•The intervention combined brief memory reminder cues with a visuospatial task.•One of its unique features was the return to the trauma context (maternity unit).•The number of childbirth-related ...intrusive memories was reduced post-intervention.•The reduction appeared stable up to six weeks post-intervention.•PTSD symptoms were also largely reduced (total severity & symptom cluster scores).
Intrusive memories (IMs) of traumatic events are a key symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and contribute to its maintenance. This translational proof-of-principle study tested whether a single-session behavioural intervention reduced the number of childbirth-related IMs (CB-IMs) and childbirth-related PTSD (CB-PTSD) symptoms, in women traumatised by childbirth. The intervention was assumed to disrupt trauma memory reconsolidation.
In this pre-post study, 18 participants, whose traumatic childbirth had occurred between seven months and 6.9 years before, received an intervention combining childbirth-related reminder cues (including the return to maternity unit) with a visuospatial task. They recorded their daily CB-IMs in the two weeks pre-intervention (diary 1), the two weeks post-intervention (diary 2; primary outcome), and in week 5 and 6 post-intervention (diary 3). CB-PTSD symptom severity was assessed five days pre-intervention and one month post-intervention.
Compared to diary 1, 15/18 participants had ≥ 50% fewer CB-IMs in diary 2. The median (IQR) reduction of the number of CB-IMs was 81.89% (39.58%) in diary 2, and persisted in diary 3 (n = 17). At one month post-intervention, CB-PTSD symptom severity was reduced by ≥ 50% in 10/18 participants. Of the 8 participants with a CB-PTSD diagnosis pre-intervention, none met diagnostic criteria post-intervention. The intervention was rated as highly acceptable.
The design limits the causal interpretation of observed improvements.
This is the first time such a single-session behavioural intervention was tested for old and real-life single-event trauma. The promising results justify a randomized controlled trial, and may be a first step toward an innovative CB-PTSD treatment.
IntroductionApproximately 12.3% of mothers experience childbirth-related post-traumatic stress symptoms (CB-PTSS). However, evidence-based interventions to treat CB-PTSS are lacking. Intrusive ...memories (IM), a key CB-PTSS, are distressing and can trigger other PTSS by reliving the traumatic event. Emerging evidence shows that a behavioural intervention involving a visuospatial task (BI-VT) can reduce the number of IM and PTSS, supposedly by interfering with the reconsolidation of the trauma memory. This study aims to test the efficacy of a single-session BI-VT targeting IM to reduce the number of childbirth-related (CB-)IM and PTSS, in comparison to a waitlist control group (WCG).Methods and analysisIn this multicentre, single-blind, randomised controlled trial being undertaken at one regional and one university hospital in Switzerland, 60 participants will be allocated to the Immediate Intervention Group (IIG), receiving the immediate intervention on day 15, and 60 participants to the WCG receiving the delayed intervention on day 30. All participants will report their CB-IM during the 2 weeks preimmediate and postimmediate intervention in diaries. The IIG will additionally report their CB-IM over weeks 5 and 6 postimmediate intervention. Self-report questionnaires will assess CB-PTSS at 2 weeks preimmediate and postimmediate intervention in both groups, and at 6 weeks postimmediate intervention in the IIG. A feedback questionnaire will evaluate the intervention acceptability. The primary outcome will be group differences in the number of CB-IM between the 2 weeks preimmediate and postimmediate intervention. Secondary outcomes will be CB-PTSS at 2 and 6 weeks postimmediate intervention, the number of CB-IM at weeks 5 and 6 postimmediate intervention, and intervention acceptability.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval was granted by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Canton of Vaud (study number 202200652). Participants will provide an informed consent before study participation. Results will be presented in peer-reviewed journals and at conferences.Trial registration numberNCT05381155.
This paper studies the influence of Paul F. Brandwein, author, scientist, teacher and mentor, publisher, humanist, and environmentalist, on gifted youngsters who later became scientists, based ...primarily on information gathered from surveys completed by 25 of his students and one colleague. It also traces his profound interactions with science educators. It illuminates the theories of Brandwein and his protégés and colleagues about the interaction of environment, schooling, and education and Brandwein's belief in having students do original research (that is, research whose results are unknown) on their way to discovering their future scientific paths. It tests Brandwein's 1955 hypothesis on the characteristics typical of the young who eventually become scientists, namely: Three factors are considered as being significant in the development of future scientists: a Genetic Factor with a primary base in heredity (general intelligence, numerical ability, and verbal ability); a Predisposing Factor, with a primary base in functions which are psychological in nature; an Activating Factor, with a primary base in the opportunities offered in school and in the special skills of the teacher. High intelligence alone does not make a youngster a scientist (p xix). The predisposing factor included traits he called persistence — a willingness "to labor beyond a prescribed time... to withstand discomfort... to face failure"— and "questing"— a "dissatisfaction with present explanations of aspects of reality" (p. 10). Brandwein's activating factor included "opportunities for advanced training and contact with an inspirational teacher" (p. 11). All quotations are from Brandwein's The Gifted Student as Future Scientist: The High School Student and His Commitment to Science (Harcourt, Brace, New York, 1955/1981. Reprinted in 1981, retitled The Gifted Student as Future Scientist and with a new preface, as vol 3 of A Perspective Through a Retrospective, by the National/State Leadership Training Institute on the Gifted and the Talented, Los Angeles, CA).
Background:
Pregnancy mobile applications (apps) have grown in popularity over the past decade, with some being used to promote study recruitment or health behaviors. However, no app serves as an ...all-in-one solution for collecting general data for research purposes and providing women with useful and desirable features.
Aim:
To create and develop a Swiss pregnancy mobile app as an innovative means to collect research data and provide users with reliable information.
Methods:
Determining the key features of the app involved a review of the literature and assessment of popular apps in the Swiss AppStore. A team of engineers developed the app, which includes a pregnancy timeline, questionnaires for data collection, medical and psychological articles and a checklist with appointment reminders. The content was written and reviewed by healthcare providers considered experts in the topics adressed. The questionnaires are distributed based on the user’s gestational age, by a chatbot. The project was authorized by the ethics commission in the canton of Vaud. An online survey of ten questions, advertised on Datamama’s home screen, was conducted to assess the users’ use of the app (27.11- 19.12.2022).
Results:
A review of 84 articles and 25 popular apps showed the need for a comprehensive pregnancy app. The development of Datamama took 2 years and included the creation of 70 medical and psychological articles and 29 questionnaires covering 300 unique variables. Six months after the launch, there were 800 users with a 73% average participation rate in the questionnaires. Sixty-five women completed the survey, with 70.8% using the app once to multiple times per week. The primary reason for using the app was to help research by answering the questionnaires, followed by access to reliable medical information. The reason most frequently ranked first for using the app was to help research by answering the questionnaires (42/65, 67% of women rated it first), followed by access to reliable medical information (34/65, 54% women rated it second). Women rated the information as clear, understandable, and interesting with a trust rating in data handling at 98.5%. The average grade for recommending the app was 8/10, with suggestions for increasing the amount of medical content and tailoring it based on gestational age.
Conclusion:
Datamama is the first pregnancy app to address the needs of both patients and researchers. Initial feedback from users was positive, highlighting future challenges for success. Future work will consist in improving the app, validating the data and use it to answer specific pregnancy-related research questions.
Science-shy public served by science-shy Congress could threaten national and global survival. People will come to understand science and technology when actively experiencing these disciplines as ...they exist in reality; where they have power and beauty, rather than in educational frameworks; where they are often neutered. Fortunately, "real stuff" of science and technology is everywhere, as are teacher resources. (MLH)
A conference held by the National Research Council (NRC) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) suggested methods of improving undergraduate education. The importance of focusing attention on ...undergraduate science, mathematics and engineering, areas which have been neglected was stressed. The reforms at the undergraduate level, which is as important as precollege and graduate level education have always been overlooked.
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