[Exploratory study on spinal musculoskeletal health of osteopathy students]. / Étude exploratoire de la santé musculo-squelettique du rachis d'étudiants en ostéopathie.

BACKGROUND: During their training, students in osteopathy regularly undergo spinal manipulation exercises. This exposes the students' spine to unskilled gestures performed by their colleagues learning spinal manipulation. Discomfort, muscle soreness or moderate pain following spinal manipulations lasting two or three days are commonly reported. In addition, some students may have ongoing spinal musculoskeletal disease (SMSD) during their studies. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of SMSDs and their maximum intensity in a population of osteopathy students and to determine whether individual differences exist. METHOD: An exploratory cross-sectional study took place over three years. Data were collected by means of a self-administrated standardised questionnaire screening for MSD: the Nordic questionnaire. RESULTS: There were 733 exploitable questionnaires, giving an average response rate of 91.5%. Average prevalence of SMSD was 98.4% during the last 12 months. Average maximum intensity perceived was 6/10 and 45% of students experienced an intense SMSD (scored between 7 and 10/10). Variation of the maximum intensity of SMSD between "before osteopathy studies" and "the last 12 months" was 1.2/10. This variation was influenced by the number of days students were manipulated during a week (p<0.0001). On average, students underwent manipulation three days a week. CONCLUSION: This study confirms the important prevalence of SMSD among osteopathy students. This result led us to carry out a qualitative study for exploring students' conceptions in health and spinal manipulative practices.

Human genetic factors in tuberculosis: an update.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major threat to human health, especially in many developing countries. Human genetic variability has been recognised to be of great relevance in host responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and in regulating both the establishment and the progression of the disease. An increasing number of candidate gene and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have focused on human genetic factors contributing to susceptibility or resistance to TB. To update previous reviews on human genetic factors in TB we searched the MEDLINE database and PubMed for articles from 1 January 2014 through 31 March 2017 and reviewed the role of human genetic variability in TB. Search terms applied in various combinations were 'tuberculosis', 'human genetics', 'candidate gene studies', 'genome-wide association studies' and 'Mycobacterium tuberculosis'. Articles in English retrieved and relevant references cited in these articles were reviewed. Abstracts and reports from meetings were also included. This review provides a recent summary of associations of polymorphisms of human genes with susceptibility/resistance to TB.

[Can we assess the efficacy of psychotherapies in a clinical trial?] / Peut-on évaluer l'efficacité des psychothérapies à l'aide d'un essai clinique ?

Extensive evidence demonstrates that psychotherapy can be an efficacious and effective health care service for a wide range of mental health and health conditions. Recently, an important distinction between efficacy research and effectiveness research has been made within research focused on the outcome of psychotherapy. Data from both efficacy and effectiveness studies are fundamental to a complete understanding of the potential impact of a psychotherapy and the way to carry successful psychotherapeutics interventions to routine clinical practice. Efficacy studies, using randomized controlled trials, maximize the internal validity of a study by the use of design features, such as random assignment to a psychotherapeutic intervention and control conditions, training of therapists to a specified level of competence in providing the treatment, and ensuring that all participants have the condition that the treatment was designed to address. The randomized controlled trials allowed to objectify the efficacy of the psychotherapies in multiple pathological contexts, as we will see with the example of bipolar disorders. On the other hand, effectiveness studies strive to maximize external validity (while maintaining an adequate level of internal validity) by locating the study within clinical service sites that provide ongoing health services, using clinicians who are routinely providing psychological services and patients who have been referred to the clinical settings. These studies do not allow understanding changes and psychotherapeutic processes in real practice. A solution might be found in using pragmatic case studies in a systematic manner to constitute ecologically valid samples and measure change and psychotherapeutic processes during clinically significant periods of time.

Outcomes of Team-Centered, Occupational Adaptation-Based Versus Traditional Dementia Workforce Training.

Background. Dementia workforce training aligned with Occupational Adaptation (OA) theory may facilitate teams resolving challenges in the care environment more than traditional skills-based (SB) training, although comparisons are needed. Purpose. This pilot study compared effectiveness of an OA and SB program on relative mastery and team development for dementia care teams at a continuing care retirement community. Method. In a quasi-experimental study, employees underwent nine sessions in an OA or SB program. Relative Mastery Measurement Scale and Team Development Measure results were collected pre-, mid-, post-intervention. A 3 × 2 ANOVA determined differences in group score changes across time. Findings. Data from 28 employees (14/group) showed group-by-time interaction reached statistical significance for both relative mastery (F = 3.17, df = 2, p = .05) and team development (F = 8.38, df = 2, p = .001). Implications. OA-based training may improve dementia care teams' collaborative mastery over real-world challenges. While preliminary findings inform program developers, further research must explore clinical effectiveness.

Child Development Outcomes of DIR/Floortime TM-based Programs: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Occupational therapy is often part of the multi-disciplinary approach within the Developmental, Individual-differences, Relationship-based (DIR) FloortimeTM Model. The model addresses the emotional development of children, which is considered to be critical for the other child developmental areas. PURPOSE: This review serves to inform practitioner decision-making about the use of this model, as no systematic reviews exist on child development outcomes. METHODS: The systematic search included Medline, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Scopus, and Cochrane. For critical appraisal, the McMaster Critical Review was utilized. FINDINGS: Nine studies were identified with varying quality levels. Outcomes were mostly reported for increased socio-emotional development. IMPLICATIONS: The evidence base for this model is emerging from a published research perspective. It is recommended that the use of this model be supported by sound clinical reasoning processes, intervention fidelity, use of valid outcome measures, and regular monitoring. Higher quality research is urgently needed to progress the research base for this intervention.

Falls prevention interventions for older adults with low vision: A scoping review: Étude de portée sur les interventions visant à prévenir les chutes chez les aînés ayant une basse vision.

BACKGROUND: Older adults with low vision are especially vulnerable to falls. There are no comprehensive reviews of fall prevention interventions for older adults with vision loss who live in the community. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to review the evidence regarding community-based falls prevention interventions that appear inclusive of and/or accessible to individuals with low vision. METHOD: A scoping review was completed using the framework developed by Arksey and O'Malley, and the charted data were analyzed using sums and percentages and qualitative content analysis. FINDINGS: Seventeen publications were selected for this review. The analysis allowed for a thorough description of the types of falls prevention interventions (multiple components, home safety/modification, tai chi, the Alexander Technique, improvement of vision through vision assessment and referral, vision/agility training, and yoga), how each intervention addresses vision impairment, and the relation of results to falls risk. IMPLICATIONS: Falls prevention research targeting individuals with visual impairment is limited, and the intervention approaches available may not be effective for older adults with permanent vision loss.

Desenvolvimento e validação de plataformas do tipo "Point-of-Care" para o diagnóstico molecular de arbovírus emergentes

As arboviroses, como as provocadas pelo o vírus Zika (ZIKV) e o vírus chikungunya (CHIKV), têm sido associadas a surtos em larga escala e epidemias em vários países de clima tropical e subtropical nos últimos anos. Atualmente, o diagnóstico dos pacientes infectados por estes vírus é realizado em laboratórios centralizados utilizando a reação de transcriptase reversa seguida da reação em cadeia da polimerase quantitativa (RT-qPCR), que, embora seja o método molecular padrão-ouro para o diagnóstico molecular, tem várias desvantagens para uso em áreas remotas e de poucos recursos, como alto custo e necessidade de equipamentos especializados. Essas desvantagens dificultam a aplicação e utilização para um grande número de amostras. As plataformas de diagnóstico point-of-care (POC) têm o potencial de superar essas limitações, especialmente em países em desenvolvimento. Com isso em mente, nós desenvolvemos e validamos duas plataformas de diagnóstico baseadas em RT-LAMP e biossensores moleculares para a detecção rápida do ZIKV e CHIKV em amostras de pacientes e amostras de mosquitos. O RT-LAMP foi capaz de detectar o ZIKV em diversos tipos de amostras (soro, urina, saliva e sêmen) em apenas 20 minutos, sem extração de RNA. O ensaio RT-LAMP foi altamente específico e até 100 vezes mais sensível do que RT-qPCR. Em seguida, validamos o ensaio com 100 amostras de soro de pacientes coletadas de casos suspeitos de infecção por arbovírus no estado de Pernambuco, epicentro da última epidemia de Zika. Comparado com a RT-qPCR, o ensaio RT-LAMP forneceu sensibilidade de 100%, especificidade de 93,75% e uma precisão geral de 95,00%. Por outro lado, os biossensores moleculares apresentaram sensibilidade similar e alta especificidade quando comparado a RTqPCR. Na sequência, validamos os biossensores com 268 amostras clínicas e as análises demonstraram sensibilidade de 94,52%, especificidade de 100% e uma precisão geral de 98,51%. Demonstrando a programabilidade e extensibilidade de ambas as plataformas de diagnóstico, alcançamos um desempenho de diagnóstico semelhante para a detecção do CHIKV em soro, saliva, urina e amostras de mosquitos. Por fim, também foi otimizado um método alternativo de extração do RNA baseado em fervura acoplado a técnica de RT-qPCR para a detecção molecular do ZIKV. Tomados em conjunto, o ensaio RT-LAMP e os biossensores moleculares fornecem duas alternativas promissoras e de baixo custo para o diagnóstico rápido do ZIKV e CHIKV e possuem o potencial de aumentar a capacidade diagnóstica em áreas afetadas por estes arbovírus emergentes, particularmente em países com baixa infraestrutura laboratorial.