Summer camps for children and adolescents with Type I Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) represent an alternative setting to improve DSME (Diabetes Self Management Education) which is the cornerstone of care for all individuals with diabetes who want to achieve a successful health related outcome. Since the first camp was set up, summer camps have become widespread throughout the world. In literature, there are many studies that involve diabetes camps but none show enough evidence to assess the their effectiveness. The examined outcome does not involve the evaluation of quality of life enough which represents a multidimensional construct covering micro e macro cultural behaviours that underline different aspects between different regions. It is necessary to improve studies in this way. In any case present day camping experiences are invaluable. (+info)
Summer camps and quality of life in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.
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Topics concerning quality of life in children and adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) and summer camps, have only recently appeared in the scientific literature. Interest in quality of life in diabetic patients has lately increased. The Hvidore study group has recruited 2000 patients from several countries and has published an important paper whose conclusions suggest that T1DM patients have a better quality of life if they have a good metabolic control. The aim of this paper is to evaluate if summer camps, seen as an educational and therapeutic tool, can improve quality of life by increasing knowledge and self-management capacities. Certainly summer camps help T1DM children and adolescents to understand that they can be on vacations, practice sports, have fun with other children away from home and parents, just like every other child and adolescent. At summer camps T1DM patients become aware of not being the only ones to deal with the problem of diabetes; in addition parents become aware of their child's skills in the disease management and lastly improve the relationship with the medical staff who will have the opportunity of living an extremely important training experience. The more ambitious aim of summer camps, i.e. the gaining of knowledge and self-management skills and improvement in metabolic control, seems difficult to achieve. The limited literature available suggests that it is unlikely that one or more summer camps will contribute to the improvement of metabolic control; nevertheless, it is not easy to make such evaluations with scientific criteria. We think that Italian guidelines for summer camps should help in standardizing the organization and management; in this way it will be probably easier to evaluate the impact of summer camps on the quality of life. (+info)
Awareness of swimming pool suction injury among tour operators.
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A 6 year old girl suffered rectal prolapse after being sucked onto a swimming pool drain from which the cover had been removed. After six days in hospital she made a full recovery. The severe form of this injury may result in evisceration of small bowel, short bowel syndrome, and the need for long term parenteral nutrition. A survey of travel agents revealed a low awareness of this potentially devastating hazard, and a failure on the part of some companies to take adequate responsibility for customer safety. Preventive measures are reviewed. (+info)
Sexual behaviour of young people in international tourist resorts.
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BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Increasingly, young people travel abroad to experience nightlife in international resorts. Although media coverage of such resorts suggests high levels of sexual activity, little empirical data are currently available. We have measured: 3 year trends in sexual behaviour of young people visiting Ibiza, levels of sexual risk taking, and their relation to substance use. Additionally, in 2002 we identified levels of homosexual sex and sexual interactions between UK residents and individuals from other countries. METHODS: Data were collected from visitors to Ibiza between 2000 and 2002 just before they left the island. Information on sexual health was surveyed using a short anonymous questionnaire. RESULTS: Over half of individuals (56.0%) visiting Ibiza had sex with at least one person, with 26.2% of males and 14.5% of females having sex with more than one individual. However, of those arriving without sexual partners (75.5%) just under half (47.5%) have sex in Ibiza and most of these (62.4%) always used condoms. Having any sex abroad was associated with using illicit drugs and having more sexual partners in the 6 months before visiting Ibiza. However, having unprotected sex or sex with more than one person was associated with smoking as well as having higher numbers of sexual partners before their visit. Overall, 8.6% of individuals had sex with a non-UK resident in Ibiza although such individuals were no more likely to have sex without condoms. CONCLUSIONS: Substantial numbers of individuals visiting international nightlife resorts have unprotected sex with people they meet while abroad. This poses an increasing threat to the sexual health of UK residents but as yet little attention has been paid to developing interventions that might reduce sexual risk taking among young people holidaying abroad. (+info)
Seasonality of type 1 diabetes mellitus in children and its modification by weekends and holidays: retrospective observational study.
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BACKGROUND: Diagnoses of type 1 insulin dependent diabetes mellitus are generally more common in winter, although this seasonal pattern has not been observed in children of preschool age (0-4 years) or in all countries. AIMS: To confirm the persistence of seasonality and the influence of age, holidays, and weekends. METHODS: We extracted data on date of birth, date of presentation, age, and sex of children diagnosed with diabetes and registered with the Scottish Study Group for the Care of Diabetes in the Young. Cosinor analysis was applied to monthly and mid-monthly data. Two sample Z tests were used to compare the epochs 1984-1992 and 1993-2001. RESULTS: Some 4517 children between 0 and 14 years of age (2407 male and 2110 female) presented with IDDM between 1 January 1984 and 31 December 2001. Seasonality was evident in children above 4 years of age with amplitudes of 19.5-25.7% and peaks between mid December and mid January. Presentation was strongly influenced by weekends and holiday periods, with reduced presentations in December compared with November and January, and with the lowest presentations in July (the main Scottish holiday month). Using mid-month to mid-month data did not change the overall seasonality but did improve the fits for cosinor analysis. Mondays and Fridays were the most common days for presentation. CONCLUSION: Initial presentation of IDDM in Scotland follows a stable seasonal pattern in all but the youngest children with lower rates of presentation in holiday periods and at weekends for all age groups. (+info)
Mysterious slapped face rash at holiday centre.
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OBJECTIVE: To discover the cause of an outbreak of facial rash in a holiday centre. DESIGN: Questionnaire survey of those with rash; analysis of samples of linen. SETTING: Holiday centre in south west England. PATIENTS: 98 holiday-makers presenting to the first aid post with a facial rash. INTERVENTION: Replacement of bed linen with new linen in selected parts of the site. RESULTS: The attack rate was 7.0-14.2/1000 for most accommodation areas in the centre, but in one accommodation area the rate was zero. The pH of rinse water from sheets varied from 7.4 to 9.0. Those parts of the accommodation provided with new linen had zero attack rates. CONCLUSION: The facial rash resulted from irritation from washing powder retained owing to insufficient rinsing during laundering. Modifications to the rinsing process led to a gradual disappearance of the rash. (+info)
Best evidence topic report. Suicide at christmas.
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A short cut review was carried out to establish whether the risk of suicide and parasuicide increases at Christmas. Fifteen papers were found using the reported search, of which six presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these best papers are tabulated. A clinical bottom line is stated. (+info)
Fall-related injuries during the holiday season--United States, 2000-2003.
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Although fall-related injuries occur throughout the year, few studies have analyzed seasonal patterns, and none have examined the extent of such injuries associated with holiday decorating. To characterize nonfatal fall injuries associated with decorating or related activities, CDC analyzed data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System All Injury Program (NEISS-AIP) for three winter holiday seasons. This report summarizes the results of that analysis, which indicated that, during 2000-2003, an estimated 17,465 persons were treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments (EDs) for holiday-decorating-related falls. Approximately 62% of those injured were aged 20-49 years; approximately 43% of injuries were caused by falls from ladders; and males were 40% more likely than females to be injured. Prevention strategies should focus on raising awareness about falls and promoting safety practices during the holiday season. (+info)