Half of rural toddlers aged 0–3 years in China's Qinling Mountainous region are cognitively delayed. While recent studies have linked poor child development measures to the absence of positive parenting behaviors, much less is known about the role that caregiver depression might play in shaping child development. In this paper, a mixed methods analysis is used to explore the prevalence of depression; measure the association between caregiver depression and children's developmental delays, correlates of depression, and the potential reasons for caregiver depression among women in rural China. The analysis brings together results from a large-scale survey of 1,787 caregivers across 118 villages in one northwestern province, as well as information from in-depth interviews with 55 female caregivers from these same study sites. Participants were asked to respond to the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) as well as a scale to measure children's social-emotional development, the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional (ASQ-SE). We also administered a test of early childhood development, the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID-III), to all of the study household's infants and toddlers. The results show that the prevalence of depression may be as high as 23.5 percent among all female caregivers (defined as scoring in the mild or higher category of the DASS-21). Grandmothers have higher prevalence of depression than mother caregivers (p < 0.01). Caregiver depression also is significantly associated with a 0.53 SD worsening of children's social-emotional development (p < 0.01) and a 0.12 SD decrease in children's language development (p < 0.05). Our qualitative findings reveal six predominant reasons for caregiver depression: lack of social support from family and friends; the burden of caregiving; lack of control and agency within the household; within-family conflict; poverty; the perception of material wealth as a measure of self-worth. Our findings show a serious lack of understanding of mental health issues among rural women, and suggest that rural communities could benefit greatly from an educational program concerning mental health and its influence on child development. Our findings confirm the need for a comprehensive approach toward rural health, with particular attention paid to mental health awareness and support to elderly caregivers.
Background Distracting interference cognitive tasks place undeniable pressure on the minds of people who need high precision and attention during the tasks, such as those tasks performed during surgery; these tasks might affect current surgical procedures. We measured the effect of additional cognitive tasks on the mental load of the physician by measuring the mean change in pupil size, blink rate, and subjective assessment during surgery. Material/Methods We recruited 24 participants with different levels of laparoscopic surgery to perform a complete appendectomy using a standardized virtual reality laparoscopic surgery simulator. The participants then performed the cognitive task (arithmetic problem), after that they performed an appendectomy surgery task while completing the cognitive task on the simulator. All participants wore trackers to monitor pupil size and blink rate during surgery and the cognitive task. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Task Load Index (TLX) score also recorded performance parameters during the surgical mission. Results The double-task pupil size and the blink rate were significantly increased compared to the single-task observation, and the associated increase in psychological load might have been affected by surgical performance, and the performance parameters were also statistically significant. However, for the aforementioned parameters, experienced surgeons had some differences compared with inexperienced surgeons, but these differences did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions Distracted cognitive task stimulation in the operating room can increase the surgeon’s psychological burden while also affecting their operational skills, thereby threatening patient safety; reduced cognitive costs might be obtained by improving or managing cognitive deficits.
Noise can exert undeniable pressure on human minds, especially during tasks that require high precision and attention, such as those performed during surgery. To investigate whether auditory stimuli increases mental loads during laparoscopic surgery, we examined the effects of operating room (OR) noises and music by measuring mean changes in pupil sizes and subjectively assessing performances during surgery. We recruited 24 subjects with varying laparoscopic surgery experience levels to perform complete appendectomy using a laparoscopic simulator. Wearable eye trackers were worn by all subjects to monitor pupil sizes during surgery, and surgical tasks were performed under conditions of silence, background OR noise, and music. National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Task Load Index scores and performance parameters were also recorded during surgical tasks. Noise distractions were associated with significant increases in pupil sizes compared with those observed in silence, and the related increases in mental loads may have affected surgical performance. However, more experienced operators had smaller changes in pupil sizes because of auditory disturbances than moderately experienced surgeons. Noise stimulation in the OR increases surgeon's mental workload and performance. Auditory regulation of the OR may be better standardized using data from studies of the effects of acoustic stimulation in the OR, and mental stresses during surgery could be considered in a more humane manner. Further investigations are necessary to determine the cognitive consequences of various auditory stimuli.
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