Advances in Health and Behavior

Purpose: This study aims to determine the quality of life (QOL) related to the health of people with epilepsy (PWE) followed in ambulatory care at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital Center in Goma, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Methods:  A total of 302 adults with epilepsy followed in ambulatory care at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital Center in Goma were interviewed in this cross-sectional study. The QOL was measured using a validated French-language version of the Quality of Life in Epilepsy-31 inventory (QOLIE-31).
Results: The mean age was 28.4±11.0 years and 56.9% were males. The mean total QOLIE-31 score was 47.7±11.0. The highest subscale score was overall QOL with a mean of 57.5±15.0 and the lowest was medication effects with 39.7±27.5. Unemployment, presence of seizures, tobacco use, and co-morbidities (medical or psychiatric) significantly affected QOL (p < 0.05). All QOL subscales showed a significant correlation with seizure frequency, except for medication effects.
Conclusion: Worrying about seizures had the major contribution to QOL, while the medication effects had the least. This study confirms the importance of seizure control for better QOL in Congolese PWE.

Aim: To explore whether the LKM intervention has the potential to decrease depression and increase self-compassion. Self-compassionate coping was examined as a mediating variable.
Methods: A sample of 57 university students underwent a pretest-posttest design. Self-compassion was measured with the Self-Compassion Scale, depression with the Patient Health Questionnaire – 9, and self-compassionate coping was assessed using the Self-Compassionate Coping Measure. Participants completed all measures at both pre and posttest. Between both measurement moments there were 12 days in which participants followed either the LKM or a control exercise daily. Repeated measures ANOVAs and a simple mediation analysis were performed.
Results: Over time, both groups decreased in their depression and increased in their self-compassion scores. Assignment to the LKM condition did not result in significantly higher self-compassion scores compared to control. We found a significant effect of LKM for depressive symptoms only when controlling for successfully completed homework exercises. Self-Compassionate coping did not emerge as significant mediator in our statistical analysis.
Conclusion: The results indicate a mixed picture regarding the efficacy of LKM in reducing depression and increasing self-compassion. Both conditions were possibly too similar and involved helpful elements. Further research into the antidepressant utility of LKM is warranted to understand the exact mechanisms of action.

The objective of the present study was to establish the exploratory factorial structure of instruments that measured psychological-cultural variables around intentions and experiences related to the interruption of pregnancy. A non-experimental, exploratory and cross-sectional study was carried out with a non-probabilistic selection of 100 students. The adjustments of the theoretical relationships with respect to the weighted relationships were estimated using two structural models, one cultural and the other cognitive. The values factor explained 41% of the variance (α = 0.732). The belief factor explained 33% of the variance (α = 0.705). The perceptual factor explained 28% of the variance (α = 0.721). The motive factor explained 23% of the variance (α = 0.742). The attitudinal factor explained 17% of the variance (α = 0.701). The normative factor explained 14% of the variance (α = 0.758). The intentional factor explained 9% of the variance (α 0.784) and the experiential factor explained 7% of the variance (α = 0.791). However, the fit and residual parameters [X² = 356.46 (67df) p = 0.067; GFI = 0.990; CFI = 0.975; RMSEA = 0.000] of the structural model of dependency relationships between indicators and cultural factors evidenced the spurious incidence of perceptions about experiences of termination of pregnancy (β = 0.27). In contrast, the adjustment and residual statistics [X² = 145.25 (46df) p = 0.035; GFI = 0.970; CFI = 0.985; RMSEA = 0.003] of the cognitive model showed the significant effect of attitudes on intentions to terminate pregnancy (β = 0.68).

Purpose
Sexual violence is among the most violent crimes that may occur against individuals. Such crimes have long-term effects on victims and usually cause physical and psychological harm. Accordingly, in the present study, the predictive role of Sexual Violence on Women’s sexual dysfunctions was investigated.
Methodology
In a descriptive-analytic study through simple random sampling, 140 women were selected. The research instrument was the Female Sexual Dysfunctional Detection Inventory (FSDDI). SPSS-19 software was used to analyze the data.
Findings
The results showed that women with sexual violence history had higher mean scores. Moreover, sexual pain disorder and sexual dissatisfaction were predicted by the variable sexual violence history (P ˂ 0.001). So, the history of sexual violence in women could lead to sexual dysfunctions in the future and affect the lack of sexual satisfaction.

Struggling with practical problems such as the sudden cancellation of scheduled visits and exams and a sense of abandonment and uncertainty. This is how the "ordinary" patients lived the period of the health emergency in Italy. At the same time, civic and rights protection associations, since the beginning, have been active with a sense of responsibility, creativity, and energy, often revealing themselves to be the only point of reference and the only service available to citizens. This is the double side of the coin, in the implications of the pandemic on chronic and rare patients, which emerged from the XVIII National Report on Chronic Policies of Cittadinanzattiva, presented on October 13th, 2020, and entitled: "Isolated but not alone: the response to the pandemic in the story of Patients Advocacy Groups (PAGs)". The Report arised from the story of 34 Italian associations of patients with chronic and rare diseases who adhered to the National Coalition of Associations for Patients suffering Chronic Diseases (CnAMC) of Cittadinanzattiva. This experience thanks to Active Citizenship Network was first socialized on the occasion of the 15th European Patients’ Rights Day held on May 5th & 6th, 2021, and then brought to the attention of the leaders of the G20 and other states, gathered together with the heads of international and regional organizations on the occasion of the Global Health Summit held in Rome on May 21, 2021.

Sleep deprivation is gradually becoming a common phenomenon in modern societies, especially among chronic users of social media, night shifts workers, students and some less-privileged populations. The erroneous perception among certain subgroups of the population that time spent to sleep is time wasted is of great concern, because sleep is indeed critical for good health and survival. Of greater concern are the effects of alcohol, beverages like caffeine, and environmental toxicants like heavy metals and pesticides, on normal sleep mechanisms. The consequences of sleep disorder are dire as it alters immune responses and have been reported to increase the risk of some non-communicable diseases. The inter-individual differences in sleep requirements may present a challenge in determining adequate sleep duration. On the average, most adults need about seven to eight hours of sleep each night while teens and children need more. Accumulation of sleep debt for individuals sleeping less than the required sleeping duration may lead to chronic health and behavioural problems. We opine that the mechanisms underlying sleep disruption by some foods and toxicants have toxicogenic link. There is need, therefore, to consider sleep deprivation as a public health issue with a view to ensuring proper advocacy among risk groups in order to improve quality of life and economy of nations. Given the prevalence of alcohol and caffeine consumption, exposures to heavy metals and pesticides, and increasing neurodegenerative disorders, there is need to elucidate the precise mechanisms of sleep disruption and exposures to the aforementioned chemicals.