Atenção à criança no período neonatal: chamada neonatal, Rio Grande do Norte, 2010

The neonatal period, which includes the first 27 da ys postpartum, is a vulnerability phase in child health, making it necessary for a greater mon itoring by health professional through actions that add value to the binomial mother/child and comprehensive care to the newborn. To this end, this study aimed to evaluate the care actions the neonato from the strategies recommended by the Ministry of Health. This is a cr oss-sectional study carried out from the database of the national survey of population base entitled "Call Neonatal: evaluation of prenatal care and to children younger than one year old in the North and Northeast regions". It used as the sample unit the mothers and children yo unger than 1-year-old, costal residents of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil, who attended th e vaccination campaign on June 12, 2010 in nine municipality’s priority for the Pact to Red uce Infant and Neonatal Mortality. To compose the study variables were selected issues/ac tions regarding the neonatal period and socio-demographic factors, followed by a descriptiv e and inferential analysis. A sample of 837 mother/child pairs was obtained, being 57.6% in capital and 42.4% in the whole from the interiors, which was weighted to represent the muni cipalities of the State. It was predominated by mothers aged between 20-29 years, complete high school, not entitled to income transfer program and male children (51.2%). The frequency of the actions of the hospital ranged from 35% to 96% and those performed at the Basic Health Unit (BHU) from 57% to 91.2%. Most actions had an association with hospitals and publi c nature of the state capital (p<0.05). The results for most of the actions are recommended in the care programs and policies for children, and reveal the regional inequities in hea lth and the need for the involvement of services and professionals in search of comprehensi ve care for enabling better care through humanized practices during this increased vulnerabi lity period.

Construção e validação do instrumento de investigação do conhecimento de gestantes sobre sua saúde bucal e a do seu bebê: perspectiva do cuidado em saúde

INTRODUCTION: Humanized and quality prenatal and post-partum care is critical to maternal and newborn health, as well as oral health care. Currently, the National Oral Health Policy is aiming at expanding dental care for pregnant women. Thus, the promotion of oral health and attention to prenatal care policies should be integrated; however, there is still limited participation of pregnant women. Thus, it is necessary to verify the knowledge of pregnant women related to oral health, seeking to estimate the quality of dental care provided during prenatal care, being essential for the Family Health strategy to organize personnel, plan costs and to ensure the quality standard of care. OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a research instrument on the knowledge of pregnant women about their oral health and of their baby. METHOD: This is a construction and validation study with 93 pregnant women in Family Health Units and specialized private clinics in Obstetrics, in the city of Natal / RN. It was authorized by the Onofre Lopes University Hospital Ethics Committee of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) under the registration number 421.163/13. The construction of the instrument followed steps so that it was valid, reliable and sensitive: creation and reduction of the items (drafting of the instrument), content validity and testing of the instrument, and hypotheses validation. Once constructed, the instrument was evaluated by experts who suggested modifications. There was consultation with the target population about the new version of the created instrument, which had the instrument validation verified by internal consistency through intra and inter-calibration and test-retest. Next, the hypotheses were validated. A database was built in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 22.0. After creating the hypotheses, an association was found for validating the criteria between each of the specific issues for each established criteria, considering a 5% significance level. Data analysis was carried out by describing the absolute and relative frequencies of the variables pertaining to issues relating to their pregnancy knowledge about their oral health and their baby. The Kappa coefficient was used for the calibration process (Inter and Intra-examiner calibration) and Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to analyze instrument reproducibility (test-retest). In addition, the chi-square test was used to cross the dependent variable with the (dichotomized) independent variables. RESULTS: The intra and inter agreement analysis presented a Kappa coefficient between 0.400 and 1.000. Internal consistency through the analysis showed that 90% of the instrument's questions showed great reliability in the answers (Cronbach α ˃ 0.7). In the investigation of the relationship between the dependent variable (knowledge about oral health) and the independent variables (trimester of pregnancy, education, income and multiparous), it was found that none of these independent variables were significantly associated. All hypotheses had their Ho confirmed. CONCLUSION: The constructed instrument was validated, considering that it showed to be sensitive with good reliability and good accuracy, and therefore can be used to assess pregnant women’s knowledge about their oral health and the oral health of their baby.

Construção e validação do instrumento de investigação do conhecimento de gestantes sobre sua saúde bucal e a do seu bebê: perspectiva do cuidado em saúde

INTRODUCTION: Humanized and quality prenatal and post-partum care is critical to maternal and newborn health, as well as oral health care. Currently, the National Oral Health Policy is aiming at expanding dental care for pregnant women. Thus, the promotion of oral health and attention to prenatal care policies should be integrated; however, there is still limited participation of pregnant women. Thus, it is necessary to verify the knowledge of pregnant women related to oral health, seeking to estimate the quality of dental care provided during prenatal care, being essential for the Family Health strategy to organize personnel, plan costs and to ensure the quality standard of care. OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a research instrument on the knowledge of pregnant women about their oral health and of their baby. METHOD: This is a construction and validation study with 93 pregnant women in Family Health Units and specialized private clinics in Obstetrics, in the city of Natal / RN. It was authorized by the Onofre Lopes University Hospital Ethics Committee of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) under the registration number 421.163/13. The construction of the instrument followed steps so that it was valid, reliable and sensitive: creation and reduction of the items (drafting of the instrument), content validity and testing of the instrument, and hypotheses validation. Once constructed, the instrument was evaluated by experts who suggested modifications. There was consultation with the target population about the new version of the created instrument, which had the instrument validation verified by internal consistency through intra and inter-calibration and test-retest. Next, the hypotheses were validated. A database was built in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 22.0. After creating the hypotheses, an association was found for validating the criteria between each of the specific issues for each established criteria, considering a 5% significance level. Data analysis was carried out by describing the absolute and relative frequencies of the variables pertaining to issues relating to their pregnancy knowledge about their oral health and their baby. The Kappa coefficient was used for the calibration process (Inter and Intra-examiner calibration) and Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to analyze instrument reproducibility (test-retest). In addition, the chi-square test was used to cross the dependent variable with the (dichotomized) independent variables. RESULTS: The intra and inter agreement analysis presented a Kappa coefficient between 0.400 and 1.000. Internal consistency through the analysis showed that 90% of the instrument's questions showed great reliability in the answers (Cronbach α ˃ 0.7). In the investigation of the relationship between the dependent variable (knowledge about oral health) and the independent variables (trimester of pregnancy, education, income and multiparous), it was found that none of these independent variables were significantly associated. All hypotheses had their Ho confirmed. CONCLUSION: The constructed instrument was validated, considering that it showed to be sensitive with good reliability and good accuracy, and therefore can be used to assess pregnant women’s knowledge about their oral health and the oral health of their baby.

Caesarean wound care for midwives

With a rise in caesarean births there is a rise in wound care management issues for midwives and the potential for surgical site infections (SSIs). The burden of SSIs include increases in maternal mortality, morbidity, length of hospital stay and cost. Sepsis is currently the leading cause of maternal mortality, with 50 per cent of the women who die having had a caesarean birth (Centre for Maternal and Child Enquiries (CMACE) 2011). Wound management and the prevention of sepsis are therefore issues of great concern to midwives. This article considers the incidence of wound infections and presents the guidance available to help address this problem.

End-of-life care in Ireland: ethical challenges and solutions. Opening Statement to the Houses of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children, 24 October 2013.

Children Report on End of Life and Palliative Care in Ireland, Volume 1.

Information Interventions to Reduce Maternal Mortality in Indonesia

Indonesia consistently records higher levels of maternal mortality than other countries in Southeast Asia with its same level of socioeconomic development. I use a quasi-experimental, difference-in-differences approach to understand whether the role of information on the risk of death in childbirth can change women’s reproductive behaviors. In the first two chapters, I use the Maternal Mortality Module from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in Indonesia to examine fertility and reproductive behavior responses to a sister’s death in childbirth. Fertility desires remain relatively unchanged but women take up behaviors in subsequent births that avert the risk of maternal death. In the last chapter, I combine population-representative data from the DHS with a village-level census (PODES) on service availability to understand how a village-level intervention to improve obstetric service use using a birth preparedness and complications readiness (BPCR) approach may improve obstetric service use. In this study, I find that the Desa Siaga intervention in Indonesia improved knowledge of the danger signs of complications among women but not among men relative to villages that did not get the program while controlling for endogenous program placement. More women got antenatal care due to the program but use of a skilled birth attendant and postpartum care did not change as a result of the intervention. Both genders report discussing a blood donor in preparation for delivery.

Understanding Antenatal Genetics Services in Sri Lanka: Current Landscape of Screening and Diagnostic Services and Contextual Factors Influencing Their Availability and Uptake

Background: Too little information is available on Sri Lanka’s current capacity to provide community genetic services—antenatal genetic services in particular—to understand whether building that capacity could further improve and reduce disparity in maternal and child health. This qualitative research project seeks to gather information on congenital disorders, routine antenatal care, and the current state of antenatal screening testing services within that routine antenatal to assess the feasibility of and the need for scaling up antenatal genetics services in Sri Lanka. Methods: Nineteen key informant (KI) interviews were conducted with stakeholders in antenatal care and genetic services. Seven focus group discussions were held with a total of 56 Public Health Midwives (PHMs), the health workers responsible for antenatal care at the field level. Transcripts for all interviews and FGDs were analyzed for key themes, and themes were categorized to address the specific aims of the project. Results: Antenatal genetic services play a minor role in antenatal care, with screening and diagnostic procedures available in the private sector and paid for out-of-pocket. KIs and PHMs expect that demand for antenatal genetic services will increase as patients’ purchasing power and knowledge grow but note that prohibitive abortion laws limit the ability of patients to act on test results. Genetic services compete for limited financial and human resources in the free public health system, and inadequate information on the prevalence of congenital disorders limits the ability to understand whether funding for services related to those disorders should be increased. A number of alternatives to scaling up antenatal genetic services within the free health system might be better suited to the Sri Lankan structural and social context. Conclusions: Scaling up antenatal genetic services within the public health system is not feasible in the current financial, legal, and human resource context. Yet current availability and utilization patterns contribute to regional and economic disparities, suggesting that stasis will not bring continued improvements in maternal and child health. More information on the burden of congenital disorders is necessary to fully understand if and how antenatal genetic service availability should be increased in Sri Lanka, but even before that information is gathered, examination of policies for patient referral, termination of pregnancy, and government support for individuals with genetic disease are steps that might bring extend improvements and reduce disparity in maternal and child health.

A Framework to Support the Sharing and Reuse of Computable Phenotype Definitions Across Health Care Delivery and Clinical Research Applications.

INTRODUCTION: The ability to reproducibly identify clinically equivalent patient populations is critical to the vision of learning health care systems that implement and evaluate evidence-based treatments. The use of common or semantically equivalent phenotype definitions across research and health care use cases will support this aim. Currently, there is no single consolidated repository for computable phenotype definitions, making it difficult to find all definitions that already exist, and also hindering the sharing of definitions between user groups. METHOD: Drawing from our experience in an academic medical center that supports a number of multisite research projects and quality improvement studies, we articulate a framework that will support the sharing of phenotype definitions across research and health care use cases, and highlight gaps and areas that need attention and collaborative solutions. FRAMEWORK: An infrastructure for re-using computable phenotype definitions and sharing experience across health care delivery and clinical research applications includes: access to a collection of existing phenotype definitions, information to evaluate their appropriateness for particular applications, a knowledge base of implementation guidance, supporting tools that are user-friendly and intuitive, and a willingness to use them. NEXT STEPS: We encourage prospective researchers and health administrators to re-use existing EHR-based condition definitions where appropriate and share their results with others to support a national culture of learning health care. There are a number of federally funded resources to support these activities, and research sponsors should encourage their use.

The impact of maternal inflammation and maternal stress in the regulation of neurodevelopment and physiological function

The mechanisms governing fetal development follow a tightly regulated pattern of progression such that interference at any one particular stage is likely to have consequences for all other stages of development in the physiological system that has been affected thereafter. These disturbances can take the form of many different events but two of the most common and widely implicated in causing detrimental effects to the developing fetus are maternal immune activation (MIA) and maternal stress. MIA has been shown to cause an increase in circulating proinflammatory cytokines in both the maternal and fetal circulation. This increase in proinflammatory mediators in the fetus is thought to occur by fetal production rather than through exchange between the maternal-fetal interface. In the case of maternal stress it is increased levels of stress related hormones such as cortisol/corticosterone which is thought to elicit the detrimental effects on fetal development. In the case of both maternal infection and stress the timing and nature of the insult generally dictates the severity and type of effects seen in affected offspring. We investigated the effect of a proinflammatory environment on neural precursor cells of which exposure resulted in a significant decrease in the normal rate of proliferation of NPCs in culture but did not have any effect on cell survival. These effects were seen to be age dependent. Using a restraint stress model we investigated the effects of prenatal stress on the development of a number of different physiological systems in the same cohort of animals. PNS animals exhibited a number of aberrant changes in cardiovascular function with altered responses to stress and hypertension, modifications in respiratory responses to hypercapnic and hypoxic challenges and discrepancies in gastrointestinal innervation. Taken together these findings suggest that both maternal infection and maternal stress are detrimental to the normal development of the fetus.

Challenges, Strengths and Opportunities Related to Implementing Comprehensive Evidence-Based Guidelines on Breast Cancer Survivorship Care by Primary Care Physicians and Nurse Practitioners in Southeastern Ontario

Background Many breast cancer survivors continue to have a broad range of physical and psychosocial problems after breast cancer treatment. As cancer centres move forward with earlier discharge of stable breast cancer survivors to primary care follow-up it is important that comprehensive evidence-based breast cancer survivorship care is implemented to effectively address these needs. Research suggests primary care providers are willing to provide breast cancer survivorship care but many lack the knowledge and confidence to provide evidence-based care. Purpose The overall purpose of this thesis was to determine the challenges, strengths and opportunities related to implementing comprehensive evidence-based breast cancer survivorship guidelines by primary care physicians and nurse practitioners in southeastern Ontario. Methods This mixed-methods research was conducted in three phases: (1) synthesis and appraisal of clinical practice guidelines relevant to provision of breast cancer survivorship care within the primary care practice setting; (2) a brief quantitative survey of primary care providers to determine actual practices related to provision of evidence-based breast cancer survivorship care; and (3) individual interviews with primary care providers about the challenges, strengths and opportunities related to provision of comprehensive evidence-based breast cancer survivorship care. Results and Conclusions In the first phase, a comprehensive clinical practice framework was created to guide provision of breast cancer survivorship care and consisted of a one-page checklist outlining breast cancer survivorship issues relevant to primary care, a three-page summary of key recommendations, and a one-page list of guideline sources. The second phase identified several knowledge and practice gaps, and it was determined that guideline implementation rates were higher for recommendations related to prevention and surveillance aspects of survivorship care and lowest related to screening for and management of long-term effects. The third phase identified three major challenges to providing breast cancer survivorship care: inconsistent educational preparation, provider anxieties, and primary care burden; and three major strengths or opportunities to facilitate implementation of survivorship care guidelines: tools and technology, empowering survivors, and optimizing nursing roles. A better understanding of these challenges, strengths and opportunities will inform development of targeted knowledge translation interventions to provide support and education to primary care providers.

The Affordable Care Act and the Transformation of US Health Care

The neoliberal period was accompanied by a momentous transformation within the US health care system.  As the result of a number of political and historical dynamics, the healthcare law signed by President Barack Obama in 2010 ‑the Affordable Care Act (ACA)‑ drew less on universal models from abroad than it did on earlier conservative healthcare reform proposals. This was in part the result of the influence of powerful corporate healthcare interests. While the ACA expands healthcare coverage, it does so incompletely and unevenly, with persistent uninsurance and disparities in access based on insurance status. Additionally, the law accommodates an overall shift towards a consumerist model of care characterized by high cost sharing at time of use. Finally, the law encourages the further consolidation of the healthcare sector, for instance into units named “Accountable Care Organizations” that closely resemble the health maintenance organizations favored by managed care advocates. The overall effect has been to maintain a fragmented system that is neither equitable nor efficient. A single payer universal system would, in contrast, help transform healthcare into a social right.

Perspectives on gender, migration and transnational work: joint work of social reproduction and care in Southern Europe

This paper presents the "state of the art" and some of the main issues discussed in relation to the topic of transnational migration and reproductive work in southern Europe. We start doing a genealogy of the complex theoretical development leading to the consolidation of the research program, linking consideration of gender with transnational migration and transformation of work and ways of survival, thus making the production aspects as reproductive, in a context of globalization. The analysis of the process of multiscale reconfiguration of social reproduction and care, with particular attention to its present global dimension is presented, pointing to the turning point of this line of research that would have taken place with the beginning of this century, with the rise notions such as "global care chains" (Hochschild, 2001), or "care drain" (Ehrenreich and Hochschild, 2013). Also, the role of this new agency, now composed in many cases women who migrate to other countries or continents, precisely to address these reproductive activities, is recognized. Finally, reference is made to some of the new conceptual and theoretical developments in this area.

Benefits and resource implications of family meetings for hospitalized palliative care patients: research protocol.

BACKGROUND:
Palliative care focuses on supporting patients diagnosed with advanced, incurable disease; it is 'family centered', with the patient and their family (the unit of care) being core to all its endeavours. However, approximately 30-50% of carers experience psychological distress which is typically under recognised and consequently not addressed. Family meetings (FM) are recommended as a means whereby health professionals, together with family carers and patients discuss psychosocial issues and plan care; however there is minimal empirical research to determine the net effect of these meetings and the resources required to implement them systematically. The aims of this study were to evaluate: (1) if family carers of hospitalised patients with advanced disease (referred to a specialist palliative care in-patient setting or palliative care consultancy service) who receive a FM report significantly lower psychological distress (primary outcome), fewer unmet needs, increased quality of life and feel more prepared for the caregiving role; (2) if patients who receive the FM experience appropriate quality of end-of-life care, as demonstrated by fewer hospital admissions, fewer emergency department presentations, fewer intensive care unit hours, less chemotherapy treatment (in last 30 days of life), and higher likelihood of death in the place of their choice and access to supportive care services; (3) the optimal time point to deliver FM and; (4) to determine the cost-benefit and resource implications of implementing FM meetings into routine practice.
METHODS:
Cluster type trial design with two way randomization for aims 1-3 and health economic modeling and qualitative interviews with health for professionals for aim 4.
DISCUSSION:
The research will determine whether FMs have positive practical and psychological impacts on the family, impacts on health service usage, and financial benefits to the health care sector. This study will also provide clear guidance on appropriate timing in the disease/care trajectory to provide a family meeting.

Pregnancy Planning and Diabetes:A Qualitative Exploration of Women's Attitudes Toward Preconception Care

Introduction: Seeking preconception care is recognized as an important health behavior for women with preexisting diabetes. Yet many women with diabetes do not seek care or advice until after they are pregnant, and many enter pregnancy with suboptimal glycemic control. This study explored the attitudes about pregnancy and preconception care seeking in a group of nonpregnant women with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Methods: In-depth semistructured interviews were completed with 14 nonpregnant women with type 1 diabetes. Results: Analysis of the interview data revealed 4 main themes: 1) the emotional complexity of childbearing decisions, 2) preferences for information related to pregnancy, 3) the importance of being known by your health professional, and 4) frustrations with the medical model of care. Discussion: These findings raise questions about how preconception care should be provided to women with diabetes and highlight the pivotal importance of supportive, familiar relationships between health professionals and women with diabetes in the provision of individualized care and advice. By improving the quality of relationships and communication between health care providers and patients, we will be better able to provide care and advice that is perceived as relevant to the individual, whatever her stage of family planning. © 2012 by the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

Nursing and medical students as agents of change in health care: impact of schools core values and culture-a discussion paper

Within the UK the quality of care delivered in some hospitals, nursing homes and caring facilities has been the subject of significant enquiry, challenge and concern in recent years. There was need for a change in the culture of patient and client care. Traditionally a change in culture is seen as moving from an organisational head through to the organisation and in this case through to front-line care. This hasn’t necessarily achieved the desired effect and impact in terms of quality of care within the UK. Historically, certainly nurses have acted more as recipients of change, rather than agents of change
This paper suggests that schools of nursing and medicine with robust core values and a more consistently enacted culture of care, are better able and more likely to transfer this to nursing and medical students within their professional socialisation. In addition, and rather than the newly qualified nurse or doctor being absorbed into existing cultures of care delivery (which are not necessarily always reflecting high qualities of care), schools of nursing and medicine could better facilitate the development of more `agency’ within students and better equipping the students on qualification and stepping into practice, with a role and function as potential agents of change. Effective leadership within schools of nursing and medicine can both translate to quality and consistency, and enactment of organisational core values and working culture. The working culture of schools is intrinsic to developing students as agents of change