effective interventions

BACKGROUND: Lone parents in high-income countries have high rates of poverty (including in-work poverty) and poor health. Employment requirements for these parents are increasingly common. 'Welfare-to-work' (WtW) interventions involving financial sanctions and incentives, training, childcare subsidies and lifetime limits on benefit receipt have been used to support or mandate employment among lone parents. These and other interventions that affect employment and income may also affect people's health, and it is important to understand the available evidence on these effects in lone parents...

Knowledge exchange involves a suite of strategies used to bridge the divides between research, policy and practice. The literature is increasingly focused on the notion that knowledge generated by research is more useful when there is significant interaction and knowledge sharing between researchers and research recipients (i.e., stakeholders). This is exemplified by increasing calls for the use of knowledge brokers to facilitate interaction and flow of information between scientists and stakeholder groups, and the integration of scientific and local knowledge...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a genetic bone disorder resulting in bone fragility. It has a heterogeneous phenotype which typically includes reduced bone mass, multiple fractures, deformity, and chronic disability. Bisphosphonate treatment remains the first-line medical management, but there is still debate on aspects of its effectiveness. This review summarizes current knowledge about long-term bisphosphonate use in OI with recommendations on clinical application...

While access and exposure to green spaces has been shown to be beneficial for the health of urban residents, interventions focused on augmenting such access may also catalyse gentrification processes, also known as green gentrification. Drawing from the fields of public health, urban planning and environmental justice, we argue that public health and epidemiology researchers should rely on a more dynamic model of community that accounts for the potential unintended social consequences of upstream health interventions...

BACKGROUND: Self-efficacy is positively associated with adherence behaviours and rehabilitation outcomes following Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) reconstruction. An internet resource can be an effective way to provide information, goal setting, patient monitoring and hence support overall self-management. PURPOSE: This study examined the feasibility of a three month 'internet-based intervention' (mobile-oriented site) to enhance recovery for patients following ACL reconstruction...

OBJECTIVES: Genocide remains one of the most widespread forms of preventable mortality and morbidity for children today. Despite the creation of multiple human rights treaties, genocide has not been eliminated and its effects disproportionally impact children. The Kindertransport was a series of rescue efforts that brought thousands of refugee children to the United Kingdom from Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1940. This qualitative study asks what public health professionals can learn from the prevention efforts of the Kindertransport by examining the experiences and reflections of individuals rescued as children...

OBJECTIVES: Given the increased risk of foodborne infection to cancer patients receiving chemotherapy treatment, and the risk of listeriosis reportedly five-times greater to this immunocompromised patient group, there is a need to ensure the implementation of domestic food safety practices among chemotherapy patients and their family caregivers. However, information regarding the adequacy of resources to inform and enable patients to implement domestic food safety practices to reduce the risk of foodborne infection is limited...

BACKGROUND: High blood pressure (BP) is the most common modifiable cause of death from cardiovascular disease. Lowering BP with medication improves patient outcomes, but even in populations with normal upper arm (brachial) BP there remains considerable residual risk for cardiovascular disease and this may be due to persistently elevated central BP. There has never been a trial to determine the value of targeted central BP lowering among patients with hypertension, and this was the aim of this study...

CONTEXT: Meaning in life (MiL) is a key factor for ensuring spiritual wellbeing and quality of life among patients with life-threatening illnesses. However, the role of MiL in relation to the wish to hasten death (WTHD) and its interaction with other physical and psychological factors in patients with advanced cancer has not yet been studied. OBJECTIVE: To analyse the relationship between the WTHD and MiL, and to propose a theoretical model of functional relationships between WTHD, performance status, depression and MiL...

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a group of chronic kidney diseases that is associated with significant cardiovascular as well as all-cause morbidity and mortality. Although DKD is often progressive in nature, its evolution can be modified by intensive management of glycemia and blood pressure and inhibition of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. This review provides an overview of how multifactorial interventions can provide renal protection and includes a discussion of the nonglycemic effects of incretin-based diabetes therapies (glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors) and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors within the kidney in patients with type 2 diabetes...

Many adolescents have poor diet and physical activity behaviors, which can lead to the development of noncommunicable diseases in later life. Digital platforms offer inexpensive means of delivering health interventions, but little is known about their effectiveness. This systematic review was conducted to synthesize evidence on the effectiveness of digital interventions to improve diet quality and increase physical activity in adolescents, to effective intervention components and to assess the cost-effectiveness of these interventions...

OBJECTIVES: This meta-analysis and systematic review aimed to highlight the results of endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) to assess safety and effectiveness in patients older than 80 years of age compared with younger patients. METHODS: PRISMA guidelines were used; quality was appraised, and data were extracted and analysed following the Cochrane collaboration. The MEDLINE and Embase databases were searched on December 31, 2016...

INTRODUCTION: The purposes of this study were to evaluate parental attitudes toward general vaccination protocols and increase parental knowledge of the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine. METHODS: A nonprobability convenience sample (N = 75) using a pre-/postintervention study design was conducted in a pediatric office in southern New Jersey. The Parental Attitudes Module measured the general disposition toward having children receive any type of vaccine. The HPV Knowledge Survey was a second tool used to specifically measures knowledge of the HPV vaccine...

OBJECTIVE: Venous-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) is a well-established therapy for refractory cardiopulmonary failure. Femoral cannulation offers a quick and effective means of providing circulatory support but is not without complication. Inflammation or lymphatic disruption at the site of cannulation can cause the formation of lymphoceles, leading to the patient's discomfort and possibly necessitating intervention. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence of in-hospital lymphocele formation in VA-ECMO patients and to identify predictors for their development...

BACKGROUND: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can polarize the cortex of the human brain. OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS: We sought to verify the hypothesis that posterior-anterior (PA) but not anterior-posterior (AP) tDCS of primary motor cortex (M1) produces cooperative effects with corticospinal plasticity induced by paired associative stimulation of the supplementary motor area (SMA) to M1 projection (PASSMA→M1) in a highly controlled experimental design...

PURPOSE: To investigate the 2-year postoperative clinical and subjective outcomes after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR) with xenologous porcine dermal patch augmentation compared with ARCR alone. METHODS: Patients aged 60 years or older with a complete supraspinatus (SSP) tendon tear underwent primary ARCR with a transosseous-equivalent technique. By use of a matched-pair comparative trial design, a consecutive series of 20 patients receiving additional xenologous porcine dermal patch augmentation (patch group) was matched by tear location with 20 patients who received ARCR only (control group)...

BACKGROUND: Pubic symphysis rupture significant enough to cause serious complications or require surgical intervention is exceedingly rare. Here we review the literature and examine the details of a unique presentation. CASE: A 27-year-old woman presented in labour at 34+6 weeks gestation after an uncomplicated monochorionic-diamniotic twin pregnancy. After vaginal delivery, she developed a substantial labial hematoma. Hours later, she became hemodynamically unstable...

OBJECTIVE: A paucity of effective interventions exists for the prevention of preterm birth (PTB). Renewed interest has focused on cervical pessaries, which have the benefits of being inexpensive, nonsurgical, and easily inserted and removed. In this study, we aim to describe our experience with this device in a Canadian tertiary care centre. Primary outcomes were rates of spontaneous or iatrogenic PTB before 37, 34, and 28 weeks gestation in pregnancies complicated by short cervix treated with cervical pessary...

BACKGROUND: Depression has been correlated with suboptimal adherence to antidiabetic drugs (ADs). Most studies on this topic were cross-sectional; thus, the directionality of this relationship could not be established. The objective of this study was to measure the association between incident depression and AD nonadherence among newly treated patients with diabetes. METHODS: We performed a population-based cohort study among new AD users using the Quebec public health insurance data...

Older adults need exercise programs that correspond to age-related changes. The purpose of this study was to explore preliminary effects of an 8-week Qigong exercise intervention on the physical ability, functional and psychological health, and spiritual well-being of community-dwelling older adults. Forty-five community-dwelling adults with the mean age of 74.8 years participated a 1-h Health Qigong exercise session twice weekly for 8 weeks. The majority were female (84%) and white (91%), and lived with their spouse (49%)...