Association between Beverage Consumption and Sleep Quality in Adolescents.

The objective of this study was to verify if the consumption of different beverages (such as water, 100% pure fruit juice, and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs)) is associated with adolescents' sleep quality. French-speaking adolescents were recruited in person and online throughout the province of Québec (Canada) from the end of March to early July 2023. Beverage consumption and sleep quality were measured using French versions of validated questionnaires specifically designed for adolescents. A total of 218 adolescents (14-17 years; 55.5% female) completed the online survey. Among caffeinated SSBs, energy drink (rs = -0.16; p = 0.0197) and sugar-sweetened coffee (rs = -0.33; p < 0.0001) intake was correlated with adolescents' sleep quality. Energy drink consumption (ß = -0.0048; p = 0.0005) and being male (ß = 0.6033; p < 0.0001) were associated with adolescents' sleep quality. There was an interaction between sugar-sweetened coffee intake and biological sex that was associated with adolescents' sleep quality (p = 0.0053). Sugar-sweetened coffee consumption was correlated with adolescent girls' abilities to go to bed (rs = -0.21; p = 0.0203) and fall asleep (rs = -0.28; p = 0.0020), while in boys, it was only significantly correlated with their abilities to go to bed (rs = -0.27; p = 0.0069). Public health interventions aimed at adolescent boys should primarily target lowering energy drink consumption, while those aimed at girls should prioritize sugar-sweetened coffee intake to possibly improve their sleep quality.

Psychosocial Correlates of Recreational Screen Time among Adolescents.

The study objective was to identify the psychosocial correlates of recreational screen time among adolescents. Data collection took place in four high schools from the Chaudière-Appalaches region (Quebec, Canada) from late April to mid-May 2021. A total of 258 French-speaking adolescents (69.8% between 15 and 16 years and 66.3% girls) answered an online questionnaire based on the Reasoned Action Approach. Recreational screen time was measured using the French version of a validated questionnaire. Adolescents reported a mean of 5 h and 52 min/day of recreational screen time. Recreational screen time was associated with being a boy (ß = 0.33; p < 0.0001) and intention to limit recreational screen time to a maximum of 2 h/day (ß = -0.15; p = 0.0001); this model explained 30% of the variance in behavior. Intention to limit recreational screen time to a maximum of 2 h/day in the next month was associated with attitude (ß = 0.49; p < 0.0001), self-identity (ß = 0.33; p < 0.0001), being a boy (ß = -0.21; p = 0.0109), perceived behavioral control (ß = 0.18; p = 0.0016), and injunctive norm (ß = 0.17; p < 0.0001); this model explained 70% of the variance in intention. This study identified avenues to design public health interventions aimed at lowering recreational screen time among this population.

Piloting a Mobility Tech Role at an Academic Medical Center.

INTRODUCTION: There is often a breakdown in communication between physical therapy and nursing regarding the responsibility of patient mobility. This communication problem contributes to mobility being the most frequently missed clinical intervention. To address this gap, a Mobility Tech (MT) role was implemented at a large academic medical center. The purpose of this article is to describe the implementation of this role. METHODS: Using the Institute for health care improvement (IHI) model for improvement, iterative small tests of change were developed to integrate the MT role on four acute care units. Using process flow mapping, the team developed a MT workflow that was adapted to create MT protocols. RESULTS: Program outcomes included fall rates and the highest level of mobility documented by staff. During the MT pilot from February 2020 through June 2020, MTs provided an average of over 500 interventions each month. There was a clinically and statistically significant increase in mobility noted in two of the four pilot units. CONCLUSION: We have demonstrated that MTs can be safely incorporated into acute care nursing workflow, and comments from staff and patients validate the role is "value added."

Association between Recreational Screen Time and Sleep Quality among Adolescents during the Third Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada.

The study objective was to verify whether recreational screen time was associated with sleep quality among adolescents during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Data collection took place in four high schools in the region of Chaudière-Appalaches (Quebec, Canada) from the end of April to mid-May 2021. Recreational screen time and sleep quality were measured using the French versions of validated questionnaires specifically designed for adolescents. A total of 258 adolescents (14−18 years; 66.3% girls) answered the online survey. Adolescent boys had a higher total mean recreational screen time (454.3 ± 197.5 vs. 300.5 ± 129.3 min/day, p < 0.0001) and a higher total mean sleep quality score (4.2 ± 0.9 vs. 3.9 ± 0.8, p = 0.0364) compared to girls. Recreational screen time (ß = −0.0012, p = 0.0005) and frequency of concurrent screen use (sometimes: ß = −0.3141, p = 0.0269; often: ß = −0.4147, p = 0.0048; almost always or always: ß = −0.6155, p = 0.0002) were negatively associated with sleep quality while being a boy (ß = 0.4276, p = 0.0004) was positively associated with sleep quality and age (p = 0.6321) was not. This model explained 16% of the variance in adolescents' sleep quality. Public health interventions during and after the COVID-19 pandemic should target recreational screen time, concurrent screen use and especially girls to possibly improve sleep quality and promote adolescents' physical and mental health.

Clinical predictors of positive urine cultures in young children at risk for urinary tract infection.

BACKGROUND: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a common source of bacterial infection among young febrile children. The diagnosis of UTI is challenging because the clinical presentation is not specific. OBJECTIVE: To describe clinical predictors to identify young children needing urine culture for evaluation of UTI. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of all children younger than two years of age (719 hospital visits for 545 patients) suspected of having a UTI during a 12-month period. The outcome was UTI, defined as a catheterized urine culture with pure growth of 104 colonies/mL or greater, or suprapubic aspiration culture with 10³ colonies/mL or greater. Candidate predictors included demographic, historical and physical examination variables. RESULTS: The medical records of 545 children younger than two years of age were reviewed. Forty-six per cent were girls. Mean age was 9.1 months (SD 7 months). Four variables were found to predict UTI: absence of another source of fever on examination (odds ratio [OR]=41.6 [95% CI, 8.8 to 197.4]), foul smelling urine (OR=19.7 [95% CI, 5.7 to 68.2]), white blood cell count greater than 15,000/mm³ (OR=4.3 [95% CI, 2.0 to 9.3]), younger than six months old (OR=3.1 [95% CI, 1.3 to 7.1]). The sensitivity of an abnormal urine analysis was 0.77 (95% CI, 0.66 to 0.88) and the specificity was 0.31 (95% CI, 0.2 to 0.42). CONCLUSION: An incremental increase in risk for UTI is associated with younger age (younger than six months), having a white blood cell count higher than 15,000/mm³, parental report of malodorous or foul smelling urine and the absence of an alternative source of fever. In the present patient population, obtaining a urine culture from children with at least one of these clinical predictors would have resulted in missing one UTI (2%), and 111 negative cultures (20%) would have been avoided.