Spatial heterogeneity in intimate partner violence across the 640 districts of India: a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional, population-based survey by use of model-based small-area estimation.

BACKGROUND: Although intimate partner violence (IPV) against women is a substantial challenge in India, response is limited by little evidence on substate prevalence. District-level IPV estimates are essential in targeted response and prevention efforts, but cannot be directly calculated from the National Family Health Surveys (NFHS), which is the main source of nationally representative IPV estimates in India. We aimed to use small-area estimation techniques to derive reliable estimates of physical, emotional, and sexual IPV for the 640 districts of India. METHODS: For this secondary analysis of a cross-sectional, population-based survey, we used model-based small-area estimation techniques linking data from the 2015-16 NFHS-4 and the 2011 Indian Population and Housing Census (2011 Indian Census) to derive district-level estimates of physical, emotional, and sexual IPV for the 640 districts of India in the previous 12 months. Only women who had ever been married aged 15-49 years, who were interviewed in NFHS-4, and who were included in the domestic violence module were eligible for inclusion in this analysis. Data collection occurred between Jan 20, 2015, and Dec 4, 2016. The 2011 Indian Census was conducted in all 640 districts from Feb 9 to Feb 28, 2011. It collected information on a range of data including sociodemographic data and housing characteristics. The primary outcomes of this analysis were the district-level mean proportions of women who experienced physical IPV, emotional IPV, and sexual IPV in the previous 12 months. This outcome was estimated for all women aged 15-49 years who had ever been married in the 640 districts of India that were included in the 2011 Indian Census. FINDINGS: 699 686 women aged 15-49 years were interviewed in NFHS-4. One woman per household in a randomly selected 15% of households was chosen for participation in the domestic violence module, resulting in 83 397 (11·9%) of 699 686 women included. Of these 83 397 women, 14 377 (17·2%) were excluded as they had never been married and 3007 (3·6%) were excluded due to privacy limitations. The mean prevalence of physical IPV in the previous 12 months was 22·5% (95% CI 21·9-23·2), of emotional IPV in the previous 12 months was 11·4% (11·0-11·9), and of sexual IPV in the previous 12 months was 5·2% (4·9-5·5). Model-based estimates revealed intrastate and interstate IPV variations. In Bihar, which had the highest state-level physical IPV prevalence (35·1%, 33·3-37·0), district-level estimates varied from 23·5% (23·0-23·9) in Siwan to 42·7% (42·3-43·1) in Purbi Champaran. In Tamil Nadu, which had the highest state-level emotional IPV prevalence (19·0%, 17·4-20·8), district estimates ranged between 13·7% (13·2-14·1) in Kanniyakumari and 30·2% (29·5-30·8) in Sivaganga. Bihar also had the highest state-level sexual IPV prevalence (11·1%, 9·9-12·4), with estimates ranging between 6·3% (6·1-6·6) in Siwan and 18·1% (17·6-18·6) in Saharsa. Across districts, there was substantial spatial clustering of IPV prevalence. INTERPRETATION: This reliable district-level estimation of IPV prevalence in the 640 districts of India has important policy implications. The ability to track substate levels of IPV over time enables the identification of progress in reducing IPV; recognises the heterogeneity of culture and context in India; and informs the targeting of resources, interventions, and prevention programmes to districts with the greatest need. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

[Racism and discrimination in the context of health inequalities-a narrative review]. / Rassismus und Diskriminierung im Kontext gesundheitlicher Ungleichheit ­ ein narratives Review.

Racism and discrimination as social determinants of health are becoming increasingly recognised in public health research in Germany. Studies show correlations with physical and mental health and even changes at the cellular level. In addition to the adverse health effects of interpersonal and direct discrimination, the relevance of structural and institutional racism for health inequalities has been little explored. This narrative review synthesises and critically discusses relevant and recent research findings and makes recommendations for action in research and practice.Structural and institutional aspects of discrimination and racism are closely linked to health. Systemic discrimination in education, employment, housing and healthcare affects overall, mental and physical health, access to prevention and care, and health behaviour.An analysis of the relationship between living, housing and working conditions and the health situation of people with (and without) a history of migration - in general and in relation to racism and discrimination - seems necessary in order to derive targeted measures for structural prevention, rather than focusing on purely behavioural prevention. In addition to practical interventions (trainings, education, and community-based approaches), the further development of methodological aspects in the field of data collection and analysis is important in order to address this issue comprehensively in research and practice.

Ex Vivo Placental Explant Flow Culture - Mimicking the Dynamic Conditions In Utero.

The existing ex vivo placental explant culture models are primarily grounded in static culture systems using well plates. However, these models inadequately reflect the dynamic in utero setting, where the placenta encounters constant slight shear stress due to plasma or blood flow. To address this limitation, a flow culture system has been devised to bring ex vivo placental explant cultivation closer to the in utero flow conditions experienced within the maternal body. Within this approach, placental explants are cultivated in a sequence of five interconnected flow chambers. This setting maintains physiological oxygen concentrations and a consistent flow rate. The collected data reveals that under flow conditions, the preservation of tissue morphology exhibits notable enhancement compared to conventional static methods. This innovative technique introduces a straightforward means of ex vivo placental explant culture, offering a more faithful representation of the dynamic in vivo environment. Moreover, this study introduces new possibilities for investigating the functional dynamics of the feto-maternal interface. By embracing feasible dynamic methodologies, a deeper comprehension of placental biology is facilitated, underscoring its relevance for maternal-fetal health.

Introduction to diffuse scattering and data collection.

A long-standing goal in X-ray crystallography has been to extract information about the collective motions of proteins from diffuse scattering: the weak, textured signal that is found in the background of diffraction images. In the past few years, the field of macromolecular diffuse scattering has seen dramatic progress, and many of the past challenges in measurement and interpretation are now considered tractable. However, the concept of diffuse scattering is still new to many researchers, and a general set of procedures needed to collect a high-quality dataset has never been described in detail. Here, we provide the first guidelines for performing diffuse scattering experiments, which can be performed at any macromolecular crystallography beamline that supports room-temperature studies with a direct detector. We begin with a brief introduction to the theory of diffuse scattering and then walk the reader through the decision-making processes involved in preparing for and conducting a successful diffuse scattering experiment. Finally, we define quality metrics and describe ways to assess data quality both at the beamline and at home. Data obtained in this way can be processed independently by crystallographic software and diffuse scattering software to produce both a crystal structure, which represents the average atomic coordinates, and a three-dimensional diffuse scattering map that can then be interpreted in terms of models for protein motions.

Hydrometeorological field instrumentation in Lesser Himalaya to advance research for future water and food security.

Hydrometeorological monitoring and continuous data collection in ungauged mountainous regions are exciting and challenging for water resource planners compared to the measurement in plain areas. Lesser Himalayas in the mountainous areas face the insufficiency of continuous hydrometeorological data, hindering our understanding of hydrological processes and hampering integrated water resources management. This present study focuses on the setup of the field instruments for collecting hydrometeorological data and analyzing continuously collected data at Aglar watershed to assess hydrometeorological parameters' spatial and temporal distribution. The instrumentation includes monitoring one sub-surface flow, five stream flows, four rain gauges, and one automatic weather station. The relationship between the stage and the discharge was established based on the collected data for three streams. The analyzed seasonal rainfall revealed 726.7 mm of rain occurred during the monsoon with an intensity of less than 16 mm/day. The Paligaad sub-watershed displayed a flashy response towards the rainfall events, whereas the Upper Aglar exhibited a wide range of dampening runoff responses for different rainfall events. The monitored sub-surface flow varies annually, and during the monsoon season, interflow and baseflow hydrograph decayed more rapidly at the rate of 0.04 day-1 and 0.78 day-1, respectively. The installed AWS has been used to measure crop water requirements and plan for better strategies to cope with future food and water security. The high-frequency generated data will help answer the queries related to hydrological responses of different watershed characteristics.

The Concepts of Women's Empowerment in Child Malnutrition Programs in Luangprabang Province, Lao People's Democratic Republic.

In several developing countries, such as Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), the fight against malnutrition is carried out through programs that involve collaboration between internal (national) and external (international) actors. These actors may have different perceptions on what is one of the pillars of these programs: the empowerment of women, especially mothers of young children. Little is known about these differences and the impact of these differences on the empowerment component of collaborative projects and the perception of its impact on the reduction in malnutrition in the country. A multiple case study was performed. Data collection was carried out in Vientiane Capital and Luangprabang province. The data were obtained from (1) documents, (2) semi-structured interviews with representatives of internal and external organizations, and (3) focus group discussions and individual interviews with mothers of children under five years old. Analysis consisted of characterizing the empowerment component of nutrition programs of internal and external organizations, as well as mothers, based on an OXFAM's adapted conceptual framework on women's economic empowerment. The study revealed a common understanding among government and external organizations regarding the significance of promoting women's empowerment for reducing child malnutrition in Lao PDR. However, variations were observed in the interpretation of specific determinants of women's empowerment, specifically in relation to women's autonomy and the role of social capital. The perspective of internal actors includes the political ideology and traditions that make Lao PDR a distinct country. This perspective dominates the nutrition programs conducted under the collaboration of internal and external actors. In Lao PDR, the concept of women's empowerment in nutrition programs conducted through collaboration between internal and external actors and targeting young Lao mothers gives prominence to political and socio-cultural factors.

Food insecurity and levels of marginalization: food accessibility, consumption and concern in Mexico.

BACKGROUND: Food insecurity continues to be a problem throughout the world. When estimating food insecurity, few studies analyze the contexts where the phenomenon takes place. By bearing in mind levels of marginalization in four states of Mexico, this paper answers two questions: (I) What problems are experienced with access to food, and how these difficulties affect the amount of food consumed in households? and (II) How do households experience the concern of running out of food? METHODS: Our qualitative study draws data from urban and semi-urban areas of four Mexican states: Mexico City, Tamaulipas, the State of Mexico, and Oaxaca. Each state presents different levels of well-being. The study's participants are selected using the snowball method. Eligibility criteria are based on demographic characteristics such as education, age, and gender. A thematic analytical approach is conducted to analyze collected data from a total of 212 semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: The study's findings indicate that concern of food scarcity is a generalized feeling among participants across different levels of marginalization. Individuals with stable jobs living in contexts of low levels of marginalization experience worriedness when their budgets tightened before the end of the payday, a bi-weekly payment format, named the quincena in México. This psychological state of mind changes through the payday cycle, a period when the direct relationship between food accessibility and consumption weakens. In response, individuals develop strategies to cope with the uncertainty of experiencing food insecurity, such as rationing food portions and/or hoarding food supplies. Even when food accessibility exists, interviewees identify insufficient income as the primary issue in contexts of low and very low levels of marginalization. CONCLUSIONS: Conclusive remarks drawn from our analysis underline the importance of the context of marginalization in influencing households' experiences with food insecurity. At the quincena's end, food insecurity increases, even in contexts of very low marginalization. Our study calls for rethinking the scales employed to measure food insecurity, specifically the questions related to fear of food scarcity. Coping strategies are implemented by surveyed individuals to resolve issues and repercussions that emerge from experiencing food insecurity differ by context of marginalization.

Study protocol: Generation Victoria (GenV) special care nursery registry.

Introduction: Newborn babies who require admission for specialist care can experience immediate and sometimes lasting impacts. For babies admitted to special care nurseries (SCN), there is no dataset comparable to that of the Australian and New Zealand Neonatal Network (ANZNN), which has helped improve the quality and consistency of neonatal intensive care through standardised data collection. Objectives: We aim to establish a proof-of-concept, Victoria-wide registry of babies admitted to SCN, embedded within the whole-of-Victoria Generation Victoria (GenV) cohort. Methods: This prototype registry is a depth sub-cohort nested within GenV, targeting all babies born in Victoria from Oct-2021 to Oct-2023. Infants admitted to SCN are eligible. The minimum dataset will be harmonised with ANZNN for common constructs but also include SCN-only items, and will cover maternal, antenatal, newborn, respiratory/respiratory support, cardiac, infection, nutrition, feeding, cerebral and other items. As well as the dataset, this protocol outlines the anticipated cohort, timeline for this registry, and how this will serve as a resource for longitudinal research through its integration with the GenV longitudinal cohort and linked datasets. Conclusion: The registry will provide the opportunity to better understand the health and future outcomes of the large and growing cohort of children that require specialist care after birth. The data would generate translatable evidence and could lay the groundwork for a stand-alone ongoing clinical quality registry post-GenV.

Addressing schoolteacher food and nutrition-related health and wellbeing: a scoping review of the food and nutrition constructs used across current research.

BACKGROUND: Teachers form a large and essential workforce globally. Their wellbeing impacts personal health-related outcomes with flow on effects for the health, and wellbeing of their students. However, food and nutrition (FN) interventions that include teachers, typically neglect the impact of personal FN factors on a teachers' ability to achieve optimal nutrition-related health and wellbeing, and successfully fulfil their professional FN roles as health promoters, gate keepers, educators', and role models. The aim of this review was to scope FN constructs that have been studied internationally regarding teacher FN-related health and wellbeing. METHODS: Six databases were searched, and papers extracted in June/July 2021. Eligibility criteria guided by the population, concept, context mnemonic included studies published after 2000, in English language, with an aspect of personal FN-related health and wellbeing, among in-service (practising) and pre-service (training), primary, and secondary teachers. Screening studies for inclusion was completed by two independent researchers with data extraction piloted with the same reviewers and completed by lead author, along with complete descriptive and thematic analysis. RESULTS: Ten thousand six hundred seventy-seven unique articles were identified with 368 eligible for full text review and 105 included in final extraction and analysis. Sixty-nine descriptive studies were included, followed by 35 intervention studies, with the main data collection method used to assess both personal and professional FN constructs being questionnaires (n = 99 papers), with nutrition knowledge and dietary assessment among the most commonly assessed. CONCLUSION: FN constructs are used within interventions and studies that include teachers, with diversity in constructs included and how these terms are defined. The evidence from this scoping review can be used to inform data collection and evaluation in future epidemiological and interventional research that addresses teacher FN-related health and wellbeing.

Remote Symptom Monitoring With Ecological Momentary Computerized Adaptive Testing: Pilot Cohort Study of a Platform for Frequent, Low-Burden, and Personalized Patient-Reported Outcome Measures.

BACKGROUND: Remote patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) data capture can provide useful insights into research and clinical practice and deeper insights can be gained by administering assessments more frequently, for example, in ecological momentary assessment. However, frequent data collection can be limited by the burden of multiple, lengthy questionnaires. This burden can be reduced with computerized adaptive testing (CAT) algorithms that select only the most relevant items from a PROM for an individual respondent. In this paper, we propose "ecological momentary computerized adaptive testing" (EMCAT): the use of CAT algorithms to reduce PROM response burden and facilitate high-frequency data capture via a smartphone app. We develop and pilot a smartphone app for performing EMCAT using a popular hand surgery PROM. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to determine the feasibility of EMCAT as a system for remote PROM administration. METHODS: We built the EMCAT web app using Concerto, an open-source CAT platform maintained by the Psychometrics Centre, University of Cambridge, and hosted it on an Amazon Web Service cloud server. The platform is compatible with any questionnaire that has been parameterized with item response theory or Rasch measurement theory. For this study, the PROM we chose was the patient evaluation measure, which is commonly used in hand surgery. CAT algorithms were built using item response theory models derived from UK Hand Registry data. In the pilot study, we enrolled 40 patients with hand trauma or thumb-base arthritis, across 2 sites, between July 13, 2022, and September 14, 2022. We monitored their symptoms with the patient evaluation measure, via EMCAT, over a 12-week period. Patients were assessed thrice weekly, once daily, or thrice daily. We additionally administered full-length PROM assessments at 0, 6, and 12 weeks, and the User Engagement Scale at 12 weeks. RESULTS: The use of EMCAT significantly reduced the length of the PROM (median 2 vs 11 items) and the time taken to complete it (median 8.8 seconds vs 1 minute 14 seconds). Very similar scores were obtained when EMCAT was administered concurrently with the full-length PROM, with a mean error of <0.01 on a logit (z score) scale. The median response rate in the daily assessment group was 93%. The median perceived usability score of the User Engagement Scale was 4.0 (maximum possible score 5.0). CONCLUSIONS: EMCAT reduces the burden of PROM assessments, enabling acceptable high-frequency, remote PROM data capture. This has potential applications in both research and clinical practice. In research, EMCAT could be used to study temporal variations in symptom severity, for example, recovery trajectories after surgery. In clinical practice, EMCAT could be used to monitor patients remotely, prompting early intervention if a patient's symptom trajectory causes clinical concern. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN 19841416; https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN19841416.

Exploring subjective responses in high-intensity multimodal training: an online cross-sectional survey.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate exercise enjoyment in high-intensity multimodal training (HIMT) in current and previous HIMT participants and identify factors associated with HIMT that mediate exercise enjoyment and motivation. DESIGN AND SETTING: A 124-item web-based survey was distributed to a cross-sectional voluntary convenience sample from August to the end of September 2021. PARTICIPANTS: Global current and previous HIMT participants. RESULTS: The final sample included 469 responses (completion rate: 61.6%). Among eligible respondents (n=434), 379 were current HIMT participants, 55 were previous HIMT participants. Current participants demonstrated high enjoyment (Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale). The most frequently reported reasons for increased enjoyment and motivation to continue HIMT in current participants included (1) it keeps me fit, (2) training in a group and (3) variety in a session. The most frequently reported reasons for reduced motivation to continue HIMT among previous HIMT participants included (1) other (injury, COVID-19 restrictions, low motivation, personal preferences), (2) work commitments and (3) I started another type of sport, exercise or training. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that HIMT is an enjoyable training method among current participants. The most commonly reported reasons for increased enjoyment and motivation were associated with the combined training method and the group environment. Reasons for reduced motivation to continue HIMT among previous HIMT participants may be related to commonly reported barriers to exercise and personal factors.

Long-Short-Term-Memory-Based Deep Stacked Sequence-to-Sequence Autoencoder for Health Prediction of Industrial Workers in Closed Environments Based on Wearable Devices.

To reduce the risks and challenges faced by frontline workers in confined workspaces, accurate real-time health monitoring of their vital signs is essential for improving safety and productivity and preventing accidents. Machine-learning-based data-driven methods have shown promise in extracting valuable information from complex monitoring data. However, practical industrial settings still struggle with the data collection difficulties and low prediction accuracy of machine learning models due to the complex work environment. To tackle these challenges, a novel approach called a long short-term memory (LSTM)-based deep stacked sequence-to-sequence autoencoder is proposed for predicting the health status of workers in confined spaces. The first step involves implementing a wireless data acquisition system using edge-cloud platforms. Smart wearable devices are used to collect data from multiple sources, like temperature, heart rate, and pressure. These comprehensive data provide insights into the workers' health status within the closed space of a manufacturing factory. Next, a hybrid model combining deep learning and support vector machine (SVM) is constructed for anomaly detection. The LSTM-based deep stacked sequence-to-sequence autoencoder is specifically designed to learn deep discriminative features from the time-series data by reconstructing the input data and thus generating fused deep features. These features are then fed into a one-class SVM, enabling accurate recognition of workers' health status. The effectiveness and superiority of the proposed approach are demonstrated through comparisons with other existing approaches.

Trends in women's height and the effect of early childbearing on height retardation: An analysis of the height of Bangladeshi women born between 1974 and 1998.

Background: Depending on race, ethnicity, and region, genetic variants determine human height by 65% to 80%, while the remaining variance of 20% to 35% is influenced by nutrition and other individual or environmental exposures in the early years of life. An improvement in nutrition and health in the early years in a population underprivileged in health and nutrition will likely increase the group's average height. Due to outstanding improvements in these areas in recent decades, we hypothesised that the average height of Bangladeshi women has increased. Moreover, because pregnancy at an early age affects women's health and nutrition, we hypothesised that women who began childbearing early would experience growth retardation compared to women who had pregnancies at a later age. Methods: We used data from five national surveys conducted between 2004 and 2018 that collected height data from ever-married women aged 15-49 years. We analysed the height of women aged 20-29 years (born between 1974 and 1998) and examined the mean height by birth years, age at first birth (AFB), economic status, religion and region. We conducted multiple linear regression models, controlling for the differential effects of the socio-demographic characteristics on women's height over time and by AFB. Results: The average height of women born between 1974 and 1998 significantly increased by 0.03 cm annually, with fluctuations between 150.3 and 151.6 cm. We also found an association between age at childbearing and height in adulthood - women who began childbearing before age 17 were approximately one centimetre shorter in adulthood than those who began childbearing at a later age. Conclusions: We found evidence of an increasing trend in women's height in Bangladesh and an inhibiting effect of early teenage childbearing on attaining the potential growth of women. The findings call for further studies to investigate early childbearing and its consequences on women's and their children's growth in diverse settings, considering socio-cultural customs influencing early marriage and childbearing.

Developing Clinical Phenotype Data Collection Standards for Research in Africa.

Modern biomedical research is characterised by its high-throughput and interdisciplinary nature. Multiproject and consortium-based collaborations requiring meaningful analysis of multiple heterogeneous phenotypic datasets have become the norm; however, such analysis remains a challenge in many regions across the world. An increasing number of data harmonisation efforts are being undertaken by multistudy collaborations through either prospective standardised phenotype data collection or retrospective phenotype harmonisation. In this regard, the Phenotype Harmonisation Working Group (PHWG) of the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) consortium aimed to facilitate phenotype standardisation by both promoting the use of existing data collection standards (hosted by PhenX), adapting existing data collection standards for appropriate use in low- and middle-income regions such as Africa, and developing novel data collection standards where relevant gaps were identified. Ultimately, the PHWG produced 11 data collection kits, consisting of 82 protocols, 38 of which were existing protocols, 17 were adapted, and 27 were novel protocols. The data collection kits will facilitate phenotype standardisation and harmonisation not only in Africa but also across the larger research community. In addition, the PHWG aims to feed back adapted and novel protocols to existing reference platforms such as PhenX.

Analyzing the relationship between pricing strategy and customer retention in hotels: A study in Albania.

Background: In the consumer-centric global economy of the 21st century, customer retention is a vital concept in the hospitality industry for building and sustaining long-term relationships. Recognizing the challenges of acquiring new customers, the industry acknowledges the significance of retaining existing ones. To achieve their goals, hospitality businesses need a comprehensive strategy that extends beyond price targets, emphasizing the development of effective pricing strategies from the outset. Methods: Data collection took place between June 2022 and January 2023, involving a random sample of seven international hotels located in Tirana, Durres, and Vlora. Quantitative data was collected through surveys utilizing Likert-scale questions. Statistical analysis, including crosstab tests, was employed to explore the relationship between economy pricing strategies and customer retention. Results: The study encompassed 572 participants representing diverse demographic characteristics. Analysis revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between economy pricing strategies and customer retention in international hotels in Albania. These findings underscore the importance of implementing effective pricing strategies to enhance customer loyalty and guide the development of improved strategies within the hotel industry. Conclusions: This study provides empirical evidence of a significant positive relationship between economy pricing strategies and customer retention in international hotels in Albania. Effective pricing strategies play a crucial role in fostering customer loyalty. However, the study's limitations, primarily its focus on specific hotels in Albania, call for further research to validate the generalizability of these findings. The insights gained from this study inform policymakers and industry stakeholders in formulating strategies to enhance customer retention within the hospitality sector.

Ensuring cross-cultural data comparability by means of anchoring vignettes in heterogeneous refugee samples.

BACKGROUND: Configural, metric, and scalar measurement invariance have been indicators of bias-free statistical cross-group comparisons, although they are difficult to verify in the data. Low comparability of translated questionnaires or the different understanding of response formats by respondents might lead to rejection of measurement invariance and point to comparability bias in multi-language surveys. Anchoring vignettes have been proposed as a method to control for the different understanding of response categories by respondents (the latter is referred to as differential item functioning related to response categories or rating scales: RC-DIF). We evaluate the question whether the cross-cultural comparability of data can be assured by means of anchoring vignettes or by considering socio-demographic heterogeneity as an alternative approach. METHODS: We used the Health System Responsiveness (HSR) questionnaire and collected survey data in English (n = 183) and Arabic (n = 121) in a random sample of refugees in the third largest German federal state. We conducted multiple-group Confirmatory Factor Analyses (MGCFA) to analyse measurement invariance and compared the results when 1) using rescaled data on the basis of anchoring vignettes (non-parametric approach), 2) including information on RC-DIF from the analyses with anchoring vignettes as covariates (parametric approach) and 3) including socio-demographic covariates. RESULTS: For the HSR, every level of measurement invariance between the Arabic and English languages was rejected. Implementing rescaling or modelling on the basis of anchoring vignettes provided superior results over the initial MGCFA analysis, since configural, metric and - for ordered categorical analyses-scalar invariance could not be rejected. A consideration of socio-demographic variables did not show such an improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Surveys may consider anchoring vignettes as a method to assess cross-cultural comparability of data, whereas socio-demographic variables cannot be used to improve data comparability as a standalone method. More research on the efficient implementation of anchoring vignettes and further development of methods to incorporate them when modelling measurement invariance is needed.

Chronic stress and turnover intention of resident physicians after experiencing COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have explored the stress and turnover intention of healthcare workers, but as important backup talents in the healthcare system, resident physicians have received little attention from researchers, especially after experiencing COVID-19. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the chronic stress and turnover intention of resident physicians after experiencing COVID-19. METHODS: From June to August 2022, we conducted a questionnaire survey on resident physicians in the Children's Hospital of Hebei Province through the online platform (Wenjuanxing) to evaluate their chronic stress and turnover intention after experiencing COVID-19. For the collected data, we used frequency and percentage to make the statistical description, the Chi-square test to make a univariate analysis on the scores of chronic stress and turnover intention scale, and binary logistic regression analysis to explore the influencing factors of turnover intention. RESULTS: Out of 143 respondents, we finally received 127 questionnaires, with a response rate of 88.81%. Among 127 respondents, 80.31% of resident physicians experienced varying degrees of chronic stress (mild: 36.22%, moderate: 35.43%, severe: 8.66%), and 74.80% of resident physicians showed varying degrees of turnover intention (mild: 23.62%, moderate: 37.79%, severe: 13.39%). Moreover, age (OR = 0.772, P = 0.042), identity (OR = 8.648, P = 0.021), and chronic stress levels (mild: OR = 6.938, P = 0.003; moderate: OR = 44.049, P < 0.003; severe: OR = 46.141, P = 0.004) can significantly affect turnover intention. CONCLUSION: In this study, we reported a relatively high proportion of resident physicians with high chronic stress and high turnover intention after experiencing COVID-19. We suggest that the relevant departments should pay more attention to the resident physicians' group and formulate corresponding measures to solve the problems faced by the resident physicians and ensure the stability of the health human resources.

[Analysis and Research on Comprehensive Evaluation Method of Operation Performance of Hospital Valuable Equipment].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effective method of comprehensive evaluation and analysis of hospital valuable medical equipment performance. METHODS: The operation performance of 6 valuable equipment was evaluated by cost-benefit method, comprehensive index method and public evaluation method. RESULTS: Utilize equipment information management methods for data collection and evaluation, and construct an assessment data model based on evaluation indicators from three aspects: equipment operation status, profitability status, and scientific research contribution. CONCLUSIONS: Through the performance analysis of different types of valuable medical equipment, a more real and comprehensive quantitative analysis is carried out, which plays a key role in the reasonable purchase, efficient operation and avoiding idling.

Go.Data as a digital tool for case investigation and contact tracing in the context of COVID-19: a mixed-methods study.

BACKGROUND: A manual approach to case investigation and contact tracing can introduce delays in response and challenges for field teams. Go.Data, an outbreak response tool developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, streamlines data collection and analysis during outbreaks. This study aimed to characterize Go.Data use during COVID-19, elicit shared benefits and challenges, and highlight key opportunities for enhancement. METHODS: This study utilized mixed methods through qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey with Go.Data implementors on their experiences during COVID-19. Survey data was analyzed for basic univariate statistics. Interview data were coded using deductive and inductive reasoning and thematic analysis of categories. Overarching themes were triangulated with survey data to clarify key findings. RESULTS: From April to June 2022, the research team conducted 33 interviews and collected 41 survey responses. Participants were distributed across all six WHO regions and 28 countries. While most implementations represented government actors at national or subnational levels, additional inputs were collected from United Nations agencies and universities. Results highlighted WHO endorsement, accessibility, adaptability, and flexible support modalities as main enabling factors. Formalization and standardization of data systems and people processes to prepare for future outbreaks were a welcomed byproduct of implementation, as 76% used paper-based reporting prior and benefited from increased coordination around a shared platform. Several challenges surfaced, including shortage of the appropriate personnel and skill-mix within teams to ensure smooth implementation. Among opportunities for enhancements were improved product documentation and features to improve usability with large data volumes. CONCLUSIONS: This study was the first to provide a comprehensive picture of Go.Data implementations during COVID-19 and what joint lessons could be learned. It ultimately demonstrated that Go.Data was a useful complement to responses across diverse contexts, and helped set a reproducible foundation for future outbreaks. Concerted preparedness efforts across the domains of workforce composition, data architecture and political sensitization should be prioritized as key ingredients for future Go.Data implementations. While major developments in Go.Data functionality have addressed some key gaps highlighted during the pandemic, continued dialogue between WHO and implementors, including cross-country experience sharing, is needed ensure the tool is reactive to evolving user needs.

Integrating intimate partner violence prevention content into a digital parenting chatbot intervention during COVID-19: Intervention development and remote data collection.

BACKGROUND: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious public health issue which experienced a sharp incline during the onset of COVID-19. Increases in other forms of violence, such as violence against children (VAC), have also been linked to the pandemic, and there have been calls for greater prevention efforts that tackle both forms of violence concurrently. The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the urgent need for evidence-based and scalable violence prevention interventions that target multiple forms of family violence. Parenting programmes have shown promising results in preventing various forms of family violence, including IPV and VAC, and have recently experienced an expansion in delivery, with digital intervention formats growing. This paper describes the development and evaluation of the IPV prevention content designed and integrated into ParentText, a chatbot parenting intervention adapted from Parenting for Lifelong Health programmes. METHODS: The ParentText IPV prevention content was developed using the Six Steps in Quality Intervention Development (6SQuID) framework. This involved targeted literature searches for key studies to identify causal factors associated with IPV and determining those with greatest scope for change. Findings were used to develop the intervention content and theory of change. Consultations were held with academic researchers (n = 5), practitioners (n = 5), and local community organisations (n = 7), who reviewed the content. A formative evaluation was conducted with parents in relationships (n = 96) in Jamaica to better understand patterns in user engagement with the intervention and identify strategies to further improve engagement. RESULTS: Using the 6SQuID model, five topics on IPV prevention were integrated into the ParentText chatbot. Text-messages covering each topic, including additional materials such as cartoons and videos, were also developed. The formative evaluation revealed an average user-engagement length of 14 days, 0.50 chatbot interactions per day, and over half of participants selected to view additional relationship content. CONCLUSIONS: This article provides a unique contribution as the first to integrate IPV prevention content into a remotely delivered, digital parenting intervention for low-resource settings. The findings from this research and formative evaluation shed light on the promising potential of chatbots as scalable and accessible forms of violence prevention, targeting multiple types of family violence.