Exercise has a positive impact on bone mineral density in seropositive human immunodeficiency virus: do health professionals know? / El ejercicio tiene un impacto positivo en la densidad mineral ósea en seropositivos al virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana: ¿lo saben los profesionales de la salud?

Introduction: Despite the concomitant negative effects of human immunodeficiency virus on bone mineral density in HIV-infected persons, studies on knowledge of effect of exercise on this health parameter in HIV population among health professionals seem unavailable. This study therefore examined knowledge on effect of exercise on BMD in HIV-infected persons among health professionals. Material and methods: This cross-sectional survey employed researcher designed, experts - validated questionnaire to enroll 434 respondents. The reliability coefficient “r” of the questionnaire was 0.75 with 92% response rate. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to summarize and analyze the data respectively. The alpha value was set at 0.05. Results: Age range and mean age in years of the respondents were 21–59 and 35.88 ± 9.09 respectively; age group of 30–39 years predominated (45.3%). Males were in preponderance (52.4%), and most (74.4%) were married; while majority (54.7%) were nurses. Substantial proportion (54.2%) had less than good knowledge on the subject examined in this study. Significant difference (p < 0.05; p = 0.015) in knowledge on effect of exercise on BMD in HIV population existed among the professions. Post hoc showed that knowledge of the physicians (p = 0.001) and laboratory scientists (p = 0.029) were significantly higher than that of the nurses. Physiotherapists’ knowledge on this subject compared to that of other health professionals was statistically insignificant (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Knowledge on effect of exercise on BMD in HIV infected persons among health professionals was surprisingly below expectation, and therefore should be seen as a cause for concerned exercise scientists and public health experts. (AU)

Introducción: A pesar de los efectos negativos concomitantes del virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana sobre la densidad mineral ósea en personas con VIH, los estudios sobre el conocimiento del efecto del ejercicio sobre este parámetro de salud en la población con VIH entre los profesionales de la salud parecen no estar disponibles. Por lo tanto, este estudio examinó el conocimiento sobre el efecto del ejercicio en la DMO en personas infectadas por el VIH entre los profesionales de la salud.Material y métodos: esta encuesta transversal empleó un cuestionario validado por expertos y diseñado por investigadores para inscribir a 434 encuestados. El coeficiente de confiabilidad “r” del cuestionario fue de 0,75 con una tasa de respuesta del 92%. Se utilizaron estadísticas descriptivas e inferenciales para resumir y analizar los datos respectivamente. El valor alfa se fijó en 0,05. Resultados: El rango de edad y la edad media en años de los encuestados fueron 21-59 y 35,88 ± 9,09 respectivamente; Predominó el grupo de edad de 30 a 39 años (45,3%). Predominaron los varones (52,4%) y la mayoría (74,4%) estaban casados; mientras que la mayoría (54,7%) eran enfermeras. Una proporción sustancial (54,2%) tenía menos que un buen conocimiento sobre el tema examinado en este estudio. Existió una diferencia significativa (p < 0,05; p = 0,015) en el conocimiento sobre el efecto del ejercicio en la DMO en la población con VIH entre las profesiones. Post hoc mostró que el conocimiento de los médicos (p = 0,001) y los científicos de laboratorio (p = 0,029) fue significativamente mayor que el de las enfermeras. El conocimiento de los fisioterapeutas sobre este tema en comparación con el de otros profesionales de la salud fue estadísticamente insignificante (p > 0,05). Conclusiones: El conocimiento sobre el efecto del ejercicio sobre la DMO en personas infectadas por el VIH entre los profesionales de la salud fue sorprendentemente inferior a las expectativas ... (AU)

Effects of Acupressure and Acupuncture-Like Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation on Sleep Quality Among Pregnant Women.

BACKGROUND: Despite the adverse consequences of poor sleep during pregnancy, relatively few safe interventions exist for improving sleep among pregnant women. Nonpharmacological interventions are increasingly gaining acceptance. However, the effects of acupressure and acupuncture-like transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (ACUTENS) have not been widely reported. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of low-frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, otherwise known as ACUTENS, and acupressure on sleep quality among pregnant women. METHODS: Purposive sampling of 42 pregnant women with sleep disorders was conducted, and the participants were randomized into 3 groups, i.e., acupressure, ACUTENS, and usual care. interventions, which were carried out twice weekly for six weeks. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality index was used to determine the overall sleep quality. RESULTS: The preintervention scores of sleep quality were 12.5 (3.75), 12.5 (4.0), and 13.0 (3.5) in the ACUTENS, acupressure, and usual care groups, respectively. The Kruskal-Wallis test did not show any significant difference in the preintervention sleep quality scores (H = 0.379, p = 0.827). Participants in the usual care group recorded the least improvement, with a score of 5.0 (2.25), the ACUTENS group recorded a score of 4.5 (3.0), and the greatest improvement was recorded in the acupressure group, with a score of 4.0 (2.2) after 6 weeks of intervention. The Kruskal-Wallis test did not show any significant difference in the postintervention sleep quality scores among the 3 groups (H = 0.666, p = 0.717). CONCLUSION: This study showed that ACUTENS and acupressure as an adjunct to usual care are not more effective than usual care alone in improving sleep quality among pregnant women.