Program Report: Nîsohkamâtowak—Helping Patients and Families Living With Kidney Disease in Northern Saskatchewan

Purpose of the Program: Nîsohkamâtowak, the Cree word for Helping Each Other, is an initiative to close gaps in kidney health care for First Nations and Métis patients, their families, and communities in northern Saskatchewan. Nîsohkamâtowak emerged from a collaboration between the Kidney Health Community Program and First Nations and Métis Health Services to find ways to deliver better care and education to First Nations and Métis people living with kidney disease while acknowledging Truth and Reconciliation and the Calls to Action. Sources of Information: This article describes how traditional Indigenous protocols and storytelling were woven into the Nîsohkamâtowak events, gathering of patient and family voices in writing and video format, and how this work led to a collaborative co-designed process that incorporates the Truth and Reconciliation: Calls to Action into kidney care and the benefits we have seen so far. The teachings of the 4 Rs—respect, reciprocity, responsibility, and relevance, were critical to ensuring that Nîsohkamâtowak reports and learning were shared with participants and the communities represented in this initiative. Methods: Group discussions and sharing circles were facilitated in several locations throughout northern and central Saskatchewan. Main topics of discussion were traditional medicines, residential schools impact, community and peer supports for kidney disease patients, and cultural safety education for health care providers. Key Findings: The general themes selected for improvement were education, support within the local community, traditional practices and cultural competency, and delivery of services. To address these gaps in kidney care, the following objectives were co-created with First Nations and Métis patients, families, and communities for Kidney Health to provide culturally appropriate education and resources, to ensure appropriate follow-up support to include strengthening connections to communities and other health authorities, to incorporate traditional practices into program design, and to ensure appropriate service delivery across the spectrum of care with a focus on screening and referral, which is strongly linked to coordination of care with local health centers. Implications: As a result of this work, the Kidney Health Community Program restructured the delivery of services and continues to work with Nîsohkamâtowak advisors on safety initiatives and chronic kidney disease awareness, prevention, and management in their respective communities. The Truth and Reconciliation and Calls to Action are honored to close the gaps in kidney care. Limitations: Nîsohkamâtowak is a local Kidney Health initiative that has the good fortune of having dedicated funding and staff to carry out this work. The findings may be unique to the First Nations and Métis communities and people who shared their stories. Truth and Reconciliation is an ongoing commitment that must be nurtured. Although not part of this publication, the effects of COVID-19 have made it difficult to further advance the Calls to Action, with more limited staff resources and the inability to meet in person as in the past.

ALAT BANTU EDUKASI DAN INTERVENSI SEBAGAI UPAYA PERWUJUDAN INKLUSIVITAS BAGI ANAK DENGAN HIV DAMPINGAN DARI ORGANISASI SOSIAL KOMUNITAS X

Children with HIV still get discrimination and negative stigma from the community. It shows that the principle of inclusiveness in Indonesia is still hard to achieve. This condition has also become the concern of X community as a social organization that assists children with HIV. X community still faces challenges in realizing inclusiveness in society. Discrimination still exists by various parties to children with HIV due to the lack of a comprehensive understanding of HIV. Needs analysis through interviews, observations, and questionnaires to the community and X community needs to be done to see the gap that causes the principle of inclusiveness for children with HIV has not been achieved. The needs analysis was followed up with creating educational aids and implementation of interventions to provide a proper understanding of the HIV issue. Thus, discrimination by the community is reduced, and caregivers are assisted in caring for children with HIV. Educational aids are made in two forms: podcasts published through Spotify and content posted through Instagram. The intervention was carried out in the form of a sharing session conducted in conjunction with the routine X community program, namely Peer Support Group (Kelompok Dukungan Sebaya), by discussing topics considered necessary based on the needs analysis. The evaluation of psychoeducation and intervention shows that various follow-ups are still needed to achieve inclusiveness for children with HIV. Keberadaan anak dengan HIV mendapat diskriminasi dan stigma negatif dari lingkungan sosial sehingga perwujudan prinsip inklusivitas di Indonesia masih sulit tercapai. Kondisi ini turut menjadi perhatian komunitas X sebagai komunitas sosial yang mendampingi anak dengan HIV. Meskipun komunitas X menjadi wadah yang menaungi anak dengan HIV bukan berarti tidak mengalami tantangan dalam mencapai inklusivitas masyarakat. Pada kenyataannya, diskriminasi tetap ada dan dilakukan oleh berbagai pihak kepada anak dengan HIV akibat kurangnya pemahaman yang komprehensif mengenai HIV. Analisis kebutuhan melalui wawancara, observasi, maupun kuesioner terhadap masyarakat dan pihak komunitas X dilakukan untuk melihat kesenjangan yang menyebabkan prinsip inklusivitas terhadap keberadaan anak dengan HIV belum dapat dicapai. Analisis kebutuhan ditindaklanjuti dengan pembuatan alat bantu edukasi dan pelaksanaan intervensi yang bertujuan memberi pemahaman yang tepat terhadap isu HIV. Dengan demikian diskriminasi yang dilakukan masyarakat berkurang dan pelaku rawat terbantu dalam pengasuhan anak dengan HIV. Alat bantu edukasi dibuat dalam dua bentuk, yaitu podcast melalui platform Spotify dan konten-konten melalui media sosial Instagram. Intervensi dilakukan dalam bentuk sharing session yang dilakukan bersamaan dengan program rutin komunitas X yaitu Kelompok Dukungan Sebaya (KDS) dengan membahas topik-topik yang dianggap penting berdasarkan analisis kebutuhan. Evaluasi dari psikoedukasi dan intervensi yang telah dilakukan menunjukkan masih diperlukannya berbagai tindak lanjut untuk mencapai inklusivitas terhadap anak dengan HIV.

Ramadan daily intermittent fasting reduces objectively assessed habitual physical activity among adults

Background Muslims around the world practice intermittent fasting during the month of Ramadan each year. We hypothesized that daily physical activity could be reduced among Muslims due to the inability to refuel and rehydrate in the fasting state. Methods A cohort study design among adults registered with national physical activity community program. Data from a pedometer-based community program was used to extract 3 months of daily step counts before, during, and after Ramadan for the past years (2013–2019). A survey was conducted among participants to determine fasting practice and other health and environmental factors. Results A total of 209 participants completed the survey and provided valid data on physical activity. During Ramadan, the average steps per day decreased significantly (− 385 ± SE 158) among participants who fasted (n = 151) p = 0.046 and increased (+ 731 ± SE 247) for the non- fasting participants (n = 58) p = 0.010. Fasting participants preferred before sunset (33.8%) or evening (39.7%) for physical activity. Whereas, non-fasting participants preferred early morning (34.5%). Conclusion Fasting during Ramadan impacts the daily physical activity behavior among Muslims. Interventions should focus on creating awareness of the importance of maintenance of adequate physical activity for adults fasting during Ramadan.

The Efficacy of a Holding Community Program—Promoting Social Reflection at School

The authors developed a Holding Community Program to achieve the following objectives: (a) to increase the perspective-taking capacity of adolescents; (b) to promote interpersonal and intergroup harmony; (c) to empower school students to be more (pro)active in their communities and in public life. Apart from the intervention itself, the study comprised a pre-test and a post-test and involved a total of 240 Hungarian high school students (159 female, 66.3%). The students were aged 14–18 (Mage=15.33; SDage=0.88). They were recruited from four high schools. Control groups (N=122) were chosen from the same institution and graded as experimental classes (N=118, 7 classes). Both immediate and long-term effects of the intervention (4–6 months after the intervention) were explored. Quantitative analysis of the data indicated that the two-day intervention program had significantly increased the students’ perspective-taking capacity (short-term: F(1,238)=6.03, p<0.05, long-term: n.s.) and efficacy beliefs (short-term: F(1,238)= 3.83, p=0.052, long-term: F(1,238)= 3.38, p<0.05). After the training, students were more willing to participate in collective actions (short-term: F(1,238)= 7.32, p<0.01, long-term: F(1,238)= 3.83, p<0.05). These results seem quite promising but the outcome was not significant regarding its effect on prejudice.

HERE Expert Map Community Program-Product Portfolio Operations and Spatial Solutions

We are predominantly aiming at promoting the utilization of EV in countries like India considering their advantages, disadvantages, circumscriptions and opportunities. The system has been developed utilizing the database of HERE mapss which has been practiced and expanded by us utilizing the map engenderer implement. HERE Map Engenderer is a live map editing implement which has more than 45 features across 5 map categories and these categories are roads, bike lanes, walkways, POIs, and addresses. No installation is required to utilize this implement as it is a web-predicated implement that requires a stable internet connection. We have utilized HERE map engenderer implement for three main features: Identifying and marking missing roads: In HERE maps, there are different kinds of road, right through to pedestrian walkways and trails. While marking roads, HERE map engenderer provides a set of sundry roads attributes which avails in providing serviceable information about that road in HERE maps. Places of fascinates: Apart from roads, the HERE map engenderer implement can withal mark and integrate Places of Interest. Places of fascinates are the places which people visit often or the places having some paramountcy. There are more than 100 categories of POIs just in HERE map engenderer implement which provides ease to the developers or editors to integrate places as well as the customers to find and visit places. Point addressing: We can additionally integrate the addresses of houses in the locality, in the city or wherever we get the information about the addresses of places. This is called as point addressing which is withal a feature of HERE map engenderer implement. Our system comprises of amalgamation of these three features in order to develop a system which can facilely find the most proximate charging station or fuel station in the locality.

COVID-19-driven sudden shift to remote teaching: the case of the Languages for the Community Program at the Universidad Nacional del Litoral

The Languages for the Community Program (LCP), one of the units that make up the Language Center at Universidad Nacional del Litoral (UNL), Santa Fe, República Argentina, is an extension service provided to people 17 years of age and older that live in Santa Fe or in neighboring towns, and to UNL students wishing to take language courses other than those offered in their own study programs. Since 1999 when they started, these language courses have been taught in a traditional face-to-face modality. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the way in which the first term in 2020 had to suddenly shift to remote teaching and how this shift was devised, coordinated, delivered, and evaluated in response to the unexpected context provoked by the outbreak of COVID-19. The chapter also reports the changes implemented during the second term according to the results of a satisfaction survey administered to students. Collaborative work, previous expertise, and methodological principles allowed the staff at LCP to offer a quality educational response to this paradigm shift in foreign language teaching and learning.