COMMUNITY

Born Too Soon reports that the preterm birth rate in Chile is 7.1% live births out of 100 (Global Average 11.1, USA 12).  http://www.marchofdimes.org/mission/global-preterm.aspx#tabs-3

 

 

 

What makes Chile’s preterm birth rate significantly lower than the Global average?

Chile is today one of South America’s most stable and prosperous nations. It leads Latin American nations in rankings of human development, competitiveness, income per capita, globalization, state of peace, economic freedom, and low perception of corruption. Population: 17.91 million (2016).                                                                               Full Article- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile

Chile has maintained a dual health care system under which its citizens can voluntarily opt for coverage by either the public National Health Insurance Fund or any of the country’s private health insurance companies. Currently, 68% of the population is covered by the public fund and 18% by private companies.

INNOVATIONS 

Per Techflier, Chile has emerged as the leading producer of healthcare-related tech startups in LATAM. Due to ample support from the government and private funding sources, the country’s healthtech startups have led the charge globally in developing cutting edge products and services for the medical and healthcare industry.

Babybe–*** Neonatal Womb Partners may be drawn to innovation #9!

Source: babybemedical.com.

September 17, 2017 – 11 Healthtech Startups from Chile You Need to Know About in 2017

#9 – Babybe was designed to help premature babies transition into the world with less trauma and difficulty—the device measures the mother’s lungs and heartbeat to transform them into a sensory experience for the baby. This enables premature babies to feel the presence of their mothers, even inside an incubator.

Full Link- https://www.techflier.com/2017/09/14/11-healthtech-startups-from-chile-you-need-to-know-about-in-2017/

Curious? Check out this article in Wired and the YOUTUBE below:

BabyBe provides sensory comfort to premature babies

For the youngest and tiniest patients in hospitals across the world, the first few weeks and months of life on Earth can be a stressful experience. Kept inside incubators, premature babies are delicate and susceptible to infection. They are also separated from their mothers. Physical interaction between mother and baby during this time is very limited. Mothers too can feel frustrated by this too, or even suffer postpartum depression due to the fact they are not able to physically care for and comfort their babies. BabyBe, a company from Chile aims to help change this. It wants to shorten hospital stays for premature babies and make women feel actively like mothers from the moment their babies are born. To do this it has created a system that measures the movement of the mother’s lungs and heartbeat and transforms it into a sensory experience for the baby, reducing the stress they feel and aiding their development and early memories. “It gives premature babies the ability to feel their mothers touch from within an incubation machine,” says Raphael PM Lang from BabyBe.                                                                              Full Article- http://www.wired.co.uk/article/babybe  

Make It Wearable Finalists | Meet Team Babybe

 

 

 

 

 

• Hungry for more information?
• Brochure: http://www.babybemedical.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/BABYBE-GmbH-brochure-.pdf
• Article: http://www.wired.co.uk/article/babybe
• Clinical Validation: http://www.babybemedical.com/clinical-validation/

As the   struggles to discover, create, and provide our Neonatal Womb and National Communities with effective healthcare resources, each Country has wisdom and expertise to help us achieve our collective and individual wellness goals. The New England Journal explores Chile’s Health Care changes in the interesting article below:

The New England Journal of Medicine: January 07, 2016

Innovation and Change in the Chilean Health System

Thomas J. Bossert, Ph.D., and Thomas Leisewitz, M.D., M.P.H.                                      Although Chile produces a sufficient number of doctors to cover its population, Chilean physicians, like those elsewhere, tend to prefer to work in urban areas and, despite innovative family medicine programs in several prestigious medical schools, often seek higher-paid specialties. Moreover, the private sector’s higher salaries and better working conditions have lured physicians away from public services, causing a shortage of general practitioners and family physicians in public clinics. Many municipalities therefore hire doctors from other countries, such as Ecuador, Bolivia, and Cuba, who will accept lower pay and less advantageous working conditions.

Like other middle- and high-income countries, Chile faces growing prevalence of chronic diseases in an aging population, increasing costs, and insufficient prevention and health-promotion activities. These epidemiological changes have increased demand for care, which in turn has affected the quality of care and timely access to services, at least in the large public services. Chile is also contending with substantial inequality between high-income participants in the private system and the large majority covered by social insurance and tax-funded public health services.

With the courts and both public and private sectors acknowledging the need for reform, presidential advisory commissions have been convened to develop a consensus plan. The most recent commission recommended returning to a single-payer public insurance system somewhat similar to the Canadian system (and the recently abandoned Vermont plan. A minority report, however, proposed introducing a broader minimum health plan, at a single price, into the private system, with a compensation fund for reducing risk-selection behavior (which could also eventually be open to FONASA. The debate ongoing.  Full Link- http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1514202

HEALTH CARE PARTNERS

As we face a critical and expansive global health care provider shortage we support and are committed to manifesting strong health and wellness for all Neonatal Womb Family Partners. Our healthcare providers are our heartbeat of hope and beacon of progress as we seek to prevent preterm birth and provide support to preterm birth survivors, families and our Global Neonatal Womb partners.

Just Ask – World Suicide Prevention Day 2017

 

This study explores the rates and causes of death (neoplastic diseases, suicide, accidents, medical and surgical diseases, accidental poisoning, homicide, etc.) for residents, and compare them with rates in the general population. In particular, researchers were interested in the number and leading causes of resident deaths; related patterns and trends as well as associations with gender, year in training, program accreditation status, and whether any patterns could offer information to reduce avoidable deaths.

Academic Medicine/AAMC:

Causes of Death of Residents in ACGME-Accredited Programs 2000 Through 2014: Implications for the Learning Environment

• Yaghmour, Nicholas A. MPP; Brigham, Timothy P. MDiv, PhD; Richter, Thomas MA; Miller, Rebecca S. MS; Philibert, Ingrid PhD, MBA; Baldwin, DeWitt C. Jr MD; Nasca, Thomas J. MD
• Academic Medicine: July 2017 – Volume 92 – Issue 7 – p 976–983

Our study sought to better understand the rates and causes of death for residents, and compare them with rates in the general population. In particular, we were interested in the number and leading causes of resident deaths; their patterns and trends in occurrence; and associations with gender, year in training, program accreditation status, and whether any patterns could offer information to reduce avoidable deaths.

Limitations and strengths-

There are limitations to this study. First, despite the magnitude of the cohort, it does not represent all residents in the United States. The American Osteopathic Association accredits osteopathic programs, and a number of surgical fellowship programs are accredited by specialty societies or other entities. Also, our study did not assess the prevalence of suicide after dismissal from, or completion of, residency. Finally, the limited number of deaths from specific causes, including suicide deaths, and absence of individual resident data beyond demographic information, precluded the use of regression analysis to provide a more sophisticated assessment of risk factors. Strengths of this study include that it is the most complete study of causes of resident death to date, covering 15 academic years of ACGME-accredited programs and involving nearly 400,000 physicians in training, with the causes of death obtained through the NDI database or other public sources of information

Conclusions-

Resident death occurs significantly less frequently than in the age- and gender-matched general population. Malignancy is the most common cause, with suicide the second-most prevalent etiology and the most preventable cause of death of trainees. The data suggest a higher risk for individuals early in their training and during vulnerable periods in the first quarter of the academic year and after the winter holiday season. Strategies to reduce preventable deaths should include preventive and treatment services, emergency support for trainees in distress, and ongoing monitoring and provision of wellness services that take into account the level of training, age of the trainee, and the time of year. Future research should explore institution- and program-level approaches to increase and support help-seeking behaviors by trainees in distress.

Full.Article- http://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/Fulltext/2017/07000/Causes_of_Death_of_Residents_in_ACGME_Accredited.41.aspx

 

PREEMIE FAMILY PARTNERS

Volunteer baby cuddlers bring comfort to NICU preemies and their families – YouTube

Kat, The Cuddler:

 Cuddling my first micro-preemie (also born at 24 weeks gestation) was a sweet/sad emotional moment in time. In my hands lay another human being traveling a familiar path. Holding the preemie was an eye and  opening experience. In my arms lay a 4-pound miracle surrounded by various medical wires, a feeding tube, and monitors. Nurses on staff prepared me to properly cuddle the patient, use proper transfer techniques and to adhere to cuddling protocols.  Nervous, I took a deep breath and cradled the precious and fragile infant before settling into a calm state of pure presence.

Cuddling has awakened me on many levels!  In addition to deepening my connection to my early days, the cuddling experience awakens my awareness of the countless providers, far more than I had previously recognized, that were involved in my treatment and survival. Cuddling allows me to interface intimately with patients, neonatal health care providers and families and to appreciate the value and purpose of our interconnections.

Cuddling, like Kangaroo care, is a critical part of providing holistic and comforting care to neonatal patients. For those of you that may be interested in becoming a cuddler I highly recommend considering contacting a local Neonatal ICU for information about how to apply. Your ability to impact the lives of the families and patients is of value and may bring hope to those you may meet.  The cuddler may also experience increased personal joy and wellness through partnership within the preterm birth community.

My experience as a NICU cuddler for the past 3 ½ years has empowered me with a few tips I would like to share:

1)  Before you start your shift, take some time to prepare yourself for the experience. Being present with the patient and those you may come across while cuddling may lead to important conversations and connections. For me, a few minutes of meditation enables me to center myself prior to entering the NICU.

2)  Due to high volumes of work load and staff shortages, time management and prioritizing task comes first for care providers. This impacts the ability of the staff to perform tasks such as cuddling. Assisting the team in providing care to the patient is what makes the role of a cuddler special and unique.

3)   Some babies in the NICU may not have their families available to hold them due to various circumstances while others may be up for adoption. The opportunity to provide all NICU patients with physical comfort is critical for their development.

4)  Connect from the heart and know your role matters.

5)   In addition to assisting the patients you may also have an impact on the providers, parents, and families that need support. Whether it’s helping a nurse prepare a baby for feeding, giving encouragement to the medical residents learning the craft of neonatology, or lending a compassionate ear to the stressed-out parent in need, your presence makes an important difference for our community.

6)   Enjoy the experience, open your heart, choose love, and appreciate life.

 

WARRIORS:

Apps may offer quick, effective, and diverse resources to help us deal with anxiety on this challenging and dynamic journey.

10 Apps To Help You Cope With Anxiety – Therachat – July 25, 2017-

Staying connected to everything and everyone during the 24 hours of our day is one of the biggest mistakes we make when it comes to avoiding anxiety and stress.

• A 2015 APA reportuncovered that adults feeling stressed in the U.S. have only slightly increased in the last year, but reports of adults describing extreme levels of stress have increased more.

There are plenty of reasons associated with why stress is on the rise; many point fingers at the increase of digital noise interrupting our daily routines, as a result people have increased anxiety to keep up with this rush.

• Over the space of 24 hours, we touch our smartphones, on average, 2,617 times. This obsessive amount of interactions with our smartphones is said to be driving some of the digital mess, combined with email pile-ups, media consumption and instant messenger, to mention a few.
• With all types of anxietyon the rise across the U.S. and other first world countries, so are the efforts to attempt to alleviate the noise with practical solutions. The likes of meditation and yoga have been on the rise, with a mainstream push to reduce stress and anxiety on a daily basis.
• Despite the noise of your smartphone, apps have also become one of the leading solutions to anxiety reduction.
• With this, we thought it’d be good to bring together a list of applications that can be used to reduce your anxiety and stress levels, wherever you may be. These hand-picked applications should provide you with some escapism from your hectic day, and recharge your batteries.

We have summarized the top ten recommended Apps below-

• 1.   Mindfulness-According to a 2014 review, 47 trials of 3,515 participants suggested that mindfulness meditation programs showed a moderate evidence of improving anxiety and depression.
• 2.Pause-Pause is very simple. Grab your earphones and place your finger on the screen. Your finger will create a ripple-like effect on the screen, pause and bring your focus and attention to this visual experience. The goal of Pause is to freeze your attention onto this and bring all of your focus on being in the present moment.
• 3.Therachat-Therachat aims to keep clients engaged in between therapy sessions by providing a seamless way to report emotions and much more. Including a secure way to self-reflect during the day to help improve the session quality between a therapist and its clients.
• 4.  Pigment-One of the most popular physical practices in the last 24 months has been coloring books for adults. This simple activity has driven a lot of attention as a way to de-stress from the business of the work day.
• 5.  Prune-Beautifully crafted,Prune provides an artistic approach to maintain your trees. This zen-like approach to stress and anxiety reduction is constructive for short-bursts of gameplay without disturbing your workflow too much.
• 6.  Calm-These soft short-burst stories can be anywhere between 3-10 minutes long and provide you with a relaxing audio experience to help induce sleep in the evenings. You’ll be asleep in no time.
• 7.  Sleep Better-Brought to you by Runtastic, the successful sport tracking application, Sleep Better provides a free way to start mapping your full sleeping pattern and give actionable feedback on how to improve it. This insight into your sleeping pattern can be incredibly useful for homing in on your anxiety and culling any bad sleeping habits.
• 8.  Happify-Daily happiness is possible. As BJ Novak quotes “Happiness is a muscle”, it requires attention and is something you can mold every day. The app Happify aims to be the science-backed solution to improving your day-to-day smiles. Happify is a combination of games and activities to help you quantify and improve your learning of how to be happy.
• 9.  Asana Rebel-According to YogaJournal, 43% of all yoga sessions occur at home, and that’s where Asana Rebel, our yoga app recommendation aims to help. With $2.5B spent on yoga classes every year in the US, Asana Rebel seeks to be a cheaper more cost-effective option for practicing yoga at home.
• 10. Stop, Breathe & Think-Breathing is one of the most underrated ways to relax.

   Full Link- https://blog.therachat.io/anxiety-apps/

 Find your Chile – Surf espera por você-

Published on Dec 7, 2016 – Você adora que a água salpique no seu rosto e o coração se acelere com cada nova onda? Percorra os mais de 4.000 quilômetros da costa chilena e deslize através dos magníficos tubos que esconde este verdadeiro paraíso para os amantes do surf.