We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
To save content items to your account,
please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies.
If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account.
Find out more about saving content to .
To save content items to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org
is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings
on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part
of your Kindle email address below.
Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations.
‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi.
‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Aims: Serious mental illness is associated with higher rates of sexual assault and gynaecological cancers, alongside pre-menstrual disorders and the menopause which can be implicated in psychiatric presentation, relapse or treatment resistance. This project aimed to ensure better screening and referral for sexual and reproductive health issues in order to improve relevant health outcomes.
Methods: Two pre-existing health-recording forms were highlighted to nursing staff and encouraged using information posters placed in staff areas. Six individual referral pathways were developed for doctors’ use. Data was collected pre- and post-intervention including proportion of forms completed, abnormalities identified, appropriate follow-up initiated, and time spent carrying out these tasks. Reasons for non-completion were analysed. PDSA cycles were used to guide improvements and increase engagement.
Results: Prior to intervention, 53% of patients had the ‘women’s physical health’ (WPH) form completed, 0% the contraception form. Despite 59% of these finding abnormalities, 0% were referred for investigation or treatment (32 patients over a 2-month period August–September 2024). Post-intervention, completion of the forms remained static at 50% of WPH and 0% of contraception forms, though detected abnormalities rose to 88% and appropriate referrals to 40%. Of the remaining 60%, 7 patients identified as requiring a referral declined, most commonly refusing a smear test. 1 further patient was too unwell to engage. Overall patient group size was similar with 34 patients over a 2-month period November 2024–January 2025. Average time for form-reviewing and referring was 6.9 minutes per patient. Independently of the forms, 1 patient who remained admitted throughout both data periods was followed up for 3 separate issues, and 4 patients without completed forms were noted to have concerns, and subsequently referred appropriately.
Conclusion: Though patient referrals increased from 0 to 40% after the referrals guide was created, the proportion of concerns addressed remained low. Patient education is a key target for improvement, specifically cervical screening, and eye-catching patient education posters are to be displayed on the ward for this purpose. Form-completion rates did not improve, suggesting further engagement with nursing colleagues and specific time-allocation for completion would be of benefit. Perhaps most significantly, the increased identification of reproductive and sexual health concerns of patients without a completed form highlighted the team’s increased awareness of these issues. This suggests that clinician education can help in utilising inpatient admission as an opportunity to improve sexual and reproductive health for women with serious mental illness.
Edited by
David Mabey, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine,Martin W. Weber, World Health Organization,Moffat Nyirenda, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine,Dorothy Yeboah-Manu, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana,Jackson Orem, Uganda Cancer Institute, Kampala,Laura Benjamin, University College London,Michael Marks, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine,Nicholas A. Feasey, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
There are approximately 25 major helminth (worm) infections of humans that all, to some extent, have public health significance, but amongst the most common of all human infections are the intestinal nematodes (also called soil-transmitted helminths; STH): the roundworm, Ascaris lumbricoides; the hookworms, Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale; and the whipworm, Trichuris trichiura. The burden of other intestinal nematodes, including Strongyloides stercoralis and Enterobius vermicularis, are ill-defined due to practical difficulties in diagnosing sub-clinical infections. Cestodes are also of major public health and economic importance.
Edited by
David Mabey, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine,Martin W. Weber, World Health Organization,Moffat Nyirenda, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine,Dorothy Yeboah-Manu, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana,Jackson Orem, Uganda Cancer Institute, Kampala,Laura Benjamin, University College London,Michael Marks, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine,Nicholas A. Feasey, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) is an imprecisely defined clinical syndrome, characterized by fever, bleeding tendency and multi-organ failure. It can be caused by several diverse viruses, including members of the Filoviridae, Arenaviridae, Flaviviridae, Bunyaviridae, Nairoviridae and possibly also the Rhabdoviridae families. The commonest pathogens detected in outbreaks of VHF include Lassa, Rift Valley fever virus, Ebola/Marburg viruses, Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHF) and yellow fever virus. Many of these viruses are classified as biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) pathogens, requiring high biocontainment measures both in clinical care of affected patients and in the laboratory setting. The viruses are maintained endemically in nature, with animals or insects serving as natural reservoirs. Table 40.1 gives an overview of the ecology and epidemiology of these viruses. All of these viruses have the potential to cause epidemics in humans.
This chapter in Complex Ethics Consultations: Cases that Haunt Us, the authors describe a 9-year-old girl newly diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She experienced virtually every side effect, reducing the normally high cure rate to 20%–50%. When remission was short, she would need high-dose chemotherapy. The child repeatedly said she would rather die than go through more treatment. Her parents were aligned with her wishes. The attending physician thought withdrawal was paramount to child abuse and soon the decision was left to the court. Parents decided to permit low-dose chemotherapy. The family’s lawyer developed warm relationships with the family, while the ethicist was the “enemy,” representing the hospital. They feared for the patient, who died months later.
The purpose of this study was to measure meal quality in representative samples of schoolchildren in three cities located in different Brazilian regions using the Meal and Snack Assessment Quality (MESA) scale and examine association with weight status, socio-demographic characteristics and behavioural variables. This cross-sectional study analysed data on 5612 schoolchildren aged 7–12 years who resided in cities in Southern, Southeastern and Northeastern Brazil. Dietary intake was evaluated using the WebCAAFE questionnaire. Body weight and height were measured to calculate the BMI. Weight status was classified based on age- and sex-specific Z-scores. Meal quality was measured using the MESA scale. Associations of meal quality with weight status and socio-demographic and behavioural variables were investigated using multinomial regression analysis. Schoolchildren in Feira de Santana, São Paulo and Florianópolis had a predominance of healthy (41·8 %), mixed (44·4 %) and unhealthy (42·7 %) meal quality, respectively. There was no association with weight status. Schoolchildren living in Feira de Santana, those who reported weekday dietary intakes, and those with lower physical activity and screen activity scores showed higher meal quality. Schoolchildren aged 10–12 years, those who reported dietary intakes relative to weekend days, and those with higher screen activity scores exhibited lower meal quality.
Effective, continuing professional development opportunities provide veterinarians with the necessary skills to uphold animal welfare standards. In India, surgical neutering is integral in successfully managing the large, free-roaming dog population; the delivery of skills-based, training opportunities which result in long-term behavioural changes remains challenging. Indian veterinarians attending a 12-day, practically focused, training programme on canine surgical neutering, completed a questionnaire prior to the commencement of training and 10–12 months afterwards. Questions explored the programme’s impact on their attitudes, working practices, and retained knowledge. A total of 207 participants completed both questionnaires. Ten to 12 months after attendance, most participants reported increased confidence undertaking common surgical and clinical tasks; they felt both motivated and able to use their newly acquired knowledge and skills in their workplace, with some peer-to-peer skills transfer opportunities. Many reported high levels of employer engagement resulting in improvements in the workplace, including equipment investment. Evidence for sustained improvements in working practices were noted in four key areas: surgical practices, use of perioperative analgesia, use of perioperative antibiotics, and post-operative wound management. Average knowledge scores in four areas (surgical skills, peri-operative analgesia, post-operative antibiotics and post-operative care) increased significantly 10–12 months after the training programme as compared to before, after accounting for other participants’ characteristics. These findings provide evidence for sustained improvements in workplace practices and patient care after attending a skills-based training opportunity, with a concomitant positive impact on standards of animal welfare. Furthermore, it may inform the development and implementation of future, educational, outcomes-focused training initiatives.
Workers’ rights and conditions have not been at the core of the Islamic Republic’s main policies, especially from the 1990s onward. The existent labor law offers far-reaching exemptions and loopholes that make it possible to circumvent workers’ rights, while prohibitions on independent unions deprive workers of the legal tools to claim their rights. This chapter gives a detailed analysis of the evolution of labor regulation and reform in postrevolutionary Iran, building on primary research and interviews with industrial workers, scholars, and legal experts, conducted in Iran. In particular, the chapter demonstrates how, from Rafsanjani’s neoliberal turn to Rouhani’s presidency, labor casualization and job insecurity have gradually – and systematically – undermined working conditions, exposing workers to severe exploitation and limiting their legal protection. The presidents’ policies have not been equally detrimental, as the values behind every administration, as well as the general economic contexts, influenced their choices: from Rafsanjani’s market-oriented rhetoric to Khatami’s participatory narrative of civil society, Ahmadinejad’s conservative populism to Rouhani’s business-friendly pragmatism.
Objectives/Goals: As translational science (TS) emerges as a field, there is a need for research organizations to understand how to develop capacity for and support the advancement of TS. To support such institutional and infrastructural change, this poster outlines a Translational Science Promotion and Research Capacity (T-SPARC) framework. Methods/Study Population: The T-SPARC framework was developed by members of the Duke University Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) primarily from CTSI Pilots, Team Science, Evaluation, and Administration, all of whom had identified the need for building institutional capacity for TS at our institution. The group reviewed literature on TS to ensure grounding in current knowledge, drafted an initial TS logic model, and then determined the value of developing a framework addressing building TS institutional capacity. The group then identified other frameworks/models related to behavioral, organizational, and system change; examined scholarship addressing the building of research capacity in colleges and universities; and iterated on a TS-focused framework in multiple working sessions. Results/Anticipated Results: The resultant T-SPARC framework provides a foundation to 1) inform the development of interventions and programs advancing TS and 2) evaluate their effectiveness. It outlines: organizational levels for TS capacity building (large-scale systems, research institutions, teams, and individuals); intervention activities (policies and processes, funding, collaboration and partnership, and training); proximal outcomes (knowledge/attitudes, behaviors, resources/infrastructure, and connections); next-stage outcomes (e.g., interdisciplinary team processes, and research infrastructure); and ultimate goals (fewer translational impediments, improved public health, and health equity). It ingrates TS principles as foundational to, and outcomes of, capacity-building efforts. Discussion/Significance of Impact: T-SPARC, as a framework for building capacity in TS, provides added foundation for advancing the conceptualization and practice of TS. Ultimately, T-SPARC seeks to advance broader goals of reducing longstanding challenges in the translational research process and improving health outcomes.
Sylvia Wynter’s sociogenic principle, Chiara Bottici’s feminist mythology, and Denise Ferreira da Silva’s Black feminist praxis of hacking, all underscore the importance of working through the myths, codes, and origin stories that discursively form our world. We identify the biblical story of Solomon’s judgment as an origin story which constitutes an understanding of justice in matters of reproduction that is still hegemonic today, and that must be subverted to realize the Black feminist aim of reproductive justice. Through Solomon’s judgment, justice in reproduction got established as what Édouard Glissant terms, an “obsession with the chain of affiliation” inscribed with the “tragedy of miscegenation,” capturing the maternal in the arché-form of the future subject. We differentiate between the patriarchal configuration of “justice in reproduction” and the feminist concept “reproductive justice,” which is a popular, strong, and important activist concept. To arrive at reproductive justice, a “hack” of the patriarchal configuration of justice in Solomon’s judgment is orchestrated: through a radical affirmation of the events of both abortion and birth, we aim to “explode” the narrative code that constitutes the hegemonic patriarchal understanding of justice, in order to liberate the captive maternal and reimagine reproductive justice within a true feminist mythology.
While malnutrition (including both undernutrition and overweight/obesity and related non-communicable diseases) remains a persistent challenge in countries around the world, it is far from alone as a threat to human development and wellbeing – and is increasingly viewed as intersecting with climate change and environmental degradation. At the crossroads of these issues, animal-source foods (ASFs, including meat, fish, seafood, dairy and eggs) have attracted considerable attention in recent years, both for their role in diets and for their environmental impacts. Heated debate has focused on the potential benefits of reducing consumption of ASFs as well as the potential nutritional risks associated with this. ASF production also plays an important role in livelihoods, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. ASFs are also central to many food cultures and traditions, highly valued by many consumers. As the issues associated with ASFs are intertwined, they must be considered jointly and with nuance. Given wide global ranges in ASF consumption, environmental footprints and malnutrition rates and types, considering equity (in terms of ASF consumption and production) is also critical. This review examines these complex issues, discussing ASFs from the perspectives of nutrition and health, environmental impacts, livelihoods and society, and equity. It also examines potential future options for reducing environmental impacts of ASFs.
The H* ~ L + H* pitch accent contrast in English has been a matter of lengthy debate, with some arguing that L + H* is an emphatic version of H* and others that the accents are phonetically and pragmatically distinct. Empirical evidence is inconclusive, possibly because studies do not consider dialectal variation and individual variability. We focused on Standard Southern British English (SSBE), which has not been extensively investigated with respect to this contrast, and used Rapid Prosody Transcription (RPT) to examine differences in prominence based on accent form and function. L + H*s were rated more prominent than H*s but only when the former were used for contrast and the latter were not, indicating that participants had expectations about the form–function connection. However, they also differed substantially in which they considered primary (form or function). We replicated both the general findings and the patterns of individual variability with a second RPT study which also showed that the relative prioritization of form or function related to participant differences in empathy, musicality and autistic-like traits. In conclusion, the two accents are used to encode different pragmatics, though the form–function mapping is not clear-cut, suggesting a marginal contrast that not every SSBE speaker shares and attends to.
The Brazilian Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Network (REBRATS) dates to 2008, when the Ministry of Health (MoH) launched a call to register Brazil’s first HTA groups to promote and disseminate HTA in the country. To understand whether this strategy is succeeding, this paper evaluated the actions of REBRATS and the degree of advancement of the HTA field in Brazil.
Methods
The following data on the composition of REBRATS were collected and analyzed: the number of HTA groups and professionals registered in the network, the number of professionals that have benefited from qualifying courses, and the evolution of the Brazilian National Committee for Health Technology Incorporation (CONITEC).
Results
REBRATS expanded from 24 HTA groups to 112 groups in 2023, which includes over 800 professionals. From 2019 to 2023, the MoH financed over 90 courses, which have benefited more than 1,000 professionals. More HTA groups (from five to 23) have been hired to support CONITEC, enabling it to respond to a higher demand and more complex topics. These groups have been contributing to the development of HTA by assisting the MoH in defining a cost-effectiveness threshold; evolving the assessment of medical devices and new technologies (i.e., gene and targeted therapies); and creating methodological guideline–there will be 21 by 2024.
Conclusions
Although the composition and technical capability of its member groups vary greatly, REBRATS has consolidated itself as a key strategy to support decision-making regarding technologies.
Diabetes has been shown to influence the individual’s work productivity in terms of both presenteeism (reduced productivity while at work) and absenteeism (absence from work because of illness). We sought to estimate the potential productivity gains associated with the modification of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in type 2 diabetes (T2D) over the next 10 years in Australia, from 2023 to 2032.
Methods
Dynamic models were structured to estimate productivity-adjusted life years (PALYs) lived by Australians aged 20 to 69 years. The model simulation was first undertaken assuming currently expected trends in the incidence of myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke in T2D (original cohort), as calculated using the 2013 PCE-ASCVD algorithm. Subsequent models were then re-simulated using hypothetical scenarios that reflected the potential benefits of CVD reduction using published trials. The model was also repeated assuming that the original cohort has no CVD. Differences in PALYs lived by the “original cohort” and the different cohorts with reduced CVD risk reflected the PALYs gained. Sensitivity analyses were conducted.
Results
Using data from published studies, the model assumed a reduction of 50 percent in systolic blood pressure (SBP), a reduction of 50 percent in smoking, 50 percent increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), and a reduction of 35 percent in incidence of T2D. Over the working lifetime, from 2023 to 2032, reducing SBP, smoking, and incidence of T2D led to the gain of 140,105, 333,127, and 998,805 PALYs, respectively. Further, increasing HDL and assuming the original cohort with T2D has no CVD are expected to lead to the gain of 71,623 and 889,455 PALYs, respectively. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of study findings.
Conclusions
The impact of CVD as a complication from T2D on work productivity is significant. Screening and prevention strategies tailored early in life are likely to exert a positive impact on health and work productivity.
Traditional wisdom dictates that statistical model outputs are estimates, not measurements. Despite this, statistical models are employed as measurement instruments in the social sciences. In this article, I scrutinize the use of a specific model—the logit model—for psychological measurement. Given the adoption of a criterion for measurement that I call comparability, I show that the logit model fails to yield measurements due to properties that follow from its fixed residual variance.
The literature on representation has shown that those who reflect the characteristics, traits, and/or experiences of a group (descriptive representation) are more likely to represent that group’s interests (substantive representation). In this paper, we argue that questions about representation should be considered with regard to generational identity. Drawing upon research that shows the importance of the Millennial Generation identity for understanding Millennials’ attitudes and policy preferences, we look at whether this identity matters for the legislative representation of group interests by examining bill sponsorship activity in 31 state legislatures. Our results tentatively support the expectation that the Millennial generation identity conditions the sponsorship of Millennial interest bills. Millennial legislators are more likely than non-Millennial legislators to sponsor bills that disproportionately impact their group members. This result is observed among both Democrat and Republican legislators, but at different magnitudes and for different issue priorities. These findings suggest that the Millennial generation identity is a meaningful determinant of legislative behavior, even when examined alongside partisanship.
We compare two initial specimen diversion devices evaluated over 3 months to investigate their utility in lowering blood culture contamination rates at or below 1%. Overall contamination rates during trial periods were 2.46% and 2.60% but usage was low, whereas device-specific contamination rates were 0.68% and 0.8%, respectively.
This study aimed to identify meal and snack patterns and assess their association with sleep timing in schoolchildren. This is a cross-sectional study carried out in 2018/2019 with 1333 schoolchildren aged 7–14 years from public and private schools in Florianópolis, Brazil. Previous-day dietary intake data for breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, dinner and evening snack were collected using a validated online questionnaire. Sleep timing was measured by the midpoint of sleep and classified as quartiles (very early, early, late and very late). Latent class analysis was performed to identify meal and snack patterns, and multinomial logistic regression was used to assess associations. Students with very late sleep timing were less likely to consume the ‘coffee with milk, bread and cheese’ breakfast pattern compared with very early group. Also, the former were more likely to consume the ‘mixed’ breakfast pattern (healthy and unhealthy foods) compared with very early students. The latter were more likely to eat the ‘Brazilian traditional, processed meat, egg and fish’ lunch pattern to the late students and less likely to consume the ‘pasta and cheese’ lunch pattern compared with the students with later sleep timing. Students with later sleep timing were more likely to eat ultra-processed food at mid-afternoon snacks compared with early group. The study findings suggest that morning preference appears to promote healthier breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack patterns, whereas later sleep timing may pose challenges in maintaining healthy patterns at these meals/snacks.