Abstract : A study is reported of the variations in organizational commitment and job satisfaction, as related to subsequent turnover in a sample of recently-employed psychiatric technician trainees. A longitudinal study was made across a 10 1/2 month period, with attitude measures collected at four points in time. For this sample, job satisfaction measures appeared better able to differentiate future stayers from leavers in the earliest phase of the study. With the passage of time, organizational commitment measures proved to be a better predictor of turnover, and job satisfaction failed to predict turnover. The findings are discussed in the light of other related studies, and possible explanations are examined. (Modified author abstract)

/pdf/organizational-commitment-job-satisfaction-and-turnover-1m9aenmhzm.pdf

Organizational Commitment, Job Satisfaction and Turnover Among Psychiatric Technicians. Technical Report No. 16.

The 2017-18 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) was implemented by the National Institute of Population Studies (NIPS) under the aegis of the Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination. This PDHS is the fourth to be conducted in Pakistan and follows surveys in 1990-91 2006-07 and 2012-13. Data collection took place from 22 November 2017 to 30 April 2018. ICF provided technical assistance through The DHS Program which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and offers financial support and technical assistance for population and health surveys in countries worldwide. Support for the survey was also provided by the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). According to the Population Census of 2017 the total population of Pakistan is 207 million with a growth rate of 2.4% (Government of Pakistan 2017). The size of the population and the growth rate present serious challenges to governmental efforts to prevent food insecurity water scarcity rapid urbanisation inadequate housing and loss of economic opportunities. Such challenges necessitate regular assessment of their demographic impact through collection of reliable data in surveys such as the PDHS. The primary objective of the 2017-18 PDHS is to provide up-to-date estimates of basic demographic and health indicators. The PDHS provides a comprehensive overview of population maternal and child health issues in Pakistan. Specifically the 2017-18 PDHS collected information on: Key demographic indicators particularly fertility and under-5 mortality rates at the national level for urban and rural areas and within the country’s eight regions; Direct and indirect factors that determine levels and trends of fertility and child mortality; Contraceptive knowledge and practice; Maternal health and care including antenatal perinatal and postnatal care; Child feeding practices including breastfeeding and anthropometric measures to assess the nutritional status of children under age 5 and women age 15-49; Key aspects of family health including vaccination coverage and prevalence of diseases among infants and children under age 5; Knowledge and attitudes of women and men about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV/AIDS and potential exposure to risk; Womens empowerment and its relationship to reproductive health and family planning; Disability level; Extent of gender-based violence; Migration patterns. The information collected through the 2017-18 PDHS is intended to assist policymakers and program managers at the federal and provincial government levels in the private sector and at international organisations in evaluating and designing programs and strategies for improving the health of the country’s population. The data also provides information on indicators relevant to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2017-18.

Appraisal of shallow groundwater quality with human health risk assessment in different seasons in rural areas of the Guanzhong Plain (China)

Groundwater is the major source of water for drinking and irrigation purposes in and around Hua County, Shaanxi Province, China. The main purposes of this research is to evaluate the groundwater quality in the rainy and dry seasons of Hua County and analyze the causes of seasonal differences and determine the areas with serious pollution. Groundwater quality was assessed in this study using entropy water quality index (EWQI) and some graphical approaches such as Gibbs and Piper diagrams. The contour maps of groundwater quality were drawn by Geographical Information System (GIS). According to the obtained results, the locations where groundwater quality was rated as excellent or good in both wet and dry seasons were mainly in the north and east of the research area. COD and NO3- are the parameters that have the most serious negative effect on water quality. The dominant factors influencing groundwater chemical evolution in the study area were rock weathering and dissolution, and the precipitation and evaporation during the wet and dry seasons do not cause significant changes in groundwater chemistry. Adults' health risks results revealed that 27.69% and 52.31% of the groundwater samples exceeded the acceptable limit for non-carcinogenic risk in the wet and dry season, respectively, while for children the ratios are 30.16% and 47.62%, respectively. The contributive percentages of nitrate, fluoride and nitrate to the total risk are 61.29%, 28.71% and 10.00% in the wet season and 68.84%, 20.85% and 10.31% in the dry season. The risk is higher in the south than in the north of the study area, and is especially high in the southwest of the study area. 

The Parental Stressor Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PSS:NICU) is a well-validated tool to assess different sources of stress in parents during the NICU hospitalization of their infant. The present meta-analytic study assessed the relative impact of different NICU-related sources of parental stress in a pool of studies conducted in a wide set of different countries. Also, differences in stress levels by parent gender and country, as well as the impact of infants’ neonatal characteristics and clinical conditions were explored. Records were searched on PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science (January 1993–December 2019). A purposive open search string was adopted: [“PSS:NICU”] OR [“PSS-NICU”] OR [“Parental Stressor Scale”]. A multiple random-effect meta-analysis was conducted on data from 53 studies extracted by independent coders. Parental role alteration emerged as the greatest source of stress for both mothers and fathers. Mothers reported higher stress levels compared to fathers. A significant difference emerged only for the subscale related to sights and sounds physical stimuli. No significant effects of infants’ neonatal characteristics (gestational age, birth weight) and clinical conditions (comorbidities) emerged. A marginal positive effect of NICU length of stay emerged on the global level of parents’ stress. The current meta-analysis underlines that parental stress related to NICU admission is a worldwide healthcare issue. Immediate and tailored support to parents after the birth of their at-risk infant should be prioritized to reduce parental stress and to promote mothers and fathers’ emotional well-being and new-born neurodevelopmental outcomes.

A global perspective on parental stress in the neonatal intensive care unit: a meta-analytic study

Stress, Anxiety, Depression and Sleep Disturbance among Jordanian Mothers and Fathers of Infants Admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Preliminary Study

Primary-school children in low- and middle-income countries are often deprived of microbiologically safe water and sanitation, often resulting in a high prevalence of gastrointestinal diseases and poor school performance. We used Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) to predict the probability of infection in schoolchildren due to consumption of unsafe school water. A multistage random-sampling technique was used to randomly select 425 primary schools from ten districts of Sindh, Pakistan, to produce a representative sample of the province. We characterized water supplies in selected schools. Microbiological testing of water resulted in inputs for the QMRA model, to estimate the risks of infections to schoolchildren. Groundwater (62%) and surface water (38%) were identified as two major sources of drinking water in the selected schools, presenting varying degrees of health risks. Around half of the drinking-water samples were contaminated with Escherichia coli (49%), Shigella spp. (63%), Salmonella spp. (53%), and Vibrio cholerae (49%). Southern Sindh was found to have the highest risk of infection and illness from Campylobacter and Rotavirus. Central and Northern Sindh had a comparatively lower risk of waterborne diseases. Schoolchildren of Karachi were estimated to have the highest probability of illness per year, due to Campylobacter (70%) and Rotavirus (22.6%). Pearson correlation was run to assess the relationship between selected pathogens. V. cholerae was correlated with Salmonella spp., Campylobacter, Rotavirus, and Salmonella spp. Overall, the risk of illness due to the bacterial infection (E. coli, Salmonella spp., V. cholerae, Shigella, and Campylobacter) was high. There is a dire need for management plans in the schools of Sindh, to halt the progression of waterborne diseases in school-going children.

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/8/2774/pdf

Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment of Drinking Water Quality to Predict the Risk of Waterborne Diseases in Primary-School Children.

Primary school children in the developing world often lack potable water, which may result in a high burden of water-related diseases and poor school performance. The present study aimed to characterize the drinking water quality in primary schools of Pakistan. We used a multistage random-sampling method to select 425 primary schools from selected districts of Sindh province. Standard methods were used to characterize water quality. The results were compared with maximum acceptable values recommended by the Pakistani National Environmental Quality Standards (Pak NEQS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water quality standards. Groundwater (62%) and surface water (38%) were identified as two major drinking water sources in the selected schools with varying levels of water quality. Among all parameters, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, and nitrate remained within WHO and Pak NEQS water quality standard limit, while total dissolved solids (TDS) (33%), electrical conductivity (EC) (46%), chloride (34%), turbidity (27%), and hardness (11%) samples exceeded standard limits. All dissolved salts had moderate to strong positive correlations with TDS and EC values. Based on a water quality index (WQI), 74% of primary schools had access to excellent or good quality drinking water compared to 26% of schools that had access to either poor, very poor or unsuitable drinking water. Among all three regions, more schools from South Sindh had either poor, very poor or unsuitable drinking water (33%) compared to the Central (25%) and North zones (15%). Hence, water from these locations is unfit for human consumption and these schools need better water quality management plans to stop the spread of water-related diseases in primary school children.

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/12/3382/pdf

Drinking Water Quality Mapping Using Water Quality Index and Geospatial Analysis in Primary Schools of Pakistan

Understanding the factors influencing nurses’ turnover intention, particularly the work life quality and commitment to organization, is important to all countries suffering from nursing shortage. The study aims to determine the mediating role of commitment to organization on work life quality and its relationship with turnover intention among Malaysian nurses. A descriptive cross-sectional design, using a self-report survey was conducted on 430 nurses from a teaching hospital from February to April 2019. A structural equation model version 3 was used for testing study hypotheses. The mediating effect (indirect effect) of organizational commitment on the relationship between work life quality and turnover intention (QWL→OC→IT) was negative with path coefficient − 0.234, whereas the direct effect of work life quality on turnover intention (QWL→IT) was negative with smaller path coefficient − 0.228. This means that the relationship between work life quality and turnover intention was partially mediated by the organizational commitment (P < 0.001). Organizational commitment has a negative partial mediating effect between work life quality of nurses and intention of turnover in teaching hospitals where the organizational commitment significantly reduced the nurses’ intention to leave. The study findings can guide nursing managers to be carefully attended to the levels of nurses’ commitment to their organization.

/pdf/the-quality-of-work-life-and-turnover-intentions-among-2efwpi0qas.pdf

The quality of work life and turnover intentions among Malaysian nurses: the mediating role of organizational commitment.

Aims: To determine the effect mobile messaging apps on coronary artery disease patient knowledge of and adherence to a healthy lifestyle. Background: Due to the increasing incidence of coronary artery disease in recent years, interventions targeting coronary artery disease risk factors are urgent public priorities. The use of mobile technology in healthcare services and medical education is relatively new with promising future prospects. Design: This study used a quasiexperimental design that included pre- and posttest for intervention and control groups. Methods: The study was conducted from January–April 2017 with both intervention and control groups, in a teaching hospital in Klang Valley. Convenience sampling was used with inclusive criteria in choosing the 94 patients with coronary artery disease (intervention group: 47 patients; control group: 47 patients). The pretest was conducted as a baseline measurement for both groups before they were given standard care from a hospital. However, only the intervention group was given a daily information update via WhatsApp for 1 month. After 1 month, both groups were assessed with a posttest. Results: The split-plot ANOVA analysis indicates that there is a significant and positive effect of the intervention on coronary artery disease patients’ knowledge on coronary artery disease risk factors [F(1, 92) = 168.15, p < 0.001] with a large effect size (np 2 = 0.65). The mobile messaging apps also significantly improve the patients’ adherence to a healthy lifestyle [F(1, 92) = 83.75, p < 0.001] with a large effect size (np 2 = 0.48). Conclusion: This study concluded that WhatsApp was an effective health intervention in increasing coronary artery disease patient's knowledge and subsequently increasing their adherence to healthy lifestyles. Relevance to clinical practice: In clinical setting, mobile messaging apps are useful in information delivery and efficient patient monitory.

Yan Piaw Chua

Papers

Stress, Anxiety, Depression and Sleep Disturbance among Jordanian Mothers and Fathers of Infants Admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Preliminary Study

Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment of Drinking Water Quality to Predict the Risk of Waterborne Diseases in Primary-School Children.

Drinking Water Quality Mapping Using Water Quality Index and Geospatial Analysis in Primary Schools of Pakistan

The quality of work life and turnover intentions among Malaysian nurses: the mediating role of organizational commitment.

The effect of mobile messaging apps on cardiac patient knowledge of coronary artery disease risk factors and adherence to a healthy lifestyle.