Background Findings for the association of prenatal maternal infections and schizophrenia are inconsistent. Whether specific maternal infections may contribute to central nervous system dysfunction, like schizophrenia remains unknown. Thus, a systematic review is conducted to clarify the role of infections on the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Methods A manual and electronic search of the literature for prenatal maternal infection at the individual level and the diagnosis of schizophrenia in offspring was conducted. All the included studies are searched from PubMed and EMBASE databases and generally based on population level datasets with cohort or nested case-control studies designs. We only focus on three kinds of maternal infections in the review (i.e. influenza pandemic, rubella and Toxoplasmosis), other infections such as herpes simples, varicella‐zoster virus and polio were excluded. Positive family history of psychotic illness was excluded as genetic disposition is established as a strong risk factor of developing schizophrenia in offspring. Results Fifteen studies were included in this systemic review. Nine (60%) of these studies reported a positive association between maternal infections and the development of schizophrenia in the later lives of their offspring, while six (40%) of these studies indicated that there is no significant difference among cases of schizophrenia in maternal infections exposure and the control subjects or no association between schizophrenia in offspring and the infections during pregnancy as the exposure. Among all the studies, thirteen cohort studies and two nested‐case studies were examined. Eight (61.5%) showed a positive association, meanwhile five (38.5%) showed a null association. Two nested‐case control studies both suggested that maternal infection exposure is a risk factor for schizophrenia. Conclusion Findings for the association of prenatal maternal infections and schizophrenia are not equal to the evidence for causation. Due to the absence of external validity due to small and non‐representative samples, selection bias was suspected even with a significant result. Additionally, multiple exposures were hard to testify during pregnancy. Even we adjusted for the measured confounders, residual confounding such as genetic disposition and socioeconomic status, as well as unmeasured confounding are concerns. Quasi-experimental methods may help improve causal inference such as the use of instrumental variable analysis in future studies. Preventive strategies such as immunizations need to be deliberated carefully to weight the benefit and the potential impact. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

Bakgrund. Vård av döende barn kan vara psykiskt påfrestande för många sjuksköterskor som arbetar på neonatala intensivvårdsavdelningar. Internationella studier visar på att de främsta faktorerna är; brist på utbildning inom neonatal palliativ vård och brist på kommunikation. Syfte. Syftet med studien var att beskriva samband mellan sjuksköterskors attityder till att vårda döende barn på en neonatal intensivvårdsavdelning och arbetslivserfarenhet samt utbildningsnivå. Metod: Studien genomfördes med en webbaserad enkät på de neonatala intensivvårdsavdelningarna vid Norrlands Universitetssjukhus i Umeå samt Akademiska sjukhuset i Uppsala. Studien inkluderade 72 sjuksköterskor med erfarenhet av att vårda minst ett döende barn. Studien är en empirisk kvantitativ tvärsnittsstudie med deskriptiv design. Resultat. Alla sjuksköterskor med kort arbetslivserfarenhet ansåg att det var psykiskt påfrestande att vårda döende barn jämfört med 61% av de med lång erfarenhet. Mer än hälften (59%) av de utan vidareutbildning jämfört med de med vidareutbildning (16%) ville  undvika situationer där de behövde vårda döende barn. Av alla deltagarna önskade 85% mer utbildning än vad de fick i nuläget om vård av döende barn. Konklusion. Brist på vidareutbildning, kort arbetslivserfarenhet och hög tjänstgöringsgrad i konkret omvårdnadsarbete ökar risken för negativa attityder och uppfattningar bland sjuksköterskor i vården av döende barn. / Background. It can be a challenge for nurses to care for dying children in a neonatal intensive care unit. International studies show that the main factors are; lack of training in neonatal palliative care and lack of communication within the health care team. Objectives. The aim of this study was to describe the correlation between nurses' attitudes of caring for dying children in a neonatal intensive care unit and work experience and level of education. Method. The study was conducted using a web-based survey in the neonatal intensive care units at Norrland University Hospital in Umeå and Uppsala University Hospital. The study included 72 nurses with experience of caring for at least one dying child. The study is an empirical quantitative cross-sectional study with descriptive design. Results. All nurses with short work experience felt that it was psychologically stressful to care for dying children , compared with 61 % of those with long work experience. More than half (59%) of those without further education compared to those with further education ( 16%) wanted to avoid situations where they have to care for dying children. Of all the participants 85% wanted more education about caring for dying children. Conclusion. Lack of education, brief work experience and a high degree of service in the real nursing work increases the risk of negative attitudes and perception in the care of dying children among nurses.

Background: The current practice in northern Canada is to transfer pregnant women residing in communities without hospital facilities to larger centres at 37 weeks gestation. Little research has been conducted on how the practice of transferring women for childbirth affects available prenatal care continuity and prenatal care options, and whether or not this in turn affects health outcomes. Objectives: The aim of this study is to examine whether differences exist in prenatal care, risk factor distribution, and neonatal morbidity, between women who are transferred for childbirth, and women who are able to remain in their home community to give birth. Methods: Secondary analysis of the Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey 2006-2007 data was conducted in order to examine the relationship between transfer for childbirth, prenatal care, maternal risk factors, and neonatal morbidity. Crude odds ratios and adjusted odds ratios were calculated to assess the relationships between variables using multiple logistic regression, with bootstrap weights applied. Results: Women who were transferred for childbirth were more likely to experience a negative neonatal morbidity outcome (OR=1.9, 95% CIs 1.3-2.8), though this relationship disappeared when the relationship was adjusted for potential confounders. When these results were adjusted for potential confounding, smoking during pregnancy was the only risk factor shown to be significantly associated with neonatal morbidity in this study (OR=1.8, 95% CIs 1.0-3.0). Conclusion: More detailed and widespread data collection is needed to be able to properly assess prenatal care, maternal risk factors and neonatal morbidity in northern Canada. A perinatal database, constructed for surveillance purposes, would assist in further exploring the effect of transfer policy on prenatal care practices and maternal risk factor distribution, and the effect this has on neonatal health outcomes. / Thesis (Master, Community Health & Epidemiology) -- Queen's University, 2009-09-29 14:55:33.977

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Background/Project Description: There is a growing interest in the contribution of late preterm (34 – 36 week gestational age (GA)) birth to neonatal morbidity and mortality. Late preterm infants have an increased incidence of both respiratory and non- respiratory complications over the first year of life. Rates of prematurity as well as morbidity/mortality in infancy are higher in lower socioeconomic status (SES) groups but how GA and SES interact is relatively unexplored. Methods/Participant Population: A retrospective cohort study was undertaken utilizing anonymized data housed at the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP). A population-based cohort of infants born at 34 to 41 weeks of GA was assembled; individual and area-level income information was used to develop SES groups. Outcomes studied included diagnoses received during the birth hospitalisation, neonatal and post-neonatal admissions. Regression models were constructed to explore the effects of GA and SES as well as control for multiple perinatal variables. Appropriate approvals and safeguards for data privacy were maintained. Results: GA and SES exerted a gradient effect on morbidity, which persisted after controlling for multiple confounding variables. The effect of GA was strongest during the birth hospitalisation but persisted throughout the first year with increased morbidity evident with each week of decreasing GA. The detrimental association of low SES with morbidity increased in effect size throughout the first year surpassing that of GA for post-neonatal admissions. An interaction effect of maternal diabetes, respiratory morbidity and SES was suggested and merits further investigation. Neonatal stays of 3 days or longer negated the association of GA with readmission within the first 28 days; in addition shorter stay infants had the highest risks of readmission at 37 weeks as compared to the late preterm gestations. Conclusions: The consistent associations between poverty, prematurity and morbidity require both further study and attention. Attention to the neonatal health of both late preterm and term infants is important due to their large numbers and population impact. The added risk of poverty merits urgent and multifaceted interventions to lay the groundwork for healthy childhood and long-term success.

The psychometric properties of this Parental Stressor Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PSS:NICU) were assessed, before using the scale to describe stress experienced by parents in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The extent to which parental stress from the parent-infant relationship in the unit was linked to parenting they received as a child, and adjustment to their couple relationship, was also examined. The sample consisted of 182 mothers and 183 fathers, who were in a cohabitating relationship, of infants from the NICU at Christchurch Women's Hospital. The self-report questionnaires included the PSS:NICU, Parental Bonding Instrument, and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, and were administered to parents within 2-3 weeks of their infant's birth. This study extends the finding of satisfactory psychometric properties of the PSS:NICU (Franck, Cox, Allen & Winter, 2005; Miles, Funk & Carlson, 1993; Reid & Bramwell, 2003) to this New Zealand sample. Mothers experienced significantly higher stress from the unit compared to fathers (p < .01). A previous finding, for mothers, of the parent-infant relationship being the most stressful aspect of the unit (Franck et al., 2005; Reid & Bramwell, 2003; Shields-Poe & Pinelli, 1997) extends to the New Zealand sample. The most stressful aspect of the unit for fathers was sights and sounds. Lack of evidence was found for associations between parental stress from the parent-infant relationship in the unit and parenting received as a child, or adjustment to their couple relationship. A weak but significant negative correlation was, however, found between stress from the mother-infant relationship and maternal care received in childhood. It is unnecessary to provide all parents with intervention further to what is already being practiced in the unit, as overall low levels of stress were reported. Some parents, however, did find the unit more stressful, and they may benefit from increased intervention.

When a woman discovers that she is pregnant, she begins a process of internal work to develop her mother role. This process has been outlined in the literature for the delivery of a healthy full-term baby, however little is known about the process for mothers of medically fragile babies. A threatened pregnancy and subsequent delivery of a medically fragile baby involves a different process of internal work by the mother to prepare for her role. Mothers with a baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) experience stress, uncertainty, and anxiety potentially causing a permanent impact on the successful development of her role. It is the purpose of this dissertation to explore the process of mother role development among those first-time mothers having a baby in the NICU. This study was conducted using a qualitative grounded theory method. Data collection consisted of personal journals, in-person interviews, researcher notes and observation. The specific aims include (1) describing the disruption in the individual’s preconceived idea of being a mother, (2) exploring specific strategies that support the mother in the development of her role while in the NICU, (3) describing the mother’s perception of her role during physiologic changes in her baby, (4) examining the mother’s evaluation of her mother-role success, (5) developing a deeper understanding of the process of developing the role of mother while in the NICU, and (6) constructing a theoretical model to illustrate the process of becoming a mother while in the NICU.