bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Restructuring nurses' worklives and knowledge: case studies from England and Spain
Authors: Norrie C. , Muller J. , Goodson I. , Hernandez F. 
Published: February 2009

Aim:  To compare the relationship between restructuring of health care and the worklives and professional knowledge of nurses in England and Spain.Background:  Healthcare governance and systems are being modernized across Europe. At the same time European populations are changing in terms of ageing societies, more demanding patients, increased technologicalization and new roles for women. This is changing the positionality of nurses situated between the state and the citizen.Methods:  This data was produced as part of an EU‐funded research project. Data collection methods included literature reviews, national policy summaries and surveys. In addition, life‐history interviews and observations were carried out with nurses belonging to different generations in case‐study hospitals in England and Spain. Data were analysed using an interpretative, narrative approach. Results juxtapose analysis of global and national policy narratives with individual nurses' worklife narratives.Findings:  Analysis of the policy narratives position nurses in England and Spain as having moved from traditional to re‐framed professionals. Worklife narrative analysis meanwhile demonstrates that in England restructuring narratives have worked their way deep into nurses' lives. In contrast, in Spain there is a large gap between the rhetoric of change and the reality on the ground so narratives can be described as de‐coupled.
Cognitive dissonance towards the smoking habit among nursing and physiotherapy students at the University of Balearic Islands in Spain
Authors: Pericas J. , González S. , Bennasar M. , De Pedro J. , Aguiló A. , Bauzá L. 
Published: February 2009

Aim:  To estimate the prevalence of tobacco smoking among physiotherapy and nursing students at the University of the Balearic Islands in Spain and to describe their perceptions, attitude and behaviour towards smoking and towards the Spanish Smoking Prevention Act.Background:  Active smoking is the first avoidable cause of death in the world while passive smoking is the third. The tobacco epidemic kills 5.4 million people a year from lung cancer, heart disease and other related illnesses. In Europe, around one‐third of the Community population are smokers, with about 650 000 smoking‐related deaths per year in the Community. In Spain, 56 000 people a year are estimated to die from tobacco‐related illnesses.Method:  An observational, cross‐sectional, descriptive study, with a sample of 345 out of 645 students (53.5% participation rate) who completed an anonymous, self‐administered, standardized survey devised by the World Health Organization.Findings:  The study revealed a 26.1% prevalence of tobacco smoking (26.9% among women and 22.6% among men), which is similar to percentages of students at other Spanish universities. Smokers and non‐smokers reported many differences in attitude and behaviour, some of which have potential repercussions in their career, such as in estimating the harmful effects of tobacco smoke or the status of health professionals as role models in the society they serve.Conclusion:  The results of this study will contribute to develop an anti‐smoking programme at the university and to establish smoking‐prevention campaigns.
Involving new actors to achieve ART scaling‐up: difficulties in an HIV/AIDS counselling and testing centre in Cameroon
Authors: Yakam J. C. Y. Tantchou , Gruénais M.‐E. 
Published: February 2009

Background:  The high HIV/AIDS‐related mortality among young adults is devastating countries in sub‐Saharan Africa. The implementing capacity of the health systems is the main limiting factor of antiretroviral treatment (ART) scaling‐up;1 this capacity depends mainly on the health workforce. Tackling the issue of human resources for health is thus of paramount importance to achieve universal access to ART and for the survival of health systems in time of AIDS. To support such a process, the World Health Organization stresses the importance of task shifting2 from medical doctors to nurses and from nurses to community health workers. Such task shifting is not easy to achieve but undoubtedly needed.Study Objective:  This paper raises issues about the involvement of new actors3 without precise redefinitions of roles and task‐shifting procedures. We take the example of a ‘Centre de Prévention et de Dépistage Volontaire du VIH/sida’4 in one major town of the Far‐North province of Cameroon (Central Africa).Methodology:  The study was qualitative. Observations were carried out in the service and in‐depth interviews conducted with health workers and actors of Cameroon's National AIDS Control Committee. These interviews were recorded and transcribed. The material was analysed using keywords.Key Result:  The involvement of new actors in a context of human resources for health shortage and health system crisis creates confusion and role conflicts, which lead to frustration. It favours the appearance of chinks within which these new actors slip and ‘find their way’ in the system; it finally raises problems related to their legitimacy and position within the existing hierarchy.Key Policy Message:  It is necessary, when involving new staff members (particularly when they do not belong to internationally recognized health professionals such as nurses, doctors and pharmacists), to redefine roles and build precise task‐shifting procedures so that everyone may still have a place in the whole system and feel useful.
Cultural differences in child delivery: comparisons between Jewish and Arab women in Israel
Authors: Rassin M. , Klug E. , Nathanzon H. , Kan A. , Silner D. 
Published: February 2009

Objective:  To compare Jewish and Arab women characteristics regarding pregnancy follow‐up, compliance to a health regime and behavioural expressions during labour, delivery and the post‐partum period.Design:  The participants answered a 45‐item questionnaire designed for the current research.Setting:  The first three post‐partum days in the delivery ward at one of the biggest hospitals in Israel.Participants:  A total of 126 Jewish and Arab‐Muslim parturients.Results:  Significant differences were found (P < 0.01) concerning pregnancy follow‐up attendance and participation in a prenatal course, which were lower among Arab women. Several differences were found regarding delivery room attendance, type and number of companions, and behavioural expressions of pain, which were demonstrated more among Arab women. Epidural anaesthesia was highly prevalent among Jewish women, in comparison with the Arab women. While all Arab women decided to breastfeed their babies, only 71% of Jewish women expressed a wish to breastfeed. No significant differences were found between weight gains during pregnancy, reasons for delivery room attendance, number of pregnancy weeks prior to delivery and newborn weight.Conclusions:  Cultural differences exist between Jewish and Arab women attending delivery rooms in Israel. Understanding these cultural differences may assist caregivers in providing culturally sensitive treatment that is suited to the parturients' needs.
Nurses are the key to improving mental health services in low‐ and middle‐income countries
Authors: Barrett T. , Boeck R. , Fusco C. , Ghebrehiwet T. , Yan J. , Saxena S. 
Published: February 2009

Mental health nursing is a critical issue for most countries. Nurses in low‐ and middle‐income countries are often the primary providers of care for people with mental disorders. Some are highly qualified professionals who train other providers to identify and treat mental disorders. However, in other instances, particularly in low‐income countries, nurses have had very little or no mental health training and receive no support from mental health professionals. The lack of sufficient mental health professionals in these countries creates an environment where nurses without training are often the only providers available to care for people with mental disorders.In September 2007 the World Health Organization and the International Council of Nurses produced a report summarizing the responses to some of the questions on a survey of nursing mental health practices in 177 countries and territories. The summary of the open‐ended questions (e.g. what are the key issues for nurses providing mental health care in your country?) is reported for the first time in this article. Subsequent to the release of the Nurses in Mental Health Atlas, an online forum was held. There were 615 subscribers to this forum from over 80 countries.This article summarizes the rich insights and recommendations from both the survey's open‐ended comments and the online forum. The issues discussed include: the varied and complex roles for nurses in mental health care; nursing education; prescribing practices; nurse recruitment and retention; human rights; research; and technical expertise.
Orthopaedic and trauma patients' perceptions of individualized care
Authors: Land L. , Suhonen R. 
Published: February 2009

Background:  Individualized care is a universal concept in nursing. An international collaboration of nurses, led by, and funded in, Finland was developed, including Sweden, Greece, USA and the UK, in order to test an Individualized Care Scale (ICS) for cross‐cultural comparison. This paper reports the results from the UK survey.Aim:  The study aimed to employ an ICS to describe orthopaedic and trauma patients' perceptions of individualized care.Methods:  A total of 159 orthopaedic and trauma patients, aged 18 years or over, admitted for over 48 hours as emergencies or for elective surgery, participated from one hospital in Central England using a two‐part ICS. The data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics.Results:  Sixty‐three per cent of the patients (n = 82) strongly agreed that it was very important to be treated as an individual or unique person, and 55% (n = 72) experienced this type of care. The lowest rated assessments concerned the support (3.23 ± 1.15) and perceptions (3.69 ± 0.98) of personal life situation, and the highest concerned the perceptions of decisional control over care (4.25 ± 0.72). The longer the patients stayed, the more they perceived individuality in their own care. Those less educated perceived higher levels of support regarding individuality in their care.Conclusions:  These results could assist changes to individualized care processes in orthopaedic and trauma wards. Future research should focus on the evaluation of taking into account of patient's personal life situation as a foundation for individualized clinical care.
Madagascar nursing needs assessment: education and development of the profession
Authors: Plager K.A. , Razaonandrianina J.O. 
Published: February 2009

Purpose:  To address how Madagascar is improving nursing education and the profession to strengthen their nursing workforce.Background:  The sub‐Saharan Africa nursing workforce shortage is more than 600 000. Madagascar measures among affected countries. Nursing in Madagascar with reference to the Malagasy Lutheran Church Health Department (SALFA) is examined in this paper. The Malagasy Lutheran Nursing School (SEFAM) was established in 1956 to prepare nurses and midwives. The school recently relocated to better meet SALFA goals to increase nurses in the system and improve nursing education. A US nursing faculty and the SEFAM director proposed to conduct programme assessment to ensure that nursing and midwifery education meet health, social and community needs in Madagascar.Data source/methods:  An in‐depth needs assessment of the school programme, facilities and resources occurred. Site visits and informal interviews were held. Field study visits to nursing schools and health‐care facilities in Kenya and Tanzania assisted the authors in learning how nursing developed in those countries. Data analysis included comparison of the authors' comprehensive notes for congruity and accuracy.Outcomes:  Strategies are needed to support and maintain quality education, improve quality and quantity of nursing care services in hospitals and dispensaries, and improve conditions for nurses and other health‐care workers. Compared with Madagascar, Kenya and Tanzania have more well‐developed systems of nursing education and professional development.Limitations:  There were limited written sources for some information but methods, such as verbal accounts, compensated for this limitation.Implications/conclusions:  Implications include advantages, disadvantages, facilitators and barriers to nursing educational and professional development in Madagascar. Development of nursing education, regulation and the profession will continue with support from key stakeholders. Kenya and Tanzania can serve as role models for Madagascar nurses. Countries with similar nursing education and professional development issues can be informed by lessons learned in this project.
Electrophysiological responses to auditory novelty in temperamentally different 9‐month‐old infants
Authors: Marshall Peter J. , Reeb Bethany C. , Fox Nathan A. 
Published: February 2009

Abstract Behavioral reactivity to novel stimuli in the first half‐year of life has been identified as a key aspect of early temperament and a significant precursor of approach and withdrawal tendencies to novelty in later infancy and early childhood. The current study examines the neural signatures of reactivity to novel auditory stimuli in 9‐month‐old infants in relation to prior temperamental reactivity. On the basis of the assessment of behavioral reactivity scores at 4 months of age, infants were classified into groups of high negatively reactive and high positively reactive infants. Along with an unselected control group, these groups of temperamentally different infants were given a three‐stimulus auditory oddball task at 9 months of age which employed frequent standard and infrequent deviant tones as well as a set of complex novel sounds. In comparison to high positively reactive and control infants, high negatively reactive infants displayed increased amplitude of a positive slow wave in the ERP response to deviant tones compared to standard tones. In contrast, high positively reactive infants showed a larger novelty P3 to the complex novel sounds. Results are discussed in terms of optimal levels of novelty for temperamentally different infants.
Intracranial large artery disease in Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia among ethnic Asians
Authors: De Silva D. A. , Ancalan M. , Doshi K. , Chang H.‐M. , Wong M.‐C. , Chen C. 
Published: February 2009

Background and purpose:  An underlying vascular etiology underpins vascular dementia (VaD) and possibly Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Intracranial large artery disease (ICLAD) is a common site of disease among ethnic Asians, and carries a poor prognosis. We studied the prevalence of ICLAD among ethnic Asian patients with AD and VaD.Methods:  We recruited patients with AD and VaD from a retrospective review of consecutive ethnic Asian patients presenting to our dementia clinic. ICLAD was evaluated by visual inspection of brain magnetic resonance angiography by two observers in consensus, and defined as >50% luminal narrowing.Results:  There were 56 patients with probable AD and 47 with probable VaD. ICLAD was prevalent among 53% of VaD patients and 18% of AD patients.Conclusions:  There is a relatively high burden of ICLAD among AD and VaD patients of Asian ethnicity. We suggest that ethnic Asian dementia patients are a potential group to investigate if ICLAD is associated with clinical symptoms or prognosis and if treatment strategies targeted at ICLAD retard the progression of cognitive impairment.
The Impact of Immigrant Status on Home Ownership in Australia
Authors: Chua Jamie , Miller Paul W. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractThis paper examines the impact of immigrant status on home ownership in Australia. It shows that the rate of home ownership for most groups of immigrants is comparable to that of the Australian born. As expected, recently arrived immigrants have relatively low probabilities of owning their own home. These results hold for both analyses pooled across movers and non‐movers, and for analyses restricted to those, both immigrants and the native born, who moved residence in the previous five years. A decomposition of the estimated coefficients of the model of tenure choice is developed. This is shown to enhance understanding of variations in rates of home ownership across birthplace groups.
Labour Migration in the Global Division of Labour: Migrant workers in Mauritius1
Authors: Lincoln David 
Published: February 2009

AbstractWorkers who temporarily leave their country to perform semi‐ and unskilled work under contract in another country are a distinct category of labour migrants in the global division of labour (GDL). The small island of Mauritius is a relatively new destination for contractual international labour migrants. The Mauritian state is intimately involved in the labour migration system, playing a mediating role in positioning the island within the GDL and trying to optimise the routing of global production chains through Mauritius. The migrants originate mainly in China and India and are overwhelmingly concentrated in the island’s clothing and textile factories where they now comprise one‐fifth of the export processing zone workforce. The migrant space occupied by expatriate workers in Mauritius is tightly circumscribed, with little social interaction between them and Mauritian society. A chronicle of their collective protest between 2002 and 2005 highlights grievances that arise from the conditions they face as migrants. Pointing largely to the failure of industrial relations institutions, and having stirred xenophobic sentiments, these protests represent a catalyst for reform. While the numerical incidence and scale of labour migration to small islands may be small, their significance for GDL analysis and for the politics of migration demands attention.
Cultured astrocytes derived from corpus callosum or cortical grey matter show distinct glutamate handling properties
Authors: Goursaud Stéphanie , Kozlova Elena N. , Maloteaux Jean‐Marie , Hermans Emmanuel 
Published: February 2009

AbstractWhile the astrocytic control of extracellular glutamate concentration at synaptic contacts is well characterized, little is known regarding the clearance of glutamate along axon tracts, even though local excitotoxic damage has been reported. Therefore, we have compared glutamate handling in astrocyte cultures derived from white matter (corpus callosum) and grey matter tissues (cortical structures). These populations of astrocytes showed clearly distinct phenotypes, adopting stellate or protoplasmic morphologies respectively. In addition, white matter astrocytes showed high densities of the intermediate filament proteins glial fibrillary acidic protein, vimentin and nestin. The glutamate–aspartate transporter and glutamate transporter‐1, as well as glutamine synthetase, were found to be expressed at higher levels in white matter compared with grey matter astrocytes. Consistent with this aspartate uptake capacity was three to fourfold higher in white matter cells, and the use of specific inhibitors revealed a substantial activity of glutamate transporter‐1, contrasting with grey matter cells where this transporter appeared poorly functional. In addition, expression of type 5 metabotropic glutamate receptors was considerably higher in white matter astrocytes where the agonist (S)‐3,5‐dihydroxyphenylglycine triggered a large release of intracellular calcium. Differences in these astrocyte cultures were also observed when exposed to experimental conditions that trigger glial activation. This study highlights typical features of cultured astrocytes derived from white matter tissues, which appear constitutively adapted to handle excitotoxic insults. Moreover, the expression and activity of the astroglial components involved in the control of glutamatergic transmission are reinforced when these cells are maintained under conditions mimicking a gliotic environment.
Neutral antagonist activity of naltrexone and 6β‐naltrexol in naïve and opioid‐dependent C6 cells expressing a µ‐opioid receptor
Authors: Divin MF , Bradbury FA , Carroll FI , Traynor JR 
Published: February 2009

Background and purpose: Adenylyl cyclase sensitization occurs on chronic agonist activation of µ‐opioid receptors and is manifested by an increase in cAMP levels (overshoot) on challenge with antagonist. It has been proposed that a long lasting constitutively active receptor is formed on chronic µ‐opioid exposure and that antagonists with inverse agonist activity rapidly return the receptor to a basal state causing a cAMP overshoot and a more severe withdrawal responsein vivo. This hypothesis depends on an accurate characterization of neutral and inverse agonist properties of opioid antagonists.Experimental approach: C6 glioma and HEK293 cells expressing µ‐opioid receptors were used. Opioid antagonists were examined for their ability to induce a cAMP overshoot following chronic treatment with the agonist DAMGO ([D‐Ala2,N‐Me‐Phe4,Glyol5]‐enkephalin). The compounds were also characterized as agonists, inverse agonists or neutral antagonists by using assays for competitive binding, [35S]GTPγS (guanosine‐5′‐O‐(3‐[35S]thio)triphosphate) binding and changes in cell surface receptor expression.Key results: Naltrexone, 6β‐naltrexol and naloxone were indistinguishable to the µ‐opioid receptor in the opioid‐naïve or dependent state and acted as neutral antagonists. The δ‐opioid receptor inverse agonist RTI‐5989‐25 [(+)‐N‐[trans‐4′‐(2‐methylphenyl)‐2′‐butenyl]‐(3R,4R)‐dimethyl‐4‐(3‐hydroxyphenyl)piperidine], a 3,4‐dimethyl‐4‐(3‐hydroxyphenyl)‐piperidine, was an inverse agonist at the µ‐opioid receptor, and the peptide antagonist CTAP (H‐D‐Phe‐Cys‐Tyr‐D‐Trp‐Arg‐Thr‐Pen‐Thr‐NH2) showed variable, assay‐dependent properties. All the antagonists precipitated the same degree of cAMP overshoot in opioid‐dependent cells.Conclusions and implications: Antagonists at the µ‐opioid receptor may be neutral or show inverse agonist activity. Formation of a constitutively active µ‐opioid receptor is not a requirement for the development or expression of adenylyl cyclase sensitization.