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Filter by:Older adults, defined as 65 years or older, are increasing in number and representing a larger part of Canadian population. Assessing and addressing the needs of this growing number of individuals is essential. Practicing art and/or being involved in cultural programs could enhance health and quality of life of older adults. The overall objective of the proposal is to describe the characteristics (i.e.; socio-demographic, health condition and quality of life) and their changes in older adults participating in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA; Quebec, Canada) art activities program called "Les Beaux Jeudis". An observational, prospective, cohort study, before and after participation in MMFA art activities program "Les Beaux Jeudis" will be performed.
Hispanic immigrants to the U.S. are more likely to experience negative health outcomes the longer they live in the U.S. For example, over time Hispanic immigrants engage in riskier behaviors such as substance abuse, violence, and risky sex, and experience more depressive symptoms. The stress associated with the acculturation process, acculturation stress, and resilience at the individual, family, community, and societal levels appear to play important roles in influencing risks. However, little is known about the causal mechanisms linking acculturation stress, resilience, and health outcomes among Hispanic immigrants. Further, little is known about what precise types of stressors (e.g., occupational stress vs. discrimination) and resilience factors (e.g., individual coping vs. family support) have the most important influence on health trajectories of Hispanic immigrants. The proposed longitudinal study (N = 385) will investigate the effects of acculturation stress and resilience on co-occurring substance abuse, intimate partner violence, HIV risk, and depression (i.e., syndemic conditions) and biological stress among young adult Hispanic immigrants in the U.S. More specifically, the proposed project aims to: 1) test theoretical links between the cumulative impact of acculturation stress and resilience on syndemic conditions and biological stress among recent young adult Hispanic immigrants over a two-year period, and 2) identify the specific types of acculturation stressors and resilience factors at the individual, family, community, and societal levels that are most important in predicting syndemic conditions and biological stress among this population over time. Young adult low-income Hispanic immigrant men and women within the first 10 years of immigration will be followed for two years. Biopsychosocial data will be collected from participants at baseline, and then 6 months (FU1), 12 months (FU2), 18 months (FU3), and 24 months later (FU4). Culturally specific measures of acculturation stress and resilience will be used to assess for individual, family, community, and societal risk and protective factors for syndemic conditions. Blood and urine samples will be obtained from participants to measure systemic inflammation (IL 6, IL8, and IL 18) and oxidative stress (F2 isoprostanes), previously validated biomarkers for psychological stress. Various descriptive, univariate and multivariate statistics, including latent growth curve modeling, will be used to address aims 1-2. The findings from this study have the potential to identify risk and protective factors for the decay in heath among Hispanic immigrants. A precise and culturally informed understanding of these phenomena is foundational for designing interventions that can ultimately promote the health and wellbeing of Hispanic immigrants, the largest immigrant group in the U.S. This study also has the potential to lay the theoretical foundation for biopsychosocial health disparities research in other populations.
As a therapeutic modality, cryotherapy is highly used for soft tissue damage control during acute and subacute stages. Cryotherapy is able to reduce pain, inflammatory condition, muscle spasm, nerve conduction, metabolic rate, edema formation and to prevent secondary hypoxic injury. These effects are due to the heat conduction, passing from tissue to different cryotherapy modalities, leading to tissue temperature reduction. The diversity of cryotherapy modalities in clinical practice, like crushed-ice packs, frozen food, gel packs and wetted ice packs, are widely explored by studies. To achieve anesthesia by cryotherapy it's settled that the skin temperature must reach 13,6 degrees celsius (ºC). Ice packs are the most effective modality of cryotherapy when placed directly on the skin, this effectiveness is accentuated when ice packs are associated with water. To improve the contact area the pack must be wrapped. Even though wetted ice packs are the most effective modality, there are few studies approaching it. There aren't studies analyzing an ideal percentage of water to ice in this modality either. Also, it isn't observed if the amount of water interferes on the conduction of the heat from the skin to the ice pack, and in rewarming time. Besides neither of the studies measures the amount of pain during cryotherapy application, and if there was any difference between wetted ice packs, and ice packs isolated. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze the most effective cryotherapy modality for reducing skin temperature, rewarming time, and the amount of discomfort during the application.
This study is designed to evaluate the impact of use of mobile technology by community-based health workers on health-promoting behaviors among women related to reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health and nutrition in Bihar, India. The intervention was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and in collaboration with CARE was implemented from 2012 to 2014. Health sub-centers in the catchment areas of four blocks (sub-districts) of the district of Saharsa were randomly assigned to treatment or control arms (35 sub-centers were assigned to each). Data were collected in the Intervention and Control areas from mothers of infants 0-12 months at baseline and at 2-year follow-up, to assess the intervention's effects on quality and quantity of FLW home visits, postnatal health behaviors, and among older infants/toddlers, complementary feeding and vaccination. Difference in difference analyses were used to assess outcome effects in this quasi experimental study. The ICT-CCS intervention was implemented in areas where the BMGF-funded Ananya program (official title: Bihar Family Health Initiative) was also being implemented. Thus, the impact is of the [ICT-CCS intervention + Ananya] versus [Ananya alone]. The Ananya program was developed and implemented via a partnership of BMGF, CARE, and the Government of Bihar. The ultimate purpose of Ananya was to reduce maternal, newborn, and child mortality; fertility; and child undernutrition in Bihar, India. Ananya involved multi-level interventions designed to build front line health worker (FLW) capacities and reach to communities and households, as well as to strengthen public health facilities and quality of care to improve maternal and neonatal care and health behaviors, and thus survival. It was implemented from 2012 to 2014. Eight focal districts in western and central Bihar received Ananya, while 30 districts did not.
The objective of this study is to determine if differences exist in the total vegetable intake of groups that eat either tomato products versus raw vegetable product.
Maternal depression is a pervasive problem that disproportionately affects low-income mothers. The effects of depression on mothers and their parenting result in many negative outcomes for children, particularly in terms of school readiness. The proposed research will build on a successful partnership between the University of Southern California School of Social Work (USC) and Children's Institute, Inc. (CII) to implement and evaluate an evidence-based intervention, interpersonal psychotherapy for group (IPT-G), for Head Start mothers with depression or dysphoric mood with the goal of reducing their depression and promoting positive changes for both mothers and children. The objectives of the study are: (1) adapt IPT-G for a Head Start population of mothers with depression; (2) implement IPT-G via a randomized controlled trial in Head Start centers in Los Angeles County operated by CII; (3) evaluate the effects of the intervention on maternal depression, parenting behaviors, goal-directed behavior, interpersonal relationships, physical health, and child behavior and school readiness; and (4) develop a manual for use of the intervention in Head Start and disseminate findings nationally. The study will feature 2 groups of 60 mothers each, randomized by Head Start site; one will receive the intervention and the other services as usual. Outcomes for both mothers and children will be tracked for 2 years after the intervention, allowing for the evaluation of short- and long-term effects. The intervention will be delivered by Head Start mental health workers under the supervision of Scott Stuart, a national trainer of the intervention. This intervention has the potential to be a low-cost, high-impact intervention that can be replicated to other Head Start sites across the country to improve the lives of Head Start children and families.
Smokers will use a smartphone app on a smartphone provided for the study that will passively sense and record information about their activities. Information collected from the smartphone app will be used to develop future smartphone apps that will predict when an individual is at risk of smoking.
This study compares the effects of isovolumetric (325 ml) preloads of chocolate milk supplemented with sodium alginates at incremental doses on inter-meal glucose levels, appetite scores and food intake in healthy adult men. The findings of this study will illustrate whether the addition of sodium alginate to chocolate milk will improve the glycemic properties of chocolate milk and will potentiate its satiating characteristics. This study will also elucidate whether sodium alginates, incorporated into chocolate milk, will influence glycemia, appetite sensations and food intake in a dose-dependent manner. It is hypothesized that there will be a synergy between milk and sodium alginate beyond either alone. When combined with milk components, sodium alginate is expected to improve glycemia and induce satiety more than does either milk alone or alginate alone.
The impact of HIV/AIDS is negatively influencing the affected families and their next generation. HIV is radiating through the extended families, shifting the life patterns not only for the parents living with HIV/AIDS (PLH), but also for their children, partners, and other family members. To help PLHs and their family members, the TEA intervention has been developed, refined and piloted in the previous study. The goal of this study is to implement the TEA intervention in a full scale to determine its efficacy and the potential for enhancing HIV policy and programs that support HIV-affected families to cope with the challenges in China in responding to the global HIV epidemic.
B-type natriuretic Peptide (BNP) is a cardiac hormone secreted from the cardiac myocytes in response to volume load. Plasma levels of BNP, as measured by immunoassay methods, are elevated in patients with heart diseases. However, the biological effects of BNP are blunted in heart failure and other cardiac conditions. Moreover, the peptide levels are also elevated in non cardiac conditions such as the neonatal period, sepsis and renal failure. Recent investigations suggest alteration of the peptide molecular structure in heart failure. These alterations may explain, at least partially, the reduced biological activities of BNP in heart failure. Immunoreactive BNP and NT-proBNP have been identified in human urine. It has been suggested that urinary BNP correlates with plasma BNP, and may serve as a non-invasive measure for this cardiac marker. It is unclear what BNP fractions are cleared in the urine in health and disease. The aim of the proposed studies is to elucidate precisely the molecular form of BNP in various disease and specific physiological states in plasma and urine of infants and children.