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Objectives During the perinatal period, 10-20% of women experience anxiety and/or depression. Untreated perinatal depression has the potential for adverse effects on the family and infant resulting in long-term deleterious consequences. This study measured the association between self-reported depression using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale scores, self-reported anxiety and neonatal birth outcomes. Methods A retrospective design was used with ObstetriX[TM] data retrieved from 16 metropolitan and rural hospitals in NSW, Australia during 2009-2014. Data were available for 53,646 singleton births. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was used to identify self-reported depression while women self-reported pregnancy related anxiety. Regression modelling measured the effects of self-reported depression and self-reported pregnancy related anxiety on neonatal birth outcomes. Linear regression and logistic regression were used to model the effect on birth weight, gestational age, admission to NICU or the SCN, outcome (stillborn vs livebirth), and Apgar scores. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate the effect on neonatal length of stay. Results Babies born to women self-reporting anxiety were more likely to have birth complications, be admitted to the nursery, had lower Apgar scores and longer hospital stays. Babies born to women self-identifying as experiencing a level of depression were more likely to have a lower birth weight, shorter gestational age, and, lower Apgar score. These babies were more likely to be admitted to the nursery with an increased length of stay. Conclusions Perinatal anxiety and depression contribute to poor birth outcomes. Early detection of maternal perinatal anxiety and depression is an important step towards treatment interventions. More research is needed to identify models of care that are effective in identifying and managing perinatal depression and anxiety to improve birth outcomes for women and their babies., Author(s): Eileen Dowse [sup.1] [sup.6] , Sally Chan [sup.3] [sup.4] [sup.7] , Lyn Ebert [sup.1] [sup.6] , Olivia Wynne [sup.5] , Susan Thomas [sup.2] , Donovan Jones [sup.1] [sup.3] [sup.8] [...]

To synthesise research describing the long-term unmet needs of carers who are providing care to a stroke survivor at home who is at least 3 months post-discharge. A systematic review with a narrative synthesis of the English-language qualitative and quantitative studies identified from MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, EMBASE, AMED, and Scopus was undertaken. Five quantitative studies, seven qualitative studies, and one mixed-method study were included in the review. Five themes of unmet needs were identified from the synthesis: (1) Obtaining adequate information, (2) Taking care of oneself, (3) Service accessibility, (4) Emotional and psychological, and (5) Relationship. Commonly reported needs across the 13 final studies included the need for support from health care and/or service providers, help with self-care, and help with coping and managing emotions. Variables associated with unmet needs included the severity of the stroke that the stroke survivor experienced and the length of hospital stay. Evidence from this review suggests that carers are experiencing a range of long-term unmet needs, particularly in education and training, coping and managing their own emotions, and accessing much-needed services. Recommendations to support carers at home include continuing engagement, assessment, and support from health care providers and services to meet the needs of carers throughout the stroke recovery process. Carers of stroke survivors experience complex long-term unmet needs around managing the recovery process of the stroke survivor when they have been discharged from hospital and returned home. Evidence suggests that continuing engagement and support from health care providers and services may assist carers in meeting their unmet needs. Healthcare professionals should provide help in accessing training and services. Support is required to help carers cope and to manage their emotions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The QuitNic pilot trial aimed to test the feasibility of providing a nicotine vaping product (NVP) compared with combination nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to smokers upon discharge from a smoke-free residential substance use disorder (SUD) treatment service.Methods: QuitNic was a pragmatic two-arm randomized controlled trial. At discharge from residential withdrawal, 100 clients received telephone Quitline behavioral support and either 12-week supply of NRT or an NVP. Treatment adherence and acceptability, self-reported abstinence, cigarettes smoked per day (CPD), frequency of cravings, and severity of withdrawal symptoms were assessed at 6 and 12 weeks. Results are reported for complete cases and for abstinence outcomes, penalized imputation results are reported where missing is assumed smoking.Results: Retention on was 63% at 6 weeks and 50% at 12 weeks. At 12 weeks, 68% of the NRT group reported using combination NRT while 96% of the NVP group used the device. Acceptability ratings for the products were high in both groups. At 12 weeks, 14% of the NVP group and 18% of the NRT group reported not smoking at all in the last 7 days. Mean CPD among continued smokers decreased significantly between baseline to 12 weeks in both groups; from 19.91 to 4.72 for the NVP group (p < .001) and from 20.88 to 5.52 in the NRT group (p < .001). Cravings and withdrawal symptoms significantly decreased for both groups.Conclusions: Clients completing residential withdrawal readily engaged with smoking cessation post-treatment when given the opportunity. Further research is required to identify the most effective treatments postwithdrawal for this population at elevated risk of tobacco-related harm.Trial Registration Number: ACTRN12617000849392.Implications: This pilot study showed that smoking cessation support involving options for nicotine replacement and Quitline-delivered cognitive behavioral counseling is attractive to people after they have been discharged from SUD treatment. Both nicotine vaping products and nicotine replacement therapies were highly acceptable and used by participants who reported reductions in cravings for cigarettes and perceptions of withdrawal symptoms and reductions in number of cigarettes smoked. Some participants self-reported abstinence from cigarettes-around one in five reported having quit smoking cigarettes at 12 weeks postdischarge. The results have significant public health implications for providing quit support following discharge from SUD treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Content produced by caregivers of stroke survivors on the online video-sharing platform YouTube may be a good source of knowledge regarding caregivers' unmet needs. We aimed to examine the content, quantity and quality of YouTube videos that target and discuss the needs and concerns of caregivers of stroke survivors. YouTube was systematically searched using six search strings, and the first 20 videos retrieved from each search were screened against the inclusion criteria. A pre-determined coding schedule was used to report the rate of unmet needs in each video. Twenty-six videos were included in the analysis. In total, 291 unmet needs were reported by caregivers of stroke survivors, an average of 11.2 unmet needs per video. The most common unmet needs domain was 'Impact of Caregiving on Daily Activities' (44%). Most videos were developed in the United States (61.5%) and featured spouses of stroke survivors (65.47%). Content produced by caregivers of stroke survivors on YouTube may be used as a tool for caregivers to provide and receive support through online communication. YouTube videos offer insight into the unmet needs of caregivers of stroke survivors and may be used as an additional resource for stroke services to support caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Google is the most used search engine in the world, and likely to be used by caregivers of stroke survivors to find online forums and online communities to connect with other caregivers. This study aims to identify the types of websites accessed by caregivers of stroke survivors to connect with other caregivers, and analyse the online content produced by caregivers to identify their unmet needs. The first 20 websites from eight search strings entered into Google were systematically reviewed. Unmet needs on included websites were identified using a pre-determined coding schedule. Six websites were analysed. Most were discussion boards (n = 5, 83%) developed by organisations in the United States (n = 4, 66.6%). Overall, 2124 unmet needs appeared in 896 posts from caregivers. 'Emotional and psychological' were the most reported needs across posts (n = 765, 36%). Content produced on websites may address social isolation and provide insight into delivering and developing services to meet the needs of caregivers of stroke survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]