Aims: Unmet needs have mainly been investigated with formal and informal adult caregivers and ill individuals within psycho-oncology; findings indicate unmet needs are associated with negative affective state and caregiver burden. Research relating to adolescent children’s experiences of unmet needs during parental illness has, in the main, been based upon parental reports or professional opinion, yet research suggests that parental reports can downplay the effects and it is important to ask the adolescent child for their opinion. Adolescence is a transitional time in development; this may make the illness experience and subsequent needs vary from those of formal and informal adult caregivers. This thesis pragmatically investigates adolescent children’s firsthand accounts of unmet psychosocial and supportive care needs when they have a parent with a non-communicable disease. Methods: Systematic Review: To inform the direction of the thesis and capture all relevant published literature, a comparative systematic review was carried on adolescent’s experiences of unmet needs when they have a parent with a NCD, cancer or psychological problem. The review was conducted using standardized procedures and guidance from the Cochrane collaboration. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Qualitative methodology was used to investigate seven adolescent’s experiences of unmet psychosocial and supportive care needs in relation to having a parent with a NCD. Participants were recruited through institutions of further and higher education. Quantitative Research: Pearson’s correlation and multiple regressions were used to test associations between unmet needs, depression, stress, anxiety and quality of life, and to determine the applicability of the revised version of the Offspring Cancer Needs Inventory (OCNI) for individuals who have a parent with a NCD. One hundred and seven adolescent children completed the revised version of the OCNI, the DASS-21 (depression, anxiety, and stress) and AC-QoL (Adult carers’ quality of life) scales. Findings: Systematic Review: In the review 1479 papers were considered. Seven met the inclusion criteria, of these five papers related to cancer, one to chronic illness and one to psychological problems. Results suggest that adolescents had informational, supportive and recreational needs, and did not want to worry parents by asking them questions. The lack of hits and the disparity between illness groups is problematic in making comparisons and drawing definitive conclusions. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Four interdependent themes emerged from the data, two relating to interpersonal needs (Information Needs and Support Needs), and two relating to intrapersonal needs (Need for 4 Acknowledgement and Need to be Them-Self), each had their own number of sub-themes. Adolescent’s had a variety of needs that could be partially met through honest and accurate information, interpersonal support and acknowledgment of their caring role within the family. The interdependence of the needs indicated that the fulfilment of one need has the potential of meeting other needs. Unmet needs were comparable to those of adolescent children who have a parent with cancer; as such it was deemed that the new version of the OCNI would be suitable for use with individuals who had a parent with a NCD. Quantitative Research: Ninety-Three percent of adolescents reported at least one unmet need. Analysis suggests that the unmet needs variables were co-dependent and correlated with depression, stress, anxiety, and quality of life. Certain unmet need variables predicted stress, anxiety, depression, and quality of life. Conclusion: The findings of this thesis indicate that adolescent children who have a parent with a NCD have a variety of unmet needs, and that these are associated with affective state and well-being. It is suggested that counselling psychologists are well placed to provide psychological and needs based interventions based upon the findings within this thesis. More research is required in this area to determine cause and effect; owing to counselling psychologists working with the lifespan they would be well placed to further the knowledge in this area.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) continue to rise in South Africa, accounting for 43% of total deaths in 2012. Smoking and a diet high in salt are among the major modifiable risk factors for NCDs that can be addressed through cost-effective policy interventions in the form of regulation or legislation and active multisectoral engagement. Population-based prevalence and mortality data are necessary for monitoring and evaluation such interventions. South Africa has developed a National Strategic Plan for NCDs but there is limited evaluation of NCD policies. Furthermore, there is a need to explore the availability of population-based data and the role that it can play to monitor interventions. Aim: The overall aim of the thesis is to assess the implementation of policies for reducing risk factors for chronic NCDs in South Africa, and to explore the role of population-based data in supporting environmental and policy approaches to prevent NCDs. The thesis will also examine whether there are differences in urban and rural settings in the implementation of tobacco control and salt reduction regulation as well as the barriers to implement the National Strategic Plan for prevention of NCDs. Methods: Multiple methods of data collection were used. A desk review of policies to address NCDs in South Africa was undertaken and semi-structured interviews with the NCD policymakers and managers in two provinces (the Eastern Cape and Western Cape) were undertaken, to explore challenges and successes of implementation of the NSP. The Cross-sectional baseline questionnaire and quantified food frequency data from the PURE study were used to determine the prevalence of smoking and the intakes of sodium and potassium in a selected urban and a rural community. Data collected using a validated community audit tool was used to assess the physical environment related to tobacco as well as questionnaire data from face-to-face interviews about perceptions about tobacco use in the urban and rural communities. Trends in mortality from tobacco related and high salt consumption related conditions together with prevalence data from national health surveys were reviewed to assess the health impact.

Asthma is a chronic lung inflammatory disease that causes inflammation and narrowing of the airways. Swelling of the airways can be caused by the activation of cytokines that lead to an inflammatory or allergenic-like response. Environmental factors, both indoors and outdoors, have been found to increase the likelihood of asthma in children. Among those found to impact disease are air pollutants such as ozone, nitric dioxide, and particulate matter, as well as home exposures, like cockroaches and rodents. Those who have multiple or increased exposure to these pollutants are more likely to experience exacerbated symptoms and uncontrolled asthma. There currently is no cure for asthma, but effective therapies have been found to treat the symptoms associated with asthmatic episodes. During an asthma attack, due to narrowing of the airways, individuals experience wheezing, chest tightness, and even shortness of breath. To combat these occurrences, physicians use inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), Beta-agonist, or a combination of both to relieve symptoms. In the United States asthma affects 25.8 million people. This number is projected to increase as the US continuously becomes more industrialized and as environmental conditions deteriorate. Research conducted by the Center for Disease Control concluded that the prevalence of asthma increased amongst the general population, however, once the data were disaggregated by race, age, gender, and SES significant increases were noted amongst some groups but not others. Most notably, on average, children, women, Puerto Ricans, and people living in poverty as defined by federal guidelines had the highest asthma prevalence. Chronic diseases like asthma also produce substantial burdens on the healthcare system. Asthmatics on average require three-times as many prescriptions, twice as many emergency room visits and four-times as many hospitalizations as individuals without asthma in the same demographic population. Additionally, when an expenditure analysis was carried out, it revealed that children with asthma cost approximately three-times more per capita per child than adolescents without asthma. Chronic disease occurs over the duration of individual lives. Thus, poorly managed, they will cause preventable increases in disability-adjusted-life years, premature death, and health care expenditure for both the individual and the broader healthcare system. The observed increases will predominantly impact the indicated high-risk populations. The prevalence of asthma in urban settings was anticipated by researchers based on known environmental influences. However, the discovery of a higher prevalence and mortality rate of asthma within impoverished communities, in comparison to other urban communities, is not yet fully understood. Through this research an association between high-risk populations with uncontrolled asthma and a lack of patient education, low socioeconomic status, and utilization of Medicaid insurance was found, which indicates the influence of these factors on asthma control. Improving current asthma interventions by remodeling them to take a broader stance on asthma prevention, treatment and maintenance and through acknowledgement of the impact disparities, asthma will likely be better controlled for all individuals in the Unites States.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2009. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Darbo tikslas: Išanalizuoti sergamumą oro-lašinėmis infekcijomis Kauno mieste 2002 – 2007 metais ir nustatyti sąsajas tarp sergamumo oro – lašinėmis infekcijomis ir imunoprofilaktikos. Darbo uždaviniai: 1. Įvertinti oro - lašinių infekcijų (tymai, epideminis parotitas, skarlatina, raudonukė, virusinis meningitas, infekcinsu meningokokas, vėjaraupiai) pasiskirstymą įvairiose amžiaus grupėse Kauno mieste 2002-2007 metais. 2. Palyginti sergamumo kai kuriomis oro- lašinėmis infekcijomis kitimą Kauno mieste 2002 – 2007 metais. 3. Nustatyti sąsajas tarp sergamumo oro – lašinėmis infekcijomis ir imunoprofilaktikos. Metodika: Informacija apie sergamumą oro-lašinėmis infekcijomis gauta iš Kauno visuomenės sveikatos centro. Duomenys apie sergamumą oro-lašinėmis infekcijomis paimti iš Kauno visuomenės sveikatos centro kompiuterinės duomenų bazės ULISAS (užkrečiamųjų ligų informacijos ir statistinės apskaitos sistema). Taip pat buvo naudojamasi 2002-2007 metų mėnesinėmis, pusmetinėmis ir metinėmis atskaitomis. Duomenys apdoroti ir išanalizuoti naudojantis statistine programa SPSS 16. Skaičiuotas vidurkis, SD, PI. Duomenys pateikiami absoliučiais skaičiais ir procentais. Buvo skaičiuojami sergamumo rodikliai 10 000 gyventojų. Rezultatai: Sergamumo pagal amžiaus grupes analizė parodė, kad rečiausiai sirgo 13 – 18 metų vaikai, o dažniausiai – 3-6 metų. Susirgimai vėjaraupiais sudaro didžiausią dalį visų oro – lašinių infekcijų - 80,1 proc. (be ūmių virusinių kvėpavimo takų infekcijų ir... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Aim of the study. To analyse morbidity of air-born infections in Kaunas city in 2002–2007 and to assess links between morbidity of air-born infections and immunoprophylaxis. Tasks of the study: 1. To assess prevalence of air-born infections (measles, mumps, scarlatina, rubella, viral meningitis, infectious meningococcus, varicella) in various groups of age in 2002–2007 in Kaunas city. 2. To compare trends of some air-born infections in Kaunas city in 2002–2007. 3. To assess links between air-born infections’ morbidity and immunoprophylaxis. Method: Information about morbidity of air-born infections is got from Kaunas Public Health Center. Data of air-born infections’ morbidity is taken from data basis ULISAS (a system of communicable diseases information and statistical accounting). Also, the monthly, half-yearly and annual records of the years 2002–2007 were used. Data was archived and analyzed by using the statistical programme SPSS 16. An average, SD, PI were counted. Results are submitted in total numbers and percents. Morbidity was calculated to 10000 population. Results: The analysis according to the age groups showed, that children of 13–18 years old were ill most rarely and most frequently – children of 13–16 years old. Ailment of chickenpox makes the biggest part of air-born infections – 81 % (without Acute upper airway infections and influenza), ailments of rubella were registered least – 0,2 %. Of 10698 ill cases, 67 diseases (0,63 %) were registered after... [to full text]

SUMMARY Management of Public Health ORGANIZATION OF DISEASES PREVENTION IN PRIMARY HEALTH CARE Raminta Gečaitė Supervisor Skirmantė Starkuvienė, MD, PhD, Lecturer, Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Public Health, Kaunas University of Medicine. – Kaunas, 2005. - P.56. Aim of the study – to evaluate patients’ attitude towards the non-communicable diseases (NCD) prevention in primary health care and to clarify the differences of the prevention between general practitioners (GP) and therapeutists. Methods. The anonymous questionnaire survey was performed among adult patients, who visited their family doctor in Kaunas Kalniečiu outpatient clinic, at the Department of General Practitioners and General clinic (the work is organized in a team principal). There were 120 questionnaires distributed to the patients of GP and 101 of them were fulfilled and returned back (response rate – 84.2%). There were also 120 questionnaires delivered to the patients, who visited therapeutists and 98 of them were filled in (response rate – 81.7%). The data was analyzed by the application of statistical package SPSS 11.03 for Windows. The associations between the variables were measured using the Chi-squared and the Student tests. Results. The survey disclosed that 15.6% of the respondents visited the family doctor in order to examine their health preventively. More than half (51.8%) of the patients were satisfied with the organization of diseases prevention carried out by their family... [to full text]

Bakgrund: Inom förskolan finns det många aktivitetersom utsätter både barnoch personal för risken att bli drabbad av smittsam sjukdom. Detta påverkar inte bara deras hälsa utan även spridningen av infektioner i samhället. Barn i förskola löper två till tre gånger högre risk för att få infektioner än barn som inte vistas på förskola. Tidigare studier visart.ex. att enkla förändringar på förskolan som skrivna riktlinjer för hygienrutiner, följsamhet till hand-och blöjbyteshygien och utbildning av personal och föräldrarkan minska sjukfrånvaron och risken förspridning av smitta. Syfte: 1) Att kartlägga grundläggande kunskaper hos förskolans personal,om hur sjukdomar sprids och hur man kan minska smittspridning. 2) Att undersöka inställningen hos föräldrartill de befintliga hygienrutinerna i förskolan. Metod: 123personal och 104 föräldrar från förskolor inom Kiruna kommun, Sverige svarade på en webb -baserad enkät. Resultat: Resultatet visade på avsaknad avfortbildning, för få skriftliga rutiner, bristande kunskap om hur smitta sprids och begränsad vetskap om informationskällor angående smittsamma sjukdomar. Föräldrar önskar mer information om de hygienrutiner som finns och personal önskar mer kunskap hur de kan informera föräldragruppen. Tillgång till material som handskar, handsprit och pappershanddukar för att kunna följa rekommenderade hygienrutiner fanns på alla förskolor. Både personal och barn reser mycket utanför Sverige, vilket tillsammans med de identifierade bristerna på förskoskolorna bidrar till ökad risk för spridning av smitta. Konklusion:Personalen på förskolorna är inte sjukvårdsutbildade och deras främsta uppgift är att bedriva pedagogisk verksamhet.Trots detta måste förskolor erbjuda en god omsorg till alla barn oavsett hälsostatus. Egenkontroll och dokumentation av förskolans hygienarbete är ett lagstadgat krav och avsaknad av rutiner är en allvarlig brist. Det är av vikt att fokusera på riktlinjer som kan förbättra hygienarbetet. Kan personal och föräldrar hjälpa till att minska risken för smittsamma sjukdomar är det av stor betydelse. För detta krävs god kunskap, samarbetepå olika nivåer, ändamålsenliga lokaler och rätt utrustning / Background: Activities in preschool expose children, staff members, and society at large to com-municable diseases. The risk of infection among preschool children is 2-to 3-fold higher compared to children cared for at home.Recent studies show that simple changes in preschool e.g.written hy-giene guidelines,-and adherence to recommended hygiene practices for changing diapers, improved hand-washing technique, and parental education can prevent infection-based illness and decrease the spread of communicable diseases. Aims: This study aimed to (i)survey the knowledge of preschool staff regarding the spread and pre-ventionof contagious diseases and (ii) investigate the attitude of parents toward current guidelines in preschools. Methods: 123 staff members and 104 parents at preschools in Kiruna,Sweden completed an inter-net-based questionnaire. Results: Our results identified a lack of continuing education for staff members, the absence of writ-ten guidelines at preschools, inadequate understanding of how infection is spreads, and limited knowledge of information sources for communicable diseases. Parents wanted information about current hygiene guidelines, whereas the staff members requested more education to help them better inform parents about the guidelines.The supply of protective gloves, alcohol-based handdisinfect-ants,and paper towels was available at all preschools in accordance with the recommended hygiene practices. We also determined that it was common to travel abroad both among the staff members and the children which, together with the other identified shortcomings at the preschools contributes to an increased risk of spreading infections. Conclusion: Because preschool staff members mainly perform pedagogical activities, they currently lack formal education about health care. However, preschools must offer excellent care to all chil-dren, regardless of health status.Although government regulations require preschools to control hy-giene internally, including documentation, the absence of routines and guidelines is serious. There-fore, preschools should focus on guidelines that improve hygiene. Importantly, preschool staff can both work to prevent communicable diseases.This requires skilled staff, collaboration on different levels, and suitable and well-equipped facilities / <p>978-91-86739-59-1</p>

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2003. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2006. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2007. / Härtill 7 uppsatser.