Suchergebnisse

AbstractDementia appears at a higher rate among some adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) and this potentially poses a greater risk of nursing home admission. Yet, to date, there is no evidence on the efficacy of general dementia‐derived environment‐, personnel‐, and patient‐oriented intervention strategies in delaying onset of dementia or in slowing down its rate of progression in this population. To investigate the feasibility and efficacy of a multicomponent nonpharmacological approach, the authors studied a sample of 14 adults with worsening cognition and everyday functioning who were no longer manageable by their family or staff in day centers or group homes, and who were relocated in a model special care unit (SCU) designed to proactively accommodate the needs of people with ID and dementia. Baseline level and rate of decline across a 3‐year period were assessed by means of the Dementia Questionnaire for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities and compared to two control groups not in dementia‐capable programs matched for age, sex, and severity of ID. After 3 years, the authors found some improvement in cognition and stabilization in everyday functioning and behaviors in the SCU residents and a worsening in the control groups. The authors noted that enrollment in a dementia‐capable program facilitated daily practice of residents' residual skills and abilities, enhancing their memory and verbal communication, that the prosthetic environment contributed to activity maintenance and appropriate intellectual challenges, and that the greater participation on an individual level added to the skill maintenance. Although the interpretation of these positive findings is not straightforward, they confirm the validity of this "in‐place progression" model and provide a platform for continuing progress in person‐centered services and care for aging persons with ID.

Tento protokol nastiňuje výzkum, který zkoumá vnímání dopadu COVID-19 na osoby s mentálním a vývojovým postižením a jejich pečovatele ze strany rodinných příslušníků a placených zaměstnanců. Důkazy naznačují, že lidé s mentálním a vývojovým postižením zažívají rozdíly v přístupu ke zdravotní péči a využívání. Tento rozdíl byl patrný na počátku pandemie, kdy se objevily diskuse o možném vyloučení této populace z kritické péče. Metody: anonymní online průzkum bude proveden s pečovateli, jak rodinnými příslušníky, tak placeným personálem, aby prozkoumal jejich vnímání dopadu COVID-19 z hlediska demografie, životních podmínek, přístupu ke službám, sociálního distancování a péče o životní pohodu. Průzkum bude vypracován výzkumným týmem, z nichž mnozí jsou odborníky na mentální postižení ve svých vlastních zemích. Pomocí dvojího překladu náš tým přeloží průzkum pro distribuci v 18 zemích po celém světě pro mezinárodní srovnání. Výzkumný tým má rozsáhlé osobní a profesionální kontakty a bude průzkum široce propagovat na sociálních sítích s podporou místních poskytovatelů sociálních služeb pro osoby se zdravotním postižením a organizací zdravotně postižených. Budou provedeny statistické popisné a srovnávací analýzy. Etické schválení pro tuto studii získala Etická komise pro lidský výzkum (HS-20-28-Linehan) na University College Dublin. Diseminace výsledků: Výsledky studie budou připraveny v řadě formátů, aby vyhovovaly potřebám různých cílových skupin. Výstupy budou zahrnovat akademické práce, získané poznatky, pokyny pro praxi, zprávy, infografiku a video. Tyto výstupy budou zaměřeny na rodiny, management poskytovatelů sociálních služeb v oblasti zdravotního postižení, tvůrce politik na vnitrostátní úrovni, orgány pro kvalitu a poskytování zdravotní péče, vnitrostátní pandemické organizace a mezinárodní orgány. ; This protocol outlines research to explore family members' and paid staff's perceptions of the impact of COVID-19 on individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their caregivers. Evidence suggests that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities experience disparities in healthcare access and utilisation. This disparity was evident early in the pandemic when discussions arose regarding the potential exclusion of this population to critical care. Methods : An anonymous online survey will be conducted with caregivers, both family members and paid staff, to explore their perceptions of the impact of COVID-19 in terms of demographics, living arrangements, access to services, social distancing, and carer wellbeing. The survey will be developed by the research team, many of whom are experts in intellectual disability within their own jurisdictions. Using back-translation our team will translate the survey for distribution in 18 countries worldwide for international comparison. The survey team have extensive personal and professional networks and will promote the survey widely on social media with the support of local disability and advocacy agencies. Statistical descriptive and comparative analyses will be conducted. Ethical approval has been obtained for this study from University College Dublin's Human Research Ethics Committee (HS-20-28-Linehan). Dissemination : Study findings will be prepared in a number of formats in order to meet the needs of different audiences. Outputs will include academic papers, lessons learned paper, practice guidelines, reports, infographics and video content. These outputs will be directed to families, frontline and management delivering disability services, national-level policy makers, healthcare quality and delivery authorities, national pandemic organisations and international bodies.

Conversion of semi-natural habitats, such as field margins, fallows, hedgerows, grassland, woodlots and forests, to agricultural land could increase agricultural production and help meet rising global food demand. Yet, the extent to which such habitat loss would impact biodiversity and wild species is unknown. Here we survey species richness for four taxa (vascular plants, earthworms, spiders, wild bees) and agricultural yield across a range of arable, grassland, mixed, horticulture, permanent crop, for organic and non-organic agricultural land on 169 farms across 10 European regions. We find that semi-natural habitats currently constitute 23% of land area with 49% of species unique to these habitats. We estimate that conversion of semi-natural land that achieves a 10% increase in agricultural production will have the greatest impact on biodiversity in arable systems and the least impact in grassland systems, with organic practices having better species retention than nonorganic practices. ; This work was funded by the European Union through FP7 project BioBio (Indicators for biodiversity in organic and low-input farming systems; www.biobio-indicator.org; Agreement Nr. 227161), by the Austrian Ministry for Science and Research, and by the Lendület program of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. ; Peer reviewed

International audience ; About one-third of the world's land surface is used for farming, a fact that bears important implications for biodiversity. In Europe, for instance, an estimated 50 percent of all wild species are reliant on agricultural habitats, while agricultural productivity often depends on the presence or absence of particular species. Despite this close coupling, surprisingly little is known about the status and evolution of farmland biodiversity. A team of European and African researchers, hoping to fill this gap in information, recently invented and piloted a new toolbox called the BioBio indicator set, which measures 23 different instances of biodiversity across a variety of farm types and scales in Europe. Applications were also tested in Tunisia, Ukraine, and Uganda, where they proved a feasible starting point for adaptation to the agricultural context of different countries.

About one-third of the world's land surface is used for farming, a fact that bears important implications for biodiversity. In Europe, for instance, an estimated 50 percent of all wild species are reliant on agricultural habitats, while agricultural productivity often depends on the presence or absence of particular species. Despite this close coupling, surprisingly little is known about the status and evolution of farmland biodiversity. A team of European and African researchers, hoping to fill this gap in information, recently invented and piloted a new toolbox called the BioBio indicator set, which measures 23 different instances of biodiversity across a variety of farm types and scales in Europe. Applications were also tested in Tunisia, Ukraine, and Uganda, where they proved a feasible starting point for adaptation to the agricultural context of different countries.