority of studies had moderate risk of bias. This review demonstrates that bisexual people have an elevated risk of engaging in NSSI. Increased incidence of anxiety and depression and exposure to negative life events may explain this increased risk.Limitations: Studies were found to be consistently cross-sectional in design and limited to western cultures. A limitation of this review was that only English language papers were included.Conclusions: Results are clinically relevant as they suggest early identification and prevention of NSSI can be achieved. Future research should examine bisexual people independently of others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To describe the quality of food and physical activity (PA) environments by World Bank Income level in jurisdictions from the Children's Healthy Living Program. Baseline cross-sectional community data were analyzed from 11 jurisdictions categorized by World Bank Income levels to describe exposure to different food and PA outlets. The Children's Healthy Living Program was a multilevel, multijurisdictional prevalence study and community intervention trial that reduced child obesity in the US-Affiliated Pacific region. US-Affiliated Pacific region. Food (n = 426) and PA (n = 552) Outlets. Physical activity and food scores that reflect the quality of the outlets that support being physically active and healthy eating options, respectively. Descriptive statistics are presented as means ± SD or percentages. High-income-income level jurisdictions had higher food and PA scores than middle-income level jurisdictions. The US-Affiliated Pacific region has limited quality food and PA outlets in underserved communities at risk for obesity. The findings in this paper can be used to develop tools and design interventions to improve the food and PA environment to increase a healthier, active lifestyle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Educator roles in medicine are expanding yet career paths and definitions of successful careers are not uniformly agreed upon. Educator success from their own perspective has not been broadly explored as these studies usually occur from the institutional or organizational viewpoint. This study examined the impact of a national educational faculty development program (FDP) for academic pediatricians on educators' self-description of their own professional and personal success. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, qualitative study of FDP alumni between 2019-2021. Interviews explored participants perspectives on their professional success, and supports and barriers. Using an iterative process, thematic analysis of the data identified 6 themes. RESULTS: Fourteen scholars were interviewed. All felt they were successful citing both outcome and impact measures categorized into 6 themes: personal attributes, adequate resources and barriers, foundational skill development, experiencing strong mentoring and networking, engaging, and being connected to a community of practice and self-identifying as a medical educator. To view the data holistically, a model incorporating 3 frameworks was developed. CONCLUSIONS: These educators viewed themselves as successful academic educators. While papers, promotions and positions were important, educators viewed impact in mentoring and collaborations with others, along with acquired expertise and an expanded viewpoint of the field and themselves as equally important. Educators and leaders could use these elements for their own self-assessment and support, FDP development and enhancement, and for investment in programs and faculty educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The etiological factors of mood disorders and psychopathologies are understudied. In this paper, we explored whether social psychological strains are related to depression, anxiety, and stress in non-clinical populations.Methods: 6,305 college students (39.3% men; 60.7% women) from six Chinese provincial-level jurisdictions completed a paper-and-pencil survey with Psychological Strain Scales (PSS-40) and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21), both validated in Chinese populations.Results: Both PSS-40 and DASS-21 have high internal consistency reliabilities, and are highly correlated with each other. Hence, Chinese college students with greater psychological strains (value, aspiration, deprivation, or coping) have greater depression, anxiety, and stress. These results still held after controlling for relevant socio-demographic variables in the multiple regression models.Limitations: This was a cross-sectional study, and the sample only included several provinces in mainland China, not a representative sample of all of them.Conclusions: Mood disorders and psychopathologies are linked to suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The results of this study extend the Strain Theory of Suicide from explaining the risk factors of suicidality to mood disorders and psychopathologies. Hence, these findings can inform prevention measures among college students, and possibly the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the common statistical methods used to analyze four types of observational study: ecological studies, cross-sectional studies, case–control studies and cohort studies. Three statistical methods are considered in detail: correlation coefficients, t-tests for the difference between two means from independent samples and odds ratios. For each method, the need for the same four key outputs is highlighted: the measure of effect, its precision (95% confidence interval), its statistical significance (p-value) and its clinical significance (comparison to the minimum important difference). Where possible, this paper explains the derivation of measures of effect and statistical significance to help readers understand where the numbers come from. The paper also highlights other important aspects of analyzing the quantitative data collected in an observational study, potential biases to consider, and good practice in reporting. Examples from relevant pediatric studies are used where appropriate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This was a cross-sectional study. Home exercise programs (HEPs) are frequently prescribed to maximize a patient's recovery and ensure maintenance of therapeutic gains produced during supervised treatment. Improved understanding of patient preferences and incorporation of simple mobile health technologies may be beneficial strategies for improving patient HEP adherence. The purpose of this study was to determine client's preferred mode of home exercise program delivery when offered a choice between a cellular video and paper handout. A convenience sample was recruited from clients receiving services at an upper extremity rehabilitation facility. Participants were provided a paper handout with written instructions and an audiovisual recording of themselves performing the exercises. A questionnaire was developed to compare clients' preferences and perceptions. Quantitative data regarding patient preference were gathered and analyzed with descriptive statistics. Collected qualitative data were themed to determine the characteristics of home exercise programs (HEPs) perceived by patients. A total of 30 patients participated in the study. Of the 29 responses regarding patient preference of HEP mode, 20 (69%) patients preferred a video, 4 (14%) patients preferred a paper handout, and 5 (17%) patients preferred both paper and video HEP. Patients with preference to a paper HEP reported the handout was helpful to be accessed in a simple manner and could be displayed as a visual reminder to perform the exercises. Those who preferred the cellular video reported increased understanding and confidence with accurate performance of exercises using audiovisual instructions. HEP adherence enhancement techniques include improved understanding of patient preferences in order to facilitate customized client-centered treatment. The majority of participants in this study preferred a mobile-based video HEP. Participants perceived the video as visually appealing and a more effective mode of instruction than paper handouts. • This survey asked patients their preferred mode of delivery for home exercise programs. • Most patients prefer video home program delivery. • Patients reports video home exercise programs have more visual appeal and provide effective directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender equality or the lack thereof is a constantly recurring theme. Here, we sought to provide an overview of the status with respect to the participation and leadership of female doctors in clinical neuroscience analyzing different disciplines (neurosurgery, neurology and psychiatry). A total of 1910 articles published in six representative journals (07–12/2020) were reviewed. Of these, 1327 were original research papers, 145 invited publications and 303 letters/comments. Out of a total of 15,080 authors, 4365 (29%) were women. The percentage of female authors was found to differ significantly between the different specialties (19% in neurosurgery, 39% in neurology and 45% in psychiatry). Women were last authors in 9.5% of the papers in neurosurgery, 29% in neurology and 39% in psychiatry Based on these findings, it can be concluded that gender disparity in academic neuroscience is quite conspicuous. Our review seeks to address the reasons behind this phenomenon in the context of new publications as well as various cultural and historical underpinnings. • The percentage of female authors was found to differ significantly between the different specialties. • Articles without any female participation made up 29% in neurosurgery and 10% in neurologic and psychiatric journals. • All analyzed specialties still show gender disparity to a certain extent. • Scientific quality increases with diverse teams. Thus, increase of diversity is also a scientific issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Tobacco-free oral nicotine products are an emerging class of noncombustible nicotine products. Oral nicotine product sales have increased since 2016, although little research has investigated consumer awareness, use, or correlates of oral nicotine product use. The purpose of this analysis was to assess the prevalence and correlates of oral nicotine product awareness and use.Methods: This paper is a cross-sectional analysis of 2,507 U.S. participants from Wave 3 (February-June 2020) of the International Tobacco Control Four Country Smoking and Vaping Survey, a population-based survey of current and former cigarette smokers and nicotine vaping product users in the U.S. Oral nicotine product awareness and use prevalence were compared with those of heated tobacco products. Analyses conducted in late 2021 assessed the correlates of oral nicotine product awareness and use such as demographic characteristics, tobacco use (cigarettes, nicotine vaping products, smokeless tobacco), and tobacco quit attempts.Results: Almost 1 in 5 respondents claimed to have heard of oral nicotine products, 3.0% reported ever use, and 0.9% were current users, all of which were lower than for heated tobacco products. Ever use of oral nicotine products was more common among younger adults (e.g., aged 18-24 years), males, and current users of smokeless tobacco. Oral nicotine product prevalence was higher among those who reported having made attempts to stop smoking or vaping.Conclusions: Oral nicotine product use was low among current and former smokers and nicotine vaping product users. Oral nicotine product users were demographically similar to use among individuals who smoke/vape and also use smokeless tobacco. Future studies are needed to understand emerging oral nicotine products, particularly whether they are being used as product supplements (dual use), replacements (switching), or cessation aids (quitting). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Present-day screening of the diabetic foot involves the Semmes Weinstein Monofilament Test for evaluating loss of sensibility, while testing for intrinsic muscle weakness is not implied. Just as with the early detection of sensibility loss, early detection of intrinsic muscle weakness might have important implications for the prevention of both ulceration and deformity in patients with diabetes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence of patients with diabetes presenting intrinsic muscle weakness of the hallux, but with a normal sensibility of the sole of the foot.Methods: A cross-sectional study design was applied. Intrinsic muscle function of the hallux was measured with the Paper Grip Test, while sensibility of the sole of the foot was measured with the Semmes Weinstein Monofilament Test 5.07/10-g.Results: In a period of three months a total of 266 patients with diabetes (mean age 60, 134 females (50%), 177 type 2 diabetes mellitus (67%)) met the inclusion criteria and were examined for both intrinsic muscle weakness of the hallux and sensibility of the soles of the feet. The results showed that intrinsic muscle weakness was present more frequent in patients with impaired sensibility (P=0.001), also 20% of the population had intrinsic muscle weakness in the presence of normal sensibility. Multivariate regression analysis showed that only age is associated with patients with diabetes presenting normal sensibility but impaired intrinsic muscle function (P=0.017).Conclusions: The Paper Grip Test could have added value to current physical examination of the feet in patients with diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through cross-sectional analysis, studies on transport-induced gentrification often interpret the phenomenon as an outcome instead of recognizing it as a set of intertwined processes. Consequently, limited insights are provided about the mechanisms underlying gentrification, which manifests gradually over the long-term interactions between transportation and urban development, primally driven by accessibility improvements. The absence of descriptive efforts poses a challenge for policymakers to predict or identify gentrification occurrence, besides inducing biased outcomes in investigations. This paper aims to provide researchers and policymakers with a conceptual framework of transport-induced gentrification, systematising explanations of space production and consumption in Latin-American metropolises. Firstly, we have undergone a theoretical review on land-use and transport interactions to develop an a priori conceptual framework. Subsequently, we applied a systematic literature review on empirical studies of Latin-American gentrification to incorporate some particularities into the framework, representing the phenomenon as an urban conflict generated in and through accessibility improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using cross-sectional data from a representative sample of the French population (the 2008 Disability Health survey), this paper examines whether the SF-6D, a widely used preference-based measure of health-related quality of life in economic evaluations, fully captures the variation in subjective well-being (SWB) due to chronic illnesses. We conduct a mediation analysis to disentangle the direct and indirect, through the SF-6D, effects of various chronic conditions on SWB (happiness). Our results show that the SF-6D reflects changes in happiness due to most illnesses except mental illness. Changes in SWB mediated by the SF-6D account for 74% of the total effect. The variation unexplained by the SF-6D is significant and increases substantially in the presence of multimorbidity when a chronic illness is combined with anxiety or depression. Overall, our results suggest that the SF-6D incompletely captures the subjective experience of chronically ill patients, especially those with comorbid conditions. • 74% of the effect of chronic illness on happiness is captured by the SF-6D. • The SF-6D does not fully capture the effect of mental illness on happiness. • The effect not captured by the SF-6D increases significantly with multimorbidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aimed to examine the psychometric properties of a modified version of the Self-Efficacy in Clinical Teaching Scale with a sample of undergraduate nursing students. Enhancing nursing students' self-efficacy in clinical teaching is important for developing their clinical teaching capabilities, which ultimately contributes to safe quality healthcare. Little is known about nursing students' self-efficacy in clinical teaching, potentially due to a lack of validated instruments to measure their self-efficacy in clinical teaching. This study used a cross-sectional survey design. In 2022, a convenience sample of Year 2 and Year 3 nursing students in an Australian Bachelor of Nursing Program completed the modified Self-Efficacy in Clinical Teaching Scale. The scale's construct validity was assessed using known-group measures (year level and peer teaching experience) and confirmatory factor analysis. Concurrent validity was established through correlation with a visual analogue scale and reliability was tested with Cronbach's alpha. Three hundred and nineteen surveys were analysed. The mean total self-efficacy in clinical teaching score for Year 2 participants was significantly lower than that of Year 3 participants (mean difference = −11.13, 95 % CI [-16.33, −5.93]). Participants with peer teaching experience had a significantly higher mean total score compared with those without peer teaching experience (mean difference = 15.32, 95 % CI [8.74, 21.91]). The scale's relative chi-square test was acceptable (CMIN/df = 4.69); other fit indices were within or just outside acceptable parameters (RMSEA =.11; SRMR =.039; NFI =.89; RFI =.88; IFI =.91; TLI =.90; CFI =.91). There was a strong correlation between participants' total self-efficacy in clinical teaching scores and their visual analogue scale scores (r =.83, n = 314, p <.001 [two-tailed]). Cronbach's alpha for the total scale was.98. The modified Self-Efficacy in Clinical Teaching Scale was sensitive to student year level and peer teaching experience. When subjected to confirmatory factor analysis, the scale's model was an acceptable fit across several indices. These findings support an argument for the scale's construct validity. Total self-efficacy scores were strongly correlated with visual analogue scales, suggesting concurrent validity. Using Cronbach's alpha, the scale was found to be reliable, however may benefit from a reduction of item numbers. The modified Self-Efficacy in Clinical Teaching Scale may support future investigations of undergraduate nursing students' self-efficacy in clinical teaching and contribute to an understanding of health professional students' self-efficacy in clinical teaching across disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Reducing modifiable risk factors could prevent the onset of cognitive decline. • Physical multimorbidity–cognitive function association was mediated by depression. • Routine screening for depression in multimorbidity patient may delay dementia onset. This paper explores the role of depressive symptoms (mediator/moderator) in the association between physical multimorbidity (exposure) and cognitive function (outcome) among older adults in the three most populous middle-income countries. This study used cross-sectional data from China (2015 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study), India (2017/2018 Longitudinal Ageing Study in India), and Indonesia (2014/2015 Indonesian Family Life Survey), with a total sample of 73,199 respondents aged ≥ 45 years. Three domains of cognitive tests were harmonised across surveys, including time orientation, word recall, and numeracy. The four-way decomposition analysis assessed the mediation and interaction effects between exposure, mediator/moderator, and outcome, adjusted for covariates. The mean age of the respondents (in years) was slightly younger in Indonesia (56.0, SD = 8.8) than in China (59.5, SD = 9.3) and India (60.0, SD = 10.5). The proportion of male respondents was 49.3 % in China, 47.3 % in India, and 47.5 % in Indonesia. Respondents in China had the highest mean cognitive function z scores (54.7, SD = 19.9), followed by India (51.1, SD = 20.0) and Indonesia (51.0, SD = 18.4). Physical multimorbidity was associated with lower cognitive function in China and India (p < 0.0001), with 48.4 % and 40.0 % of the association explained by the mediating effect of depressive symptoms ('overall proportion due to mediation'). The association was not found in Indonesia. Cognitive functions were lower among individuals with physical multimorbidity, and depressive symptoms mainly explained the association. Addressing depressive symptoms among persons with physical multimorbidity is likely to have not only an impact on their mental health but could prevent cognitive decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing the internal dynamics of organizations has been shown to provide information that can help planners and policymakers improve service delivery. A good organizational climate, which in this study incorporates mission clarity, team cohesion, staff autonomy, communication, levels of stress, and openness to change has been shown to be of particular importance. Still, there is a dearth of evidence in this area, and while relationships between organizational factors have been identified, little is known about the mechanisms that might underpin these relationships, and there is little understanding of how to address deficits once they are identified. The objective of this study was to identify relationships between program factors that influence organizational climate and to explore which mechanisms might underpin these relationships. This paper reports on a cross-sectional, concurrent, mixed-methods study design, across twelve discrete community-based prescribing service providers (organizations) in Ireland. Data was obtained using a staff survey [ n = 132] which utilized measurements of organizational readiness to change and one-to-one interviews [ n = 12]. Quantitative data was analyzed using multivariate linear regression modeling which assessed relationships between variables, while interviews were analyzed using an abductive approach, both types of data were synthesized at the interpretation stage. A range of interdependent factors were considered to affect the climate of organizations. Surveys identified that specific types of resources, such as physical infrastructure, training, and staffing resources were important for supporting a good organizational climate, while programs with greater needs had a poorer climate. Opportunities for professional growth, the skill sets of staff, and having access to e-communication were also significant. Interviewees reported that rigid organizational hierarchies and bureaucracy, philosophical views of addiction, stress, and staff turnover were influenced by the provision of fewer resources. Interdependent factors such as leadership, supervision, staff relationships, and collective training, also thought to be influenced by resources, were considered to positively influence programs. Resources were not the only challenge identified, and practices within programs and how existing resources are used were also thought to contribute both positively and negatively to the internal dynamics of services. Key findings in this study identified that the organization of effective services is influenced by a range of specific factors, some of which can be addressed without additional resources. Overall, staff views of organizations can provide us with valuable information to support service improvement. Using a mixed methods approach can not only identify where relationships between organizational variables exist but can also help us to understand the mechanisms that underpin these relationships and, importantly, how to address deficits once they are identified. In order to improve how substance misuse services work, the need for a long-term systemic approach to program development, which incorporates some of the findings from this study, is required. • Resources: ie. staffing, training, and office resources will likely influence a treatment program's organizational climate. • Programs with higher identified needs were less likely to have a favorable organizational climate. • Having greater growth opportunities was positively associated with; mission clarity, autonomy, and communication. • There is a likely interdependence between organizational domains with no indication of a hierarchy of importance. • How resources are used, not just their availability, was thought to influence to the organizational climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Vaginismus is a disease characterized by vaginal spasms that impede sexual penetration and lead to sexual dysfunction. The association between this disease and infertility is quite well acknowledged. This paper aims to assess the obstetric outcomes and patient characteristics of vaginismus-treated women.Study Design: This cross-sectional research comprised 297 vaginismus patients who were effectively treated.Methods: The following information was collected: age, degree of education, occupation, length of marriage, and obstetric history (primigravida, multigravida, and previous abortions). Following pregnancy, the following data were collected: The results of pregnancy, obstetrics, and neonatology, such as maternal age, gestational age, and birth weight. As obstetrical outcomes, miscarriage, early delivery, hypertension, and fetal loss were recorded. In addition, the mode of delivery (cesarean section vs vaginal birth), reasons for selecting it, analgesic techniques, and potential problems during or after delivery were evaluated.Results: The mean maternal age was 29.2 ± 4.7 years, and the pregnancy rate was 86.86% (n = 258). 258 individuals were reported to have had at least one term pregnancy and delivery. In the feedback for vaginismus, no recurrence was reported 16 weeks after hospital release.Conclusion: Vaginismus patients should be treated prior to being deemed infertile, and other fertility treatments should be attempted. Moreover, the caesarean delivery rates of individuals with treated vaginismus are the same as those of the general population. Vaginal delivery after vaginismus treatment seems to be safe, with no increased perineal morbidity or vaginismus recurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rumination and worry represent two types of repetitive negative thinking (RNT), and their predictive and maintaining roles are well-established in depression and anxiety, respectively. Furthermore, there is an emerging literature on the link between RNT and psychological wellbeing in the perinatal period.Methods: We conducted a scoping review of studies that have investigated the relationship between RNT and perinatal depression and anxiety. We identified 87 papers eligible for inclusion in the review; they included cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, as well as treatment evaluations (pilot trials and randomised controlled trials).Results: Cross-sectional studies provided evidence of an association between RNT (i.e., rumination and worry) and depression and anxiety, in both pregnancy and postpartum. Longitudinal findings were mixed. Whilst antenatal worry consistently predicted subsequent depression and anxiety (both later in pregnancy and postpartum), rumination did not consistently predict depression. However, there was some evidence that rumination interacted with other processes to predict later psychopathology. Three randomised controlled trials evaluated whether psychological treatments reduce RNT in the perinatal period, only one of which included a clinical sample.Limitations: No experimental investigations were eligible for inclusion in the review.Conclusions: Further studies are needed to further our understanding of the nature and role of RNT in pregnancy and postpartum, and its consequences for maternal mental health. These include (but are not limited to) experimental investigations, studies with large clinical samples, and RCTs evaluating the effectiveness of psychological interventions targeting RNT to prevent and treat perinatal depression and anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there is evidence that mental health problems are more prevalent in people with borderline intellectual functioning (BIF) compared to the general population, it is not known to what extent this has varied or changed over time and whether there have been changes in access to services. This paper compares the prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders and monitors trends in treatment and services in this population compared to the general population. We conducted secondary analysis on the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Surveys carried out in England in 2000, 2007 and 2014. The total sample analysed included 21,796 participants, with 12.8% of individuals identified with BIF (n = 2786). Regression models were used to examine trends in psychiatric disorders, treatment and service use across the three datasets. People with BIF had significantly higher odds of developing mood and anxiety disorders, psychosis, drug dependence and suicidal behaviour than the general population, increasing at each subsequent timepoint. They received significantly more pharmacological treatments than the general population but have had increasingly more access to general practitioners, community care and daycare services over time. This study shows increasing prevalence rates of several mental disorders in people with BIF. Access to day-care, community care and healthcare services has increased over time for this group but not formal psychiatric care. These changes over time underline some of the problems this population faces, emphasizing a need to recognize that this is a population often overlooked in research and clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Low back pain trials are published in a variety of healthcare journals. • The methodological quality of low back pain trials is moderate. • 55.5% of low back pain trials endorsed the CONSORT statement recommendations. • Reporting guidelines should be strictly followed. To describe the main characteristics of low back pain randomized controlled trials on the Physiotherapy Evidence Database, and to rank the journals where these trials were published according to their Impact Factor. This is a cross sectional study based on a collection of randomized controlled trials. A random sample of 200 low back pain trials published between 2010 and 2015 were selected from Physiotherapy Evidence Database in February 2016. We collected the following main characteristics of trials: 2015 journal Impact Factor; if the paper was published as open access; CONSORT recommendations endorsement by the journal; methodological quality and statistical reporting measured by the 0–10 items Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale. Data was analyzed descriptively. Trials were published in journals with a mean Impact Factor of 2.5 (SD 2.5), from which 55.5% endorsed the CONSORT recommendations. The methodological quality was moderate with 5.8 points (SD 1.6). The top 3 journals according to Impact Factor were: (1) British Medical Journal ; (2) Annals of Internal Medicine ; and (3) BMC Medicine. Only 6 out of 97 journals publishing low back pain trials combined the following factors: journal Impact Factor higher than 2.0, mean trial methodological quality higher than 6.0 points, endorse CONSORT recommendations and offering papers as open access. Clinicians interested in low back pain trials must look for a wide variety of healthcare journals. A substantial number of low back pain randomized controlled trials did not follow adequate reporting and methodological recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the quality of health care services' differences between adopted Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and paper-based record hospitals. Moreover, to identify how the quality of electronic medical records affect the quality of health care services.Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive, and comparative design was utilized between two groups in this study. The study was conducted in two public hospitals in Jordan. One hospital which had adopted the EMR system in their works and another hospital that had paper-based record. A convenience sampling technique was used to select 410 health professionals from the selected hospitals (205 participants from each hospital). SERVQUAL and E-S-QUAL questionnaires were adopted to collect the data about the quality of EMR and quality of health care service. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 21 was deployed to analyze the collected data.Result: The results indicate that the quality of health care services (expectation and perception) in EMRs adopted hospital is higher than the quality of health care services in the hospital using paper-based record. Quality of EMRs and its domains (efficiency, availability, fulfilment, and privacy) are high in both perception and expectation of health care professionals in EMR-adopted hospitals. Moreover, there is a significant relationship between the whole perception of the quality of electronic medical records and the quality of services, and between each domain of quality of EMRs and total perception of quality of services.Conclusion: Adoption of a high quality of EMR has a significant impact on improving the quality of health care services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The present paper aims at introducing the constrained spline Finite Strip Method (csFSM). The proposed approach is basically a spline Finite Strip Method (spline FSM) that allows the modal decomposition. Similarly to the constrained Finite Strip Method (cFSM), some mechanical assumptions are made in order to constrain the general spline FSM model to buckle in specific modes, for example to enforce the member to buckle in the local-plate mode, or distortional mode. Derivation of matrices that define the distortional (D) and global (G) modes for thin-walled members with unbranched open and closed cross-sections is the main objective of this paper. To define these subspaces, a standard practice is followed which consists in forming R GD , the constraint matrix of the combined GD space, then, R G and R D the constraint matrices of pure global and distortional buckling modes, respectively. Mechanical criteria are used to derive R GD and R G matrices, while orthogonality conditions are used to derive R D matrix. The implementation of the mechanical criteria is done by using FEM procedure rather than the cFSM one. Moreover, some practical aspects on how to constrain a spline FSM model are also discussed, including how to force the torsional mode of closed cross-sections. Numerical examples of modal decomposition are provided for a column - beam problem, with standard boundary conditions. The distortional and global buckling loads obtained are found to be in good agreement with those calculated via the cFSM and the Generalized Beam Theory (GBT). The paper concludes with a discussion on the applicability of csFSM in cold-formed steel member design. Highlights • Constrained spline finite strip method is proposed for the analysis of thin-walled structural members. • The proposed method is fully implemented in the context of the spline finite strip method. • The constraint matrices defining the distortional and global buckling modes are derived. • Particularity of the method due to the use of B3-spline longitudinal function is discussed. • The applicability of the new method is illustrated by some basic examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Textile Reinforced Cements (TRCs) offer an adequate alternative to more conventional building systems in construction due to their tunable and lightweight geometries. TRCs are currently either modelled by means of a discrete approach, where the textiles and the matrix are modelled separately, or by means of a smeared approach that averages the material's mechanical response over the cross-section. The research presented in this paper proposes a new, layered-wise approach of modelling where the through-thickness response of the composite is subdivided in different layers with individual mechanical properties. A tensile experimental campaign on different combinations of TRC layups, combining both glass and carbon fibre textiles, is performed and used as an input for the layered-wise numerical model. The model is then validated by comparison with flexural experiments performed on four different TRC layup combinations. The good agreement witnessed between the numerical predictions and the experimental results validates the layered-wise modelling approach proposed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to the well-known risk factors of diabetes, evidence is accumulating on the negative role of environmental and occupational factors such as noise exposure. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on the association between long-term occupational noise exposure and diabetes. We systematically searched evidence in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science (until August 2022) according to the PRISMA protocol. Risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa scale. Random-effects meta-analysis was applied separately for risk ratio (odds ratio, relative risk) and hazard ratio. We evaluated the heterogeneity and publication bias. We applied meta-regressions to identify sources of heterogeneity. The overall body of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) framework. Of 533 retrieved articles, twelve studies (11 on non-gestational, and one on gestational diabetes) on total 106,045 population (23,996 diabetic cases) met our inclusion criteria; of which eight studies were cross-sectional, three were cohorts, and one was case-control. Only 40% of papers (five out of 12) had fair, good or very good quality, and most of the papers had poor or very poor quality in terms of risk of bias. We observed a non-significant increased risk of diabetes in association with occupational noise exposure (combined risk estimates: 1.16, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.97: 1.34; I2 = 57.7%). Doing separate meta-analyses on cohort and rest of studies, we found similar findings (cohort studies (n = 3): combined risk estimate: 1.17; 95% CI: 0.84: 1.50; I2 = 79%; cross-sectional studies (n = 8): combined risk estimate: 1.26; 95% CI: 0.93: 1.58; I2 = 50.4%). We found no indication of publication bias. The overall evidence on the association between occupational noise exposure and diabetes is heterogeneous, limited, and mostly with low quality. More robust studies in terms of population selection, exposure and outcome assessment, and adjustment for confounders are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study focuses on parental perceptions of causes of child labour in rural and urban areas of Ghana. The research is grounded on qualitative research techniques by specifically utilising in-depth interviews, focus groups, and participant observation to collect the necessary data for the study. In this approach, the data gathering happened in Phases 1 and 2 of the research study at the research sites in rural areas, and urban areas. The 60 participants included government officials, representatives from NGOs, and both parents whose children were involved in child labour and parents whose children were not involved. Much theoretical and empirical evidence is presented to argue that child labour has a multiplicity of causes including cultural practices, socialisation, poverty, and lack of mechanisation of work. This paper finds that the socio-cultural contexts of child labour play a critical role in children's involvement in farming in the rural area while poverty also contributes to children's engagement in artisanal fishing work in the slum urban communities in Ghana. This paper recommends that child labour must be tackled in a coordinated manner on a cross-sectoral basis and there is the need to adopt policies that would address the category of work that falls within worst forms of child labour (WFCL). Additionally, policy-makers and NGOs must consider the link between economic deprivation and child labour when implementing programmes designed to combat the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conceptualization and assessment of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) has evolved substantially in recent years. In both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, NSSI and its related variables have traditionally been assessed retrospectively, leading to less precise studies of the mechanisms involved in the maintenance, cessation, or aggravation of this behavior. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) enables real-time collection of patient states, which can be very useful in the study of the mechanisms implied in this behavior. This systematic review aims to elucidate the current status of EMA use in NSSI investigation. An exhaustive search in PubMed and PsycINFO was conducted up to September 2017. All papers included were focused on the study of NSSI using EMA. Studies with methodological diversity were included, which were afterwards organized according to main topic of studies. There were no ineligibility criteria based on age or diagnosis. Twenty-three papers were studied, the majority of which are short-term studies focused on the study of affect dynamics and the emotion-regulation function of NSSI. Implications of these results and recommendations for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines what drives green innovation investment and exploitation with regard to sustainability. The specific focus of this paper is on company valuations of different dimensions of sustainability and their relationships to green innovation. Empirical data were gathered from a cross-section of horse industry companies located in Finland. The scientific value of the paper lies in showing that certain dimensions of sustainability lead to the exploitation of and investment in green innovation, while other dimensions do not. The results of this study's regression analyses show that the more a company values economic, institutional, and social sustainability, the more likely it is to invest in green innovation. Further, a high valuation of institutional and economic sustainability increases the willingness to exploit green innovation. The valuation of environmental sustainability was not found to affect the willingness to invest in or exploit green innovation. Our results suggest that green innovation is driven by economic and institutional pressures, and that such innovation can create value in terms of social sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When collapsing multi-group cross sections, a flux separability approximation is often used. This assumes the angular variation of the flux is independent of the energy dependence, which avoids angular dependence of the total multi-group cross section. This paper investigates the impact of this approximation on fine-mesh deterministic multi-group transport methods for two PWR pin-cell benchmarks, which demonstrate errors of more than 1% in energy groups with large U-238 capture resonances and an eigenvalue bias of approximately 200 pcm between continuous energy Monte Carlo and deterministic transport methods, even when the “true” scalar flux is used to collapse cross sections. This paper also investigates two means of resolving this issue, but both are seen to have significant short-comings. First, the most direct and mathematically consistent approach is to use angularly-dependent multi-group cross sections. These cannot be easily computed for arbitrary geometries using traditional multi-group cross section generation methods, are not supported by most standard transport codes, and require significant spatial discretization. Second, SuPerHomogéneísation (SPH) factors are used to preserve reaction rates between continuous energy Monte Carlo and deterministic transport methods, but the SPH scheme requires knowledge of the reference source distribution, is dependent on the spatial discretization mesh, and is indiscriminate between various sources of approximation error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines whether internal and external perceptions and perception differences can significantly improve the effectiveness of financial fraud detection. Specifically, we construct and validate management and media perceptions using various state-of-the-art methods. The empirical research is based on data from 2017–2021 from the Chinese market. The results reveal that the enhancement effect is more significant when considering multi-subject perceptions. A cross-sectional analysis and application of real scenarios further support the conclusions. The predictive direction and implications of perception indicators are fully discussed. The results imply that the media can perceive firms' potentially fraudulent behaviour and play a regulatory role. • This paper uses multi-source text data to detect financial fraud. • Fraud detection efficiency is significantly improved with multi-subject perceptions and perception differences. • Cross-sectional analysis confirms industry heterogeneity in fraud detection. • Predictive power analysis provides reliable results. • We confirm the important role of the media in fraud regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Workplace cyberbullying is a significant problem in higher education institutions. This paper examines faculty self-reports based on victimization, coping, gender, and the Big 5 Personality traits. A cross-sectional survey was distributed via Qualtrics to obtain the perceptions of 179 faculty members. Prevalence results indicated that faculty victims experienced cyberbullying from colleagues/peers, administrators, staff, students, and external members. Results also demonstrate that university faculty are unaware of resources to address cyberbullying. The study found evidence of gender differences in cyberbullying victimization in higher education. Agreeableness and neuroticism were also related to experiencing workplace cyberbullying. The article concludes with a discussion of the study's implications and potential areas of future research. • Most faculty experienced cyberbullying from colleagues/peers, administrators, and students. • Cyberbullied faculty are not likely to report the incident, which make it difficult to be addressed in the future. • Females are more likely to experience cyberbullying across relationship types in comparison to male faculty members. • The personality traits of agreeableness and neuroticism related to workplace cyberbullying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cancer-specific health-related quality of life (HRQoL) questionnaire of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), the EORTC QLQ-C30, is a frequently applied questionnaire to assess cancer patients' self-reported health used as part of research and clinical practice. Normative data obtained from the general population can facilitate the interpretation of these data. Despite its frequent application, no detailed EORTC QLQ-C30 normative data have yet been published for the United Kingdom (UK). This study presents detailed EORTC QLQ-C30 normative data for the United Kingdom overall and by sex and age. The data are drawn from a larger published, international, cross-sectional online survey. For the recruitment, the sample was stratified by sex (males, females) and age in five age groups with a sample size of n = 100 per subgroup. A total of N = 1026 UK respondents completed the survey (n = 517 females, n = 509 males). There were no clear subgroup patterns by sex or age; however, older patients tended to show higher (i.e., better) scores in emotional and social functioning; they also reported some of the lowest (i.e., best) scores for symptoms, such as insomnia, appetite loss, diarrhoea, nausea/vomiting or financial difficulties. This paper provides EORTC QLQ-C30 general population normative data for the UK, further stratified by sex and age. These data will greatly support the interpretation of EORTC QLQ-C30 scale scores obtained from UK cancer patients, and also enable comparison with other detailed national normative datasets collected in the same project, across several other European countries and the US. • EORTC QLQ-C30 is a cancer quality of life (QoL) tool for functioning and symptoms. • Normative QoL data collected from 1026 respondents in UK general population. • No clear patterns, generally oldest had better functioning and fewer symptoms. • Look-up tables for EORTC QLQ-C30 scales for the UK general population. • Interpretation aid for data from individual and groups of UK cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the study of offline prosocial behavior has a long tradition, much less information is available about how these behaviors manifest and change in the digital environment, and little is known about their background. This paper evaluates differences by age and gender in a variety of attitudes and beliefs during adolescence and studies their influence on the online prosocial behavior emitted and received. A cross-sectional study was performed with 1299 participants aged between 14 and 20 from the Region of Madrid (Spain). The Spanish adaptation of the Online Prosocial Behavior Scale and a selection of items from various studies on attitudes and beliefs regarding altruism, direct and indirect reciprocity, social responsibility, and the perception of the subjective norm were administered. The results suggest that female adolescents maintain higher altruism, social responsibility, and indirect reciprocity than males, and that the older age group (18–20 years old) has higher scores in altruism, social responsibility, and direct reciprocity. Together with altruism, the subjective norm, social responsibility, and indirect reciprocity positively influence the online prosocial behavior emitted by adolescents. Indirect reciprocity, the subjective norm and altruism also influence the feeling of receiving online prosocial behaviors from others. Knowing the extent to which adolescents hold prosocial beliefs and which of these beliefs may favor prosocial online behaviors can be beneficial when promoting such beliefs and fostering more positive online conduct, as well as lessening cyberbullying, online hate and any other manifestation of aggressive behavior online. • Social networks constitute a space for the socialization of prosocial behavior in adolescence. • Beliefs about altruism, social responsibility, and indirect reciprocity favor the emission of online prosocial behavior. • Beliefs about altruism and indirect reciprocity favor greater perception of receiving prosocial behaviors online. • The prosocial subjective norm favors both the emission and reception of online prosocial behaviors. • Direct reciprocity does not seem to influence the emission and reception of online prosocial behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C30 is a frequently used cancer-specific health-related quality of life (HRQoL) questionnaire. To aid interpretation of data obtained via EORTC QLQ-C30, general population norm data have been published for many countries. However, despite its frequent use in the United States, no normative data by sex and age exist to date. Therefore, this study aimed to generate sex- and age-specific EORTC QLQ-C30 normative data for the United States. Recruitment and data collection were carried out via online panels as part of a larger cross-sectional study. For the recruitment, the sample was stratified by sex and age (18–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69, ≥ 70 years) to achieve a balanced distribution, with n = 100 per subgroup. Descriptive statistics are presented by age and age/sex. A total of N = 1009 respondents completed the survey (n = 508 females, n = 501 males). More than two thirds of participants (72.5%) reported at least one health condition, e.g., arthritis (26%). Across EORTC QLQ-C30 scales, women and men 60 years and older reported generally better/higher functioning and better/lower symptom scores compared to the younger age groups. To date, no specific EORTC QLQ-C30 general population normative data have been published for the United States. This paper provides these important normative data, which will greatly support the interpretation of EORTC QLQ-C30 scale scores obtained from US cancer patients, and also enable comparison with European norms. • EORTC QLQ-C30 is a cancer-specific health related quality of life (HRQoL) measure. • HRQoL normative data from US general population was collected (1009 respondents). • EORTC QLQ-C30 look-up tables for the US general population by sex/age are presented. • Participants ≥ 60 years reported overall better functioning than younger age groups. • Results will enhance interpretation and validity from EORTC QLQ-C30 data in the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ever since alexithymia was defined in the 1970s, robust associations have been observed between alexithymia and a variety of symptoms of psychopathology. Alexithymia is now widely regarded as an important transdiagnostic risk factor, and it is frequently assessed in clinical and research settings. However, despite this strong interest, it remains unclear exactly why (i.e., by which mechanisms) alexithymia is linked to psychopathology. In this paper, we hypothesise that alexithymia is linked to affective disorder symptoms because alexithymia impairs people's ability to regulate their emotions, and we empirically test this hypothesis.Method: We administered a battery of psychometric measures to 501 adults in the United States, and examined the direct and indirect effects between alexithymia (Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire), emotion regulation ability (Perth Emotion Regulation Competency Inventory), and affective disorder symptoms (Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21).Results: In the Pearson bivariate correlation matrix, alexithymia, emotion regulation difficulties, and affective disorder symptoms were all significantly correlated. In the modelling of direct and indirect effects, alexithymia was indirectly associated with affective disorder symptoms through emotion regulation difficulties (no significant direct effect).Limitations: Our online survey data were all self-report data and cross-sectional. Future longitudinal work would be beneficial.Conclusions: Our findings support contemporary theorising that alexithymia is linked to affective disorder symptoms via emotion regulation difficulties. These results help to clarify the mechanisms by which alexithymia may predispose people to affective disorder symptoms, and highlight the importance of considering the roles of alexithymia and emotion regulation in case conceptualisations and treatment planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adult vaccine rates remain low despite public health efforts. Despite the likelihood that underserved patients face more barriers to vaccination, little is known on the perceptions underserved patients have about vaccines as a whole. Additional information could guide health care providers in efforts to improve adult vaccination rates in the medically underserved population.Objectives: The primary objective of this survey was to assess perceived susceptibility to and severity of vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) and perceived safety and effectiveness of vaccines in a medically underserved population.Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive study evaluated vaccine perceptions using a self-administered paper survey in a free clinic providing care to uninsured, low-income adults. All patients with scheduled appointments in the clinic were eligible to participate. Two Likert-type items were used to define responses regarding trust and beliefs. Level of trust was defined as "Not at all" (1), "A little" (2), "Not sure" (3), "Some" (4), and "A lot" (5). Responses to vaccine belief items were defined as "Strongly disagree" (1), "Disagree" (2), "Neither agree nor disagree" (3), "Agree" (4), and "Strongly agree" (5). Statistical analyses were descriptive in nature.Results: Final analysis included 131 surveys. Health care providers were the most common patient-reported vaccine information source (73.3%) and the most trusted (median: 5). Despite clear agreement among respondents that vaccines are safe (median: 3.94) and effective (median: 4) in adults, with similar results regarding children, the results regarding personal risk from VPDs were less definitive (median: 3).Conclusion: Overall, survey responses in this uninsured, low-income population indicate that vaccines are perceived as safe and effective, but there is less consensus regarding the individual risk patients face from VPD. Focusing patient education on individual risk as much as overall vaccine safety and efficacy may help improve low adult vaccination rates in the medically underserved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This paper aims to analyze usage rates for the emergency contraceptive pill (ECP) among women living in the city of São Paulo and their associated factors.Study Design: A population based cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2015 with a probabilistic sample of 4,000 women aged 15 to 44 living in São Paulo, Brazil. Response rate for households was 75% and 77% for eligible women. Binary logistic regression models were used to describe the association between each outcome and selected variables.Results: A total of 51.4% of women living in the city of São Paulo had used ECP at least once in their lifetime. Women under 35 were more likely to use ECP, as were those with more than 9 years of schooling, having at least one live birth, not cohabiting with a partner, with more than two lifetime sexual partners and as length of sexual life decreased. Among ECP users, 32.6% used it only once, 47.5% used it 2 to 4 times, and 19.9% used it 5 or more times.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that ECPs have been incorporated into the contraceptive method mix for many women as a fundamental strategy for regulating fertility. Particularly young women, unmarried women and those who have had more partners seem to take greater advantage of ECP to prevent pregnancy.Implications: Despite the high use rate, lower levels of schooling are associated with lower levels of ECP use. There is a need for both policies to reduce schooling inequities and strategies to improve women's knowledge of reproduction and contraception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]