Association between Quality of Interactions Schedule ratings and care experiences of people with a dementia in general hospital settings: a validation study.

INTRODUCTION: Establishing methods to evaluate interactions between hospital staff and patients with a dementia is vital to inform care delivery. This study aimed to assess the validity of Quality of Interactions Schedule (QuIS) ratings in relation to the care experiences of people with a dementia in a general hospital setting. METHODS: Four hundred and ninety face-to-face interactions between staff and patients with a dementia (n = 107) on six medicine for older people wards in a UK National Health Service hospital were observed and rated using QuIS and the Psychological Well-Being in Cognitively Impaired Persons (PWB-CIP) tool. We also invited patient ratings for longer interactions (n = 217). Analyses explored associations between QuIS ratings, PWB-CIP ratings and patient ratings. RESULTS: When QuIS was rated negative, the mean researcher-rated patient psychological well-being was lower (PWB = 7.9 out of maximum score of 10) than when QuIS was non-negative (PWB = 8.8, p = 0.036). Negative QuIS ratings were associated with negative ratings on seven out of ten individual PWB-CIP items. When QuIS was rated negative, the associated patient rating was 4% less likely to be 'happy'. The patient was also 4% more likely to rate the interaction as 'kind'. Patients struggled to participate in care ratings. CONCLUSIONS: Some patients found responding to researcher questions difficult or not relevant, reflecting the need for development of more suitable methods in this field. Our findings of an association between lower quality QuIS-rated interactions and lower psychological well-being lend support to the use of QuIS with patient populations that include people with a dementia.

Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanowires Formed by Reactive Dewetting.

The growth and reactive dewetting of ultrathin films of iron oxides supported on Re(0001) surfaces have been imaged in situ in real time. Initial growth forms a nonmagnetic stable FeO (wüstite like) layer in a commensurate network upon which high aspect ratio nanowires of several microns in length but less than 40 nm in width can be fabricated. The nanowires are closely aligned with the substrate crystallography and imaging by X-ray magnetic circular dichroism shows that each contain a single magnetic domain. The driving force for dewetting appears to be the minimization of strain energy of the Fe3O4 crystallites and follows the Tersoff and Tromp model in which strain is minimized at constant height by extending in one epitaxially matched direction. Such wires are promising in spintronic applications and we predict that the growth will also occur on other hexagonal substrates.

Assessing Rates of Inadequate Feeding Practices Among Children 12-24 months: Results from a Cross-Sectional Survey in Myanmar.

Objectives To ensure proper nutrition and optimal health outcomes, it is critical that infants are exclusively breastfed (0-6 months) and then receive adequate feeding from 6-23 months (breastfeeding and frequent feedings of complementary foods). Despite policies and guidelines on adequate feeding in Myanmar, past research has found low rates of adequately fed infants 0-11 months and little is known about the adequacy of feeding practices for children 12-23 months. The aim of this study is to understand the feeding practices of children aged 0-24 months in Myanmar and maternal characteristics associated with adequate feeding practices. Methods This study examines the rates of adequately fed infants and young children (0-23 months) in hard-to-reach townships in Myanmar from a cross-sectional, multistage cluster survey. Survey data on nutritional practices were collected from 489 mothers. Data were analyzed using multivariate regressions. Results We found that 41.8 % of infants under 6 months were exclusively breastfed, 63.2 % of those aged 6-11 months were adequately fed, and 10.3 % of 12-23 month-olds were adequately fed. In multivariate regressions we found that antenatal care visits [1-4 visits, AOR = 6.59 (p < 0.01) and >4 visits, AOR = 6.63 (p < 0.05)] was associated with exclusive breastfeeding for under 6 month old infants. Having >4 antenatal care visits [AOR = 9.97 (p < 0.05)] was associated with adequate feeding for 6-11 months old infants. Conclusions Future nutritional interventions and policies should focus on improving messaging about adequate feeding practices, especially for 12-23 months olds.