Threat through the Screen? Association between Proximity and/or Watching Media Coverage of a Terrorist Attack and Health.

INTRODUCTION: After terrorist attacks, media coverage of the attacks is extensive. There are some indications that there is an association between watching the media coverage and certain health reactions, both mental and somatic. Most studies occur in the United States and often months after the initial attack. In the current study, we investigated the terrorist attacks in Belgium on 22 March 2016. METHODS: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted one week after the attacks among the general population of Belgium. We measured hours of media watching of the terrorist attacks (hereafter media watching), adjusted scales of the Patient Health Questionaire-4 (PHQ-4) to measure mental symptoms and the Patient Health Questionaire-15 (PHQ-15) to measure somatic symptoms, proximity to Brussels (home, work and overall proximity) and background factors such as gender, age and level of education. Respondents were included if they answered the survey between 29 March 2016 and 5 April 2016. RESULTS: A total of 2972 respondents were included. Overall, media watching was significantly associated with both mental symptoms (p < 0.001) and somatic symptoms (p < 0.001), while controlling for age, gender, level of education and proximity. Watching more than three hours of media was associated with more mental and somatic symptoms (p < 0.001). Compared to proximity, media watching was, in general, a better association. For geographical factors, watching more than three hours of media indicated equally high scores for mental symptoms and somatic symptoms as work proximity (p = 0.015) and overall proximity to the attacks (p = 0.024). CONCLUSION: Media-watching is associated with acute health reactions after terrorist attacks. However, the direction of the relationship is unclear, as it might also be that people with health issues seek out more media.

Dealing with cultural diversity in palliative care.

Palliative care is increasingly confronted with cultural diversity. This can lead to various problems in practice. In this perspective article, the authors discuss in more detail which issues play a role in culture-sensitive palliative care, why naive culturalism will not solve such problems and in which direction research into this aspect of care can be further elaborated.

Association Between Feeling Threatened, Behaviour and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression: Two and a Half Years After the Terrorist Attacks in Belgium.

Feeling threatened by terrorism can be associated with mental health problems and behavioural changes. However, few studies look at the association in the long-term. Using a survey, the population in Brussels, Belgium was studied using a representative database delivered by the national post service. The Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) assessed mental health, and self-made questions avoidance behaviour. 170 people answered: 60% women and 50% higher educated, 28.2% between 56 and 65 years and 62.4% had a partner. 43.5% felt threatened by the terrorist attacks and 45.9% experienced no mental health problems. Both terrorist threat (p < 0.001) and avoidance behaviour (p < 0.001) significantly predicted PHQ-4 scores, while controlling for gender, age, social support, education level, and traumatic events. There is a relation between terrorist threat and anxiety/depressive symptoms 2.5 years after the last study on terrorist threat in Brussels, but it has weakened. Avoidance behaviour seems to be more present than threat.

Suicide in Flanders, Belgium, after terrorist attacks.

Little is known about the association between terrorism and suicide. This study investigates suicide numbers in Flanders, Belgium before and after the Paris-attacks (13/11/2015) and Brussels-attacks (22/03/2016). Population mortality data for suicide were gathered from the Agency for healthcare. Suicides in Flanders, Belgium, were higher after both attacks. The increase was higher after the Paris-attacks, compared to the attacks in Brussels, Belgium. The effect of a close-by, but still foreign attack (the Paris-attacks in France) on suicide numbers is larger than that of an attack inside the country (the Brussels-attacks), possibly due to a difference in threat experience and coping possibilities.

The effects of psychological inoculation on condom use tendencies and barriers; a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Condom use prevents the contraction of the HIV. Research shows limited effects of education on increasing condom use. Psychological inoculation (PI) has been found to be more effective in this domain, however, its mechanism is unknown. This study examined effects of PI versus education on condom use barriers and tendencies, and its relations with cognitive dissonance, using a fully automatized online system. DESIGN: The study was a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and included 149 students from a German University randomly assigned to PI or a control condition. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: An indirect condom use test (I-CUTE), a condom use barriers questionnaire, self-reported condom use, and cognitive dissonance estimations were all assessed at baseline and one-month post-intervention. RESULTS: PI significantly increased I-CUTE scores when participants had sexual relations. Control participants increased in self-reported condom use and on I-CUTE scores in people without sexual relations. No changes in barriers were seen in either group. The cognitive dissonance tended to be higher in PI participants as compared to control participants. CONCLUSIONS: PI increases I-CUTE scores compared to controls (based on effect sizes), and significantly in those with sexual relations. The role of relationship status and the mechanisms of PI should be further examined.

Withholding/Withdrawing Life-Sustaining Treatment in a Multiethnic Critical Care Setting: An Ethnographic Study.

Background: Critical care physicians often have to make challenging decisions to withhold/withdraw life-sustaining treatments. As a result of society's increasingly cultural diversity such decision making often involves patients from ethnic minority groups, which might pose extra challenges. Objective: To investigate withholding/withdrawing life-sustaining treatments with patients from ethnic minority groups and their families during critical care. Design: Ethnographic fieldwork (observations, in-depth interviews and reading patients' medical files). Setting/Subjects: Eighteen patients from ethnic minority groups, their relatives, physicians and nurses were studied in one intensive care unit of a multi-ethnic urban hospital (Belgium). Results: During decision making physicians had a very central role. The contribution of patients and nurses was limited, while families' input was more noticeable. Decision making was hampered by communication difficulties between: (1) staff and relative(s), (2) relatives, and (3) patient and relative(s). Different approaches were used by physicians to overcome difficulties, which often reflected their tendency to control decision making, for example, stressing their central role. At times their approaches reflected their inability to align families' wishes with their own, for example, when making decisions without explicitly informing relatives. Conclusions: Withholding/withdrawing life-sustaining treatments in a multi-ethnic critic care context has a number of alarming difficulties, such as how to take families' input correctly into account. It is important that decision making happens in a cultural sensitive way and with involvement tailored to patients' and relatives' needs and in close consultation with interprofessional health care workers/other services.

Neurophysiological Assessments During Continuous Sedation Until Death Put Validity of Observational Assessments Into Question: A Prospective Observational Study.

INTRODUCTION: In case of untreatable suffering at the end of life, continuous sedation until death (CSD) may be the only treatment option left. Because these patients cannot communicate anymore, caregivers have to rely on behavioral observation to assess the patient's comfort. Recently, however, a number of studies from the neurosciences have shown that sometimes consciousness and pain are undetectable with these traditional behavioral methods. The aim of this study was to find out if subjective caregiver assessments of consciousness and pain would be confirmed by objective neurophysiological measures. METHODS: In this prospective observational study, we observed patients from the start of palliative sedation until death. Subjective caregiver assessments of level of consciousness and pain based on behavioral observations were compared with objective measures from neurophysiological monitoring devices. RESULTS: We collected and analyzed 108 subjective caregiver assessments in a sample of 12 patients and 32 assessments by traditionally used observational scales. We compared these with objective neurophysiological measures. Sensitivity and specificity of caregivers' subjective assessments of consciousness was 23.6 and 91.1% respectively, with an accuracy of 54.0% and interrater reliability (κ) of 0.13. For pain, this was 0 and 94.79%, respectively, an accuracy of 88%, and an inter-rater reliability (κ) of - 0.063. Agreement between caregivers' subjective assessments and objective neurophysiological measures of consciousness and pain was very poor. CONCLUSIONS: Caregivers' subjective assessment of level of consciousness and pain during CSD is unreliable compared with objective neurophysiological monitoring. Our results suggest that assessments of patient comfort during CSD could have been improved substantially by including objective monitoring of level of consciousness and pain. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The protocol for this observational study has been registered retrospectively at Clinical-Trials.gov (ID NCT03273244).

Attitudes of Professional Caregivers and Family Members Regarding the Use of Monitoring Devices to Improve Assessments of Pain and Discomfort During Continuous Sedation Until Death.

CONTEXT: Assessing consciousness and pain during continuous sedation until death (CSD) by behavior-based observational scales alone has recently been put into question. Instead, the use of monitoring technology has been suggested to make more objective and reliable assessments. Insights into which factors influence attitudes toward using these monitoring devices in a context of CSD is a first step in formulating recommendations to inform future practice. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to find out what influences professional caregivers' and family members' (FMs) attitudes regarding the use of monitors during CSD. METHODS: We conducted semistructured face-to-face interviews with 20 professional caregivers and 15 FMs, who cared for a patient or had an FM, respectively, who took part in a study using monitoring devices. Recruitment took place in an academic hospital, a locoregional hospital, and two nursing homes, all located in Belgium. Two researchers independently analyzed the data, using grounded theory to inductively develop a model that represents the emerging attitude toward use of monitors during CSD. RESULTS: Our model shows that the emerging attitudes toward using monitors during CSD is determined by view on CSD, desire for peace of mind, emotional valence attached to using monitors, and the realization that the sole use of behavior-based observational measures could be unreliable in a CSD context. We identified several facilitators and barriers to inform future implementation strategies. CONCLUSION: Most participants had no objections, and all participants found the use of monitoring devices during CSD feasible and acceptable. We identified a number of facilitators and barriers and suggested that being aware that care can be improved, good communication, shared decision making, and continuing professional education can overcome the identified barriers. We suggest future research would focus on developing implementation strategies and guidelines for introducing objective monitoring devices in diverse palliative care settings.

Preventing Conflicts Between Nurses and Families of a Multi-ethnic Patient Population During Critical Medical Situations in a Hospital.

Introduction: Little is known about how to avoid intercultural nurse-family conflicts in critical care settings. In this article, strategies are discussed that may be useful to prevent or mitigate intercultural nurse-family conflicts during critical medical situations in hospital. Method: Strategies are based on an ethnographic study by Van Keer et al., other literature, and expert opinion. Results: Sufficient structural measures are needed. First, institutions must create appropriate ward policies, such as including nurses in end-of-life communication. Second, nurses should be coached in the workplace. Third, institutions must provide adapted, visual, ward information to families. Additionally, education and research are needed. These measures should be actively stimulated by nurse managers and reflect a multicultural program supported by the hospital. Discussion: Intercultural nurse-family conflict prevention or mitigation should take into account organizational aspects, on hospital units and in hospital as a whole, and the crucial role of education and research.

Questions and Emotions of Minors After Terrorist Attacks: A Qualitative Study Using Data from a Belgian Youth-Helpline.

Until now, there is little research on the experiences of indirectly exposed minors after terrorist attacks. This study sheds light on the emotions and questions of such indirectly exposed minors. A qualitative content analysis of secondary data gained from Awel, a youth-helpline, was performed until saturation. Data contained emotions and questions in chat conversations, with 30 minors (8-18 years old). Emotions included guilt, sadness, and especially fear of attacks on themselves, their family, or at school. Questions mostly focused on making sense of the attacks, and how to distinguish fantasy from reality. After an attack children and adolescents experienced a wide range of emotions, and seem to have difficulty to make sense of what happened. Teachers and parents can play an important role in buffering fears, and in offering contextual information and concrete answers.

Challenges in delivering bad news in a multi-ethnic intensive care unit: An ethnographic study.

OBJECTIVE: During critical care, physicians are frequently confronted with bad-news communication because of patients' frail conditions. Delivering bad news is not easy, certainly not when patients from ethnic minority groups are involved. In this study we investigate the delivery of bad news in a multi-ethnic critical care context. METHODS: Ethnographic fieldwork in one intensive care unit of a multi-ethnic urban hospital in Belgium. Data were collected through negotiated interactive observation, in-depth interviews and from reading patients' medical records. Data were thematically analysed. RESULTS: Bad-news communication was primarily dominated by physicians. Patients' and relatives' input and other professionals' involvement in the communication was limited. Staff encountered ethno-cultural related difficulties, firstly, in choosing suitable conversation partner(s); secondly, in choosing the place of conversations and thirdly, in the information exchange. Staff usually tried to address these problems themselves on the spot in a quick, pragmatic way. Sometimes their approaches seemed to be more emotion-driven than well thought-out. CONCLUSION: Delivering bad news in a multi-ethnic intensive care unit has a number of specific difficulties. These can have negative consequences for parties involved. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The challenges of an adequate delivery of bad news need a team-approach and a well thought-out protocol.

Should we include monitors to improve assessment of awareness and pain in unconscious palliatively sedated patients? A case report.

BACKGROUND: Awareness and pain during palliative sedation is typically assessed by observational scales, but the use of such scales has been put into question. CASE PRESENTATION: A woman in her mid-80s was admitted to a palliative care unit, presenting with chronic lymphatic leukemia, depression, and a cerebrovascular accident, with right-sided hemiplegia and aphasia. The patient was unable to eat and was suffering from nausea and vomiting. Before admission, the patient had expressed her desire to discontinue treatment on several occasions. CASE MANAGEMENT: The decision was made to initiate palliative sedation. The patient consented to take part in a study to assess level of comfort and pain using two monitoring devices (NeuroSense monitor and Analgesia Nociception Index monitor). CASE OUTCOME: The patient died 90 h after initiation of palliative sedation. Titration of the medication was challenging and sedation was not deep enough during the first 2 days. Thirteen assessments made with the Ramsay Sedation Scale showed that the patient was considered to be in a deep sleep, while in fact the NeuroSense monitor indicated otherwise. CONCLUSION: This case demonstrates the feasibility and potential advantages of using monitoring devices to objectify assessments of pain and discomfort in palliatively sedated patients.

Effects of a computerized psychological inoculation intervention on condom use tendencies in sub Saharan and Caucasian students: two feasibility trials.

Objective: An effective method for preventing the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is condom use. Yet, research shows limited effects of education on increasing condom use. This research examined the effects of psychological inoculation (PI) versus education on condom use -barriers and -tendencies, using a fully automatized online system. Design: Two randomized controlled trials. In Study 1, 59 Sub-Saharan students were included while Study 2 20 European students were included. In both studies, participants were randomly assigned to PI or control conditions. In Study 2, we additionally matched pairs on gender and condom barriers. In the PI, participants received challenging sentences they had to refute. Main outcome measures: An indirect condom use test (I-CUTE) and a condom use barriers questionnaire, assessed at baseline and a month later. Results: In Study 1, a significant increase in I-CUTE scores and no change in barriers was found in the PI condition. Controls did not change on either outcome. In Study 2, two sub-scales of condom barriers (concerning partner and satisfaction) were significantly decreased in the PI group, while in controls, barriers significantly increased over time. In both groups, I-CUTE scores tended to increase. Conclusions: These results replicate previous studies and extend them to a fully automatized system without counselors.

Are the Elderly Perceived as a Burden to Society? The Perspective of Family Caregivers in Belgium and Kenya: A Comparative Study.

INTRODUCTION: It is estimated that 70% to 80% of informal care for frail and disabled elders is provided by family caregivers (FCGs). AIM: To better understand how caregiving for the elderly has affected FCGs lives and to compare the perspective of these caregivers in Belgium and Kenya. METHOD: Semistructured interviews were undertaken with 15 FCGs in Kenya and 15 FCGs in Belgium. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to identify themes. RESULTS: Themes discovered in the experience of family caregiving included profile of the care receiver, impact of caregiving on the FCG, cultural values and norms, challenges in caregiving, coping strategies and caregiver well-being. DISCUSSION: FCGs in both Kenya and Belgium identified experiencing serious concerns. In Kenya, the lack of resources and formal structures play a more important role than in Belgium. Despite this difference, culture-specific views and norms are paramount to explaining the FCG experience in the two countries.

The Vagus Nerve Can Predict and Possibly Modulate Non-Communicable Chronic Diseases: Introducing a Neuroimmunological Paradigm to Public Health.

Global burden of diseases (GBD) includes non-communicable conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. These share important behavioral risk factors (e.g., smoking, diet) and pathophysiological contributing factors (oxidative stress, inflammation and excessive sympathetic activity). This article wishes to introduce to medicine and public health a new paradigm to predict, understand, prevent and possibly treat such diseases based on the science of neuro-immunology and specifically by focusing on vagal neuro-modulation. Vagal nerve activity is related to frontal brain activity which regulates unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. Epidemiologically, high vagal activity, indexed by greater heart rate variability (HRV), independently predicts reduced risk of GBD and better prognosis in GBD. Biologically, the vagus nerve inhibits oxidative stress, inflammation and sympathetic activity (and associated hypoxia). Finally, current non-invasive methods exist to activate this nerve for neuro-modulation, and have promising clinical effects. Indeed, preliminary evidence exists for the beneficial effects of vagal nerve activation in diabetes, stroke, myocardial infarction and possibly cancer. Thus, we propose to routinely implement measurement of HRV to predict such GBD in populations, and to test in randomized controlled trials effects of non-invasive vagal nerve activation on prevention and treatment of GBD, reflecting possible neuro-modulation of health.

Association between feeling threatened by a terrorist attack and subjective health: a web survey a week after the attacks of 22 March 2016 in Belgium.

Background: The wave of terrorist attacks over the past years in Europe and other regions may cause problems such as anxiety and depressive symptoms. Some studies suggest that perceived threat might also trigger physical health problems. Objective: To investigate the association between feeling threatened and subjective health during the week following a terrorist attack. Method: Online survey with a self-selected sample in the Belgian population one week after the terrorist attacks in 2016. Participants were invited through the Belgian media to fill in a questionnaire in Dutch, French or English on a website. The main outcomes were the association between 'feeling threatened' and subjective health problems. Perceived threat was measured with the question 'During the week after the attacks … Did you feel threatened?' Subjective health was measured by using standardized scales (ACSA, PHQ-4, PHQ-15). Results: A total of 2620 respondents completed the questionnaire, of whom 69.8% were female, 27.7% lived and 43.1% worked in Brussels. Gender, age, place of living and working, media exposure, religiousness and religious affiliation were associated significantly with higher perceived threat. A total of 21% of the respondents felt much or very much threatened during the week after the attacks. They reported significantly higher levels of mental and physical health problems. The most frequently reported problems were anxiety and depressive symptoms. The health problems that differentiated most markedly between those with low and high levels of perceived threat were fainting spells, chest pain and shortness of breath. Conclusion: In a self-selected sample of respondents, 'feeling threatened' was strongly associated with lower level of wellbeing and higher levels of mental and physical health problems. The most prevalent health problems were mental health problems but the most pronounced differences between people with low versus high levels of perceived threat were physical health problems.

Antecedentes: La ola de ataques terroristas en los últimos años en Europa y otras regiones puede causar problemas, tales como síntomas ansiosos y depresivos. Algunos estudios sugieren que la percepción de amenaza puede gatillar problemas de salud física.Objetivo: Investigar la asociación entre el sentimiento de amenaza y la salud subjetiva durante la semana siguiente a un ataque terrorista.Método: Una encuesta en línea con una muestra auto- seleccionada en la población Belga una semana después del ataque terrorista del 2016. Los participantes fueron invitados a través de los medios belgas a llenar un cuestionario en holandés, francés o inglés en un sitio web. Los resultados principales fueron la asociación entre 'el sentirse amenazado' y problemas de salud subjetivos. La amenaza percibida fue medida con la pregunta ¿"Durante la semana posterior a los ataques.se sintió amenazado?". La salud subjetiva fue medida usando escalas estandarizadas (ACSA, PHQ-4, PHQ-15).Resultados: 2.620 encuestados completaron el cuestionario, de los cuales 69,8% eran mujeres, 27,7% vivía en Bruselas y 43,1% trabajaba en esa ciudad. El género, la edad, lugar donde vive y trabaja, la exposición a los medios, religiosidad y pertenencia a una religión estuvieron asociados significativamente con mayor percepción de amenaza. Veintiún por ciento de los encuestados se sentían muy o mucho más amenazado durante la semana posterior a los ataques. Ellos reportaron niveles significativamente más elevados de problemas de salud mental y física. Los problemas más frecuentemente reportados fueron síntomas de ansiedad y depresivos. Los problemas de salud que diferenciaba más marcadamente entre aquellos con niveles bajos y altos de percepción de amenaza fueron desmayos, dolor en el pecho, y dificultades para respirar.Conclusiones: En una muestra auto-seleccionada de encuestados, el 'sentirse amenazado' se asoció fuertemente con niveles más bajos de bienestar y niveles más altos de problemas de salud mental y física. Los problemas de salud más prevalentes fueron los problemas de salud mental, pero las diferencias más pronunciadas entre las personas con niveles bajos versus niveles altos de amenaza percibida fueron los problemas de salud físicos.

Comfort in palliative sedation (Compas): a transdisciplinary mixed method study protocol for linking objective assessments to subjective experiences.

BACKGROUND: In case of untreatable suffering at the end of life, palliative sedation may be chosen to assure comfort by reducing the patient's level of consciousness. An important question here is whether such sedated patients are completely free of pain. Because these patients cannot communicate anymore, caregivers have to rely on observation to assess the patient's comfort. Recently however, more sophisticated techniques from the neurosciences have shown that sometimes consciousness and pain are undetectable with these traditional behavioral methods. The aim of this study is to better understand how unconscious palliative sedated patients experience the last days of their life and to find out if they are really free of pain. METHODS: In this study we will observe 40 patients starting with initiation of palliative sedation until death. Assessment of comfort based on behavioral observations will be related with the results from a NeuroSense monitor, an EEG-based monitor used for evaluation of the adequacy of anesthesia and sedation in the operating room and an ECG-based Analgesia Nociception Index (ANI) monitor, which informs about comfort or discomfort condition, based on the parasympathetic tone. An innovative and challenging aspect of this study is its qualitative approach; "objective" and "subjective" data will be linked to achieve a holistic understanding of the study topic. The following data will be collected: assessment of pain/comfort by the patients themselves (if possible) by scoring a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS); brain function monitoring; monitoring of parasympathetic tone; caregivers' assessment (pain, awareness, communication); relatives' perception of the quality of the dying process; assessment by 2 trained investigators using observational scales; video and audio registration. DISCUSSION: Measuring pain and awareness in non-communicative dying patients is both technically and ethically challenging. ANI and EEG have shown to be promising technologies to detect pain that otherwise cannot be detected with the "traditional" methods. Although these technologies have the potential to provide objective quantifiable indicators for distress and awareness in non-communicative patients, strikingly they have not yet been used to check whether the current assessments for non-communicative patients are reliable. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT03273244 ; registration date: 7.9.2017).

Mental well-being of patients from ethnic minority groups during critical care: a qualitative ethnographic study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the state of the mental well-being of patients from ethnic minority groups and possible related risk factors for the development of mental health problems among these patients during critical medical situations in hospital. DESIGN: Qualitative ethnographic design. SETTING: Oneintensive care unit (ICU) of a multiethnic urban hospital in Belgium. PARTICIPANTS: 84 ICU staff members, 10 patients from ethnic-minority groups and their visiting family members. RESULTS: Patients had several human basic needs for which they could not sufficiently turn to anybody, neither to their healthcare professionals, nor to their relatives nor to other patients. These needs included the need for social contact, the need to increase comfort and alleviate pain, the need to express desperation and participate in end-of-life decision making. Three interrelated risk factors for the development of mental health problems among the patients included were identified: First, healthcare professionals' mainly biomedical care approach (eg, focus on curing the patient, limited psychosocial support), second, the ICU context (eg, time pressure, uncertainty, regulatory frameworks) and third, patients' different ethnocultural background (eg, religious and phenotypical differences). CONCLUSIONS: The mental state of patients from ethnic minority groups during critical care is characterised by extreme emotional loneliness. It is important that staff should identify and meet patients' unique basic needs in good time with regard to their mental well-being, taking into account important threats related to their own mainly biomedical approach to care, the ICU's structural context as well as the patients' different ethnocultural background.