Including bereaved parents in this communication skills workshop improved the residents' confidence in discussing serious topics and enhanced the reality of the experience.
Nursing development units (NDUs) are centres where groups of nurses, midwives, public health nurses and health visitors use a comprehensive planned strategy to develop themselves and their practice. Some of the early defining work on NDUs is considered and a brief history is outlined in this article. The strategic approach taken by the Eastern Health Shared Services in Dublin has led to the development of many NDUs in the Dublin area over a five-year period. The NDUs are based on a strategic, supportive approach. Six now exist in the state-funded health service system, but the project has also been widened to include the private and voluntary sectors and this has stimulated several other units to emerge. Focus group work with NDU leaders and facilitators has led to a gradual redefining of the principles of NDUs and the emergence of an accreditation system run by the board. The authors summarise these findings.
Objective: To explore parents’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviours regarding sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs, e.g. soft drinks, juice drinks, sports drinks) and other beverages provided by parents at youth sports events. Design: Qualitative analysis of focus group discussions. Setting: Ada County, Idaho, USA. Method: A total of 3 focus groups were conducted with 24 parents of 6- to 11-year-old children participating in one community recreational soccer league. Parents were asked how they selected beverages for their children at soccer practices and games, and shared ideas for improving healthy beverage consumption in this setting. Two coders performed an inductive content analysis of the focus group transcripts, and an external reviewer established the trustworthiness of the data. Results: Parents expressed uncertainty about which beverages other than water were best for children’s health and performance. Beverage choices were affected by factors such as cost, convenience, the weather, the level of competition and children’s ages. Parents also noted the influence of coaches, other parents, their children’s preferences, their beverage habits at home and the media. Parents desired evidence-based guidance on optimal beverages for youth athletes and recommended specific interventions to reduce consumption of SSBs in the context of youth sport events. Conclusion: Results indicate the need for developmentally appropriate expert recommendations for healthy beverage consumption in recreational youth sport, and reinforce findings from existing research which suggest that parents desire support to ensure healthy beverages are offered at youth sports events.
Background: Few studies have examined white matter with diffusion tensor imaging in 8- to 12-year-old collision sport (CS) athletes. Hypothesis: Youth CS athletes will demonstrate change in brain fractional anisotropy (FA) after a season of CS compared with an age-matched noncollision sport (NCS) cohort, and the number, magnitude, and location of hits will correlate with changes in the brain determined via FA for CS athletes. Study Design: Prospective cohort study. Level of Evidence: Level 3. Methods: Thirty-five 8- to 12-year-old males in a youth tackle football league (CS) and 12 males from local swim teams (NCS) were recruited. Participants underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging with FA before and after the football season. Number, magnitude, and direction of head impacts were recorded for CS participants throughout the season. Results: A total of 1905 hits were recorded in the CS group for the season, 341 (17.9%) collected during 7 games and 1564 (82.1%) observed during 31 practices. No significant interaction between group (CS and NCS) and time (pre- and postseason) was observed for FA ( P > 0.05). Correlation analysis revealed a significantly positive and moderate relationship between increase of left cingulate cortex (CgC) FA from pre- to postseason and the total magnitude of lateral head impacts ( r = 0.40; P = 0.03). Conclusion: There was no significant change in FA measurement of white matter integrity in a cohort of 8- to 12-year-old males after a season of youth football, nor was any difference detected in FA between youth football players and an age-matched cohort of swimmers. There was a significant correlation between total magnitude of hits sustained by youth football players and an increase in FA in the left CgC; whether this is adaptive or pathologic remains unknown. Clinical Relevance: These data can be used within the body of knowledge to counsel patients regarding the known risks of youth tackle football regarding brain health.
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