Sexting prevalence and correlates: a systematic literature review

Despite considerable controversy and speculation regarding sexting behaviour and its associated risks, to date there has been no integration and analysis of empirical literature on this topic. To collect and synthesise findings of the prevalence of sexting, its correlates, and the context in which it occurs, a systematic search of databases was conducted. Thirty-one studies, reporting on sexting prevalence and a diverse range of related variables, met inclusion criteria. The estimated mean prevalence weighted by sample size was calculated, with trends indicating sexting is more prevalent amongst adults than adolescents, older age is predictive of sexting for adolescents but not adults, and more individuals report receiving sexts than sending them. The correlates of sexting behaviour were grouped in terms of demographic variables, sexual and sexual risk behaviours, attitudes towards sexting, perceived outcomes of sexting, motivations for sexting, mental health and well-being variables, and attachment dimensions. Findings are discussed in terms of the trends indicated by the data, which provided substantiation that sexting behaviour is associated with numerous behavioural, psychological, and social factors. Limitations of the current research literature and future directions are also presented.

Self-management programmes in stages 1–4 chronic kidney disease: a literature review

Background
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a complex health problem, which requires individuals to invest considerable time and energy in managing their health and adhering to multifaceted treatment regimens.

Objectives
To review studies delivering self-management interventions to people with CKD (Stages 1–4) and assess whether these interventions improve patient outcomes.

Design
Systematic review.

Methods
Nine electronic databases (MedLine, CINAHL, EMBASE, ProQuest Health & Medical Complete, ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health, The Cochrane Library, The Joanna Briggs Institute EBP Database, Web of Science and PsycINFO) were searched using relevant terms for papers published between January 2003 and February 2013.

Results
The search strategy identified 2,051 papers, of which 34 were retrieved in full with only 5 studies involving 274 patients meeting the inclusion criteria. Three studies were randomised controlled trials, a variety of methods were used to measure outcomes, and four studies included a nurse on the self-management intervention team. There was little consistency in the delivery, intensity, duration and format of the self-management programmes. There is some evidence that knowledge- and health-related quality of life improved. Generally, small effects were observed for levels of adherence and progression of CKD according to physiologic measures.

Conclusion
The effectiveness of self-management programmes in CKD (Stages 1–4) cannot be conclusively ascertained, and further research is required. It is desirable that individuals with CKD are supported to effectively self-manage day-to-day aspects of their health.

Q-fever and Australian farmers: is the health system paying enough attention? A literature review

Introduction: Q-fever is caused by Coxiella burnetii, a Gram-negative bacterium and Rickettsia-like organism. Transmitted from wild and domestic animals to humans, the most common route is inhalation of contaminated dust; however the oral route can be considered as a second pathway. Aim: to understand the reasons behind not including farming workforce and their families in the national vaccinations program. Discussion: In 1977 Q-fever became a notifiable disease nationally. Australia is the only country to have a registered Q-fever vaccine. As a result of the cost of the vaccine, Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) supply and subsidised program arrangements are based on the active cases count per year (by occupation), rather than for occupations that expose workers to high level of possible "risk". Conclusion: Australian farmers, farm managers, farm workers and their families need to be well educated about Q-fever and included in the national vaccination program.

Clinical placements in mental health: a literature review

Gaining experience in clinical mental health settings is central to the education of health practitioners. To facilitate the ongoing development of knowledge and practice in this area, we performed a review of the literature on clinical placements in mental health settings. Searches in Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, Medline and PsycINFO databases returned 244 records, of which 36 met the selection criteria for this review. Five additional papers were obtained through scanning the reference lists of those papers included from the initial search. The evidence suggests that clinical placements may have multiple benefits (e.g. improving students' skills, knowledge, attitudes towards people with mental health issues and confidence, as well as reducing their fears and anxieties about working in mental health). The location and structure of placements may affect outcomes, with mental health placements in non-mental health settings appearing to have minimal impact on key outcomes. The availability of clinical placements in mental health settings varies considerably among education providers, with some students completing their training without undertaking such structured clinical experiences. Students have generally reported that their placements in mental health settings have been positive and valuable experiences, but have raised concerns about the amount of support they received from education providers and healthcare staff. Several strategies have been shown to enhance clinical placement experiences (e.g. providing students with adequate preparation in the classroom, implementing learning contracts and providing clinical supervision). Educators and healthcare staff need to work together for the betterment of student learning and the healthcare professions.

Diagnosis and management of oral leishmaniasis--case series and literature review

The worldwide prevalence of leishmaniasis is increasing because of ecologic changes and increased medical profession awareness. Furthermore, solitary cases have been recently reported in Western countries. The authors describe the epidemiology, mode of transmission, and diagnosis of leishmaniasis and present 4 oral cases treated with systemic, localized, or combined therapy. The authors suggest that clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for atypical, resistant, oral and perioral lesions in individuals with a history of traveling in certain geographic regions. After diagnosis, treatment should be determined jointly by experts from the fields of oral and maxillofacial surgery, oral medicine, and dermatology based on leishmaniasis species and clinical presentation.

Supporting informal caregivers of people with advanced cancer: a literature review

Informal carers are people who provide care without a specific professional role. They provide diverse caregiving supports including disease-related problems, side effects of treatment and psychosocial impacts. This paper reports on a comprehensive review of caregiving literature, focusing specifically on cancer caregivers. The paper presents five observations drawn from the literature in order to make recommendations about how caregivers of people with advanced cancer can best be supported. The observations are: 1) caregivers are a heterogeneous group; 2) they have unique needs that differ to the patient; 3) their role includes more than attending to physical caregiving tasks; 4) they may feel unable to take a break from the role and 5) they need their own support which may be beneficial to their capacity to continue in the caregiving role. Recommendations for how health professionals can assist in supporting caregivers in their role are discussed.

Sport-for-development: an integrated literature review

Despite the significant increase of published research in sport-for-development (SFD), to date there have been no attempts to rigorously review and synthesize scholarly contributions in this area. To address this issue, we conducted an integrative review of SFD literature to portray an overarching and holistic picture of the field. Through a comprehensive literature analysis following Whittemore and Knafl’s (2005) five-step process, we provide evidence of the status quo of current SFD research foci, authorship, geographical contexts, theoretical frameworks, sport activity, level of development, methodologies, methods, and key research findings. Our study shows an increasing trend of journal publications since 2000, with a strong focus on social and educational outcomes related to youth sport and with football (soccer) as the most common activity. A large majority of SFD research has been conducted at the community level, where qualitative approaches are dominant. The geographical contexts of authorship and study location present an interesting paradox: Although the majority of SFD projects are carried out in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, 90% of SFD authors are based in North America, Europe, and Australia. We conclude our study by providing new perspectives on key issues in SFD and by outlining current research and theoretical gaps that provide the basis for future scholarly inquiry.

Factors influencing compliance to universal precautions in healthcare workers: a systematic literature review

Background: Occupational exposure to blood borne viruses involving hollow bore needles is one of the most commonly reported adverse events affecting staff in the National Health Service in the UK. Universal Precautions Guidelines were originally developed in 1987 in order to minimise the risk of contact with body fluid. Universal precautions not only protect staff against blood borne pathogens but are also considered as an efficient mean to reduce the spread of pathogens from patients to patients via healthcare workers.Aim of the study: The aim of this study was to identify and evaluate the objective evidence on factors influencing healthcare workers compliance to universal precautions through a systematic literature review.Methodology: This systematic review was conducted in 2009 and studies were retrieved through electronic databases, manual journal searches and communications with experts in the field. Studies of cross sectional survey design and observational design were included in the review as they constituted the most commonly used research design evaluating compliance to universal precautions.A quality checklist was developed based on existing assessment criteria.Findings: Studies conducted to ascertain compliance to universal precautions are plentiful but remain of low quality. Sixty studies were retrieved and evaluated for potential inclusion in this study. Four studies met the inclusion criteria. Three were of cross-sectional survey design and one of direct observational design.Conclusions: Uptake of universal precautions remains low despite known benefits. Lack of time, resources and lack of knowledge have been shown as being factors negatively influencing healthcare workers compliance with universal precautions.This paper also highlights the issues surrounding the inclusion of low grade evidence in systematic literature reviews and the implications of reviews including low grade evidence on practice.Type of article: Research paperKeywords: systematic review, universal precautions, standard precautions, compliance, healthcare worker.

Empirical studies of pair programming for CS/SE teaching in higher education: a systematic literature review

The objective of this paper is to present the current evidence relative to the effectiveness of pair programming (PP) as a pedagogical tool in higher education CS/SE courses. We performed a systematic literature review (SLR) of empirical studies that investigated factors affecting the effectiveness of PP for CS/SE students and studies that measured the effectiveness of PP for CS/SE students. Seventy-four papers were used in our synthesis of evidence, and 14 compatibility factors that can potentially affect PP's effectiveness as a pedagogical tool were identified. Results showed that students' skill level was the factor that affected PP's effectiveness the most. The most common measure used to gauge PP's effectiveness was time spent on programming. In addition, students' satisfaction when using PP was overall higher than when working solo. Our meta-analyses showed that PP was effective in improving students' grades on assignments. Finally, in the studies that used quality as a measure of effectiveness, the number of test cases succeeded, academic performance, and expert opinion were the quality measures mostly applied. The results of this SLR show two clear gaps in this research field: 1) a lack of studies focusing on pair compatibility factors aimed at making PP an effective pedagogical tool and 2) a lack of studies investigating PP for software design/modeling tasks in conjunction with programming tasks.

The effect of software engineers' personality traits on team climate and performance: a systematic literature review

Context Over the past 50 years numerous studies have investigated the possible effect that software engineers' personalities may have upon their individual tasks and teamwork. These have led to an improved understanding of that relationship; however, the analysis of personality traits and their impact on the software development process is still an area under investigation and debate. Further, other than personality traits, "team climate" is also another factor that has also been investigated given its relationship with software teams' performance. Objective The aim of this paper is to investigate how software professionals' personality is associated with team climate and team performance. Method In this paper we detail a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of the effect of software engineers' personality traits and team climate on software team performance. Results Our main findings include 35 primary studies that have addressed the relationship between personality and team performance without considering team climate. The findings showed that team climate comprises a wide range of factors that fall within the fields of management and behavioral sciences. Most of the studies used undergraduate students as subjects and as surrogates of software professionals. Conclusions The findings from this SLR would be beneficial for understanding the personality assessment of software development team members by revealing the traits of personality taxonomy, along with the measurement of the software development team working environment. These measurements would be useful in examining the success and failure possibilities of software projects in development processes. General terms Human factors, performance.

Understanding and development of supply chain agility and flexibility: a structured literature review

This paper provides a review of the literature while contributing to academic understanding of the concepts of agility and flexibility within the supply chain. The research identified 83 peer-reviewed articles through a structured review technique, which is based on a three-stage refinement process. Data reduction procedures using codification, sentence strings and a review of keywords, title, abstract and conclusion were used in the search. The papers identified focused on organizational and supply chain agility and flexibility. The acknowledged gaps in understanding and development of agility and flexibility in supply chains were identified and categorized in terms of conceptual, contextual and methodological gaps. Subsequent to the gap analysis, this paper argues that effective relationship integration with key partners is a fundamental mechanism for mitigating the problem of control dissipation, which has hindered academic understanding with respect to development and application of agile and flexible capabilities in supply chains. The findings in this paper will help academics to gain a better understanding and to develop the concepts of supply chain agility and flexibility. In addition, the findings indicate that supply chain stakeholders need to address the issue of relationship integration when undertaking, or participating in agility and flexibility development programmes, so as to maximize supply chain performance. The paper concludes by highlighting implications for managers and researchers, and proposes a number of areas for future investigation.