The Interventional Capacity of Community Health Volunteers for Screening and Linkages of Non-Communicable Diseases in Nyeri County, Kenya

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) account for 63% of mortalities. Approximately 80% of these NCD-related deaths occur in LMICs. A quasi-experimental study utilizing a non-equivalent pre-and post-test was conducted from May 2022 to March 2023 with 370 study participants. Multistage cluster and random sampling were used to select ten community units, and therefore, 150 CHVs were chosen for the control unit, and 150 were used to form the interventional group. Data was collected from the KOBO app. Six (6) homogenous FGDs comprised ten members, and 10 KII were conducted across study sites. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS version 28.0, and qualitative data was audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed via N-Vivo 12. The study shows that 59.3% of respondents have minimal information, and 92.7% (n = 139) have no clear understanding of NCDs, with a pre-intervention capacity of 48.8%. Independent sample t-test showed a significant difference in capacity from a pre-intervention average of 48.75 (SD ± 5.7)%, which increased to 68.28 (SD ± 7.6)%, p < 0.001. A well-designed community interventional model plays a pivotal role in grassroots healthcare delivery but requires optimization for NCD management.

Assessment of Barriers and Challenges to the Screening and Linkages of Non-Communicable Diseases by Community Health Volunteers in Nyeri County, Kenya

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a significant global health challenge, contributing to 50% of worldwide morbidity and 63% of mortality. The burden is particularly substantial in low—and middle-income countries (LMICs), where 80% of NCD-related deaths occur. A quasi-experimental study addressed this challenge from May 2022 to March 2023. This study utilized a non-equivalent pre-and post-test design, with 300 participants in the quantitative and 70 in the qualitative. The study employed multistage cluster and random sampling to select ten community units, resulting in 150 community health volunteers (CHVs) in the control unit and 150 in the intervention group. Data collection was facilitated through the KOBO app. Qualitative data analysis involved six homogeneous focus group discussions (FGDs) and ten key informant interviews (KIIs), audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using N-Vivo 12. Despite efforts to implement screening programs and improve linkages to care, significant barriers persist. This article reviews these barriers, drawing on current literature and empirical evidence. Key obstacles identified include limited awareness, inadequate healthcare infrastructure, cultural beliefs, financial constraints, fragmented healthcare systems, and challenges linking individuals to appropriate care services. The article explores strategies to overcome these barriers, emphasizing the importance of collaborative approaches involving stakeholders at various levels. Addressing these challenges aims to strengthen NCD screening and linkages to care, ultimately improving health outcomes for populations globally. Several recommendations emerge from the study’s findings and literature review. Raising awareness about NCDs and preventive measures is crucial and can be achieved through targeted health education campaigns and community outreach programs. Addressing healthcare infrastructure deficiencies, such as inadequate facilities and workforce shortages, is essential to ensure access to quality care. Cultural beliefs and practices also play a significant role in shaping health-seeking behavior. Engaging with local communities and incorporating cultural sensitivity into healthcare delivery can help bridge the gap between traditional beliefs and modern healthcare practices. Financial constraints pose a significant barrier to healthcare services, particularly in LMICs. Innovative financing mechanisms, such as health insurance schemes or subsidies, can help alleviate this burden and improve access to care. Furthermore, the fragmented nature of healthcare systems can hinder effective NCD management. Enhancing coordination and integration between primary care providers, specialists, and community health workers is essential to ensure seamless care delivery and patient follow-up. Finally, strengthening linkages between screening programs and care services is critical for the timely diagnosis and management of NCDs. This requires establishing robust referral systems and ensuring continuity of care for patients throughout their healthcare journey. In conclusion, addressing the multifaceted barriers to NCD screening and care linkage is essential for improving health outcomes globally. By implementing targeted interventions and fostering collaboration among stakeholders, progress can be made towards reducing the burden of NCDs and promoting population health.

A Contrastive Study of Intercultural Nonverbal Communication—tures Between English and Chinese

Non-verbal communication as well as verbal communication is the carrier of culture. It is a lso a very important form, which supplement and improve the verbal communication. In some specific circumstances, it plays an important role that verbal language can't take. This thesis, compared with chinese, introduce the gesture and its cultural connotation in English-speaking countries.

Cultivation of College Students' Ability in Cross-cultural Non-verbal Communication

For a long time,students' non-verbal communicative competence is neglected by themselves as well as the teachers.Inthis paper a research is done to analyze the causes of students' non-verbal communicative failure.And some suggestions are givento cultivate students' ability in cross-cultural non-verbal Communication The students' enhanced communicative competencewill help them avoid non-verbal communicative failure and communicate effectively and appropriately in cross-cultural communi-cation.

The Application of Non-verbal Communication Strategies in International Business Negotiations

As the economic globalization deepens, trades among nations are steadily increasing. Therefore, the international business negotiations become more and more significant. In the process of negotiations, the application of appropriate strategies is necessary for negotiators to reach an agreement smoothly. However, the non-verbal communication plays an important role to some extent in real international business negotiations. This article tends to explore the application of non-verbal strategies in the international business negotiations.

Studies on the Avoidance of Cultural Conflicts from the Aspect of Relationship between Non-verbal Communication and Culture

Nowadays,communication with foreign people isbecoming closer.While,misunderstandings occur frequently inthis process.The main purpose of this essay is to offer some pro-posals on the problem of misunderstandings and conflicts in inter-cultural communication from the aspect of relationship betweenculture and non-verbal communication.

Nonverbal and Intercultural Communication

Nonverbal communication is typically suggested to convey representational messages,and also particular signals are associated with specific signaler emotions and intentions.This essay will firstly address vocalization,which consist verbal and non-verbal signals.Also,other forms of physical behaviors used by humans to communicating meaning,such as gaze will be discussed.Finally,the association between culture and the encoding and decoding of different means of physical nonverbal communication will be presented.

Effectiveness of Teacher's Non-verbal Communication in English Classrooms of Primary Schools in China

While there is a lot of research in non-verbal communication, a limited of studies are about the situation in primary schools in Chinese context. In this paper, I will argue for the relationship between teacher's non-verbal communication and student's learning interests in primary school.

The Silent Language of Fingers and Hands—The Role of Finger and Hand Motions in Non-verbal Communication

This paper engages in the discussion about nonverbal intercultural communication from the perspective of hand and finger gestures,probing into the functions of non-verbal cues in cross-cultural interaction,talking over two different attitudes toward gestures,and giving a detailed analysis about the silent language of some specific gestures with fingers and hands in different cultures.

Cultural Messages in Chinese and English Non-verbal Communication

Non-verbal communication is a part of culture and plays a very important role in social communication.From the comparative analysis of usages and meanings of non-verbal communication between Chinese and English which people are familiar with,we can understand the Chinese and English better and strengthen the intercultural communication.

Exploring the Relationship between Learning Styles and Proficiency in Verbal Communication

In the light of need to use learning styles to enhance verbal proficiency,this paper will explore the interconnectedness of learning styles and proficiency in verbal communication.It will first introduce the background of the study.This will be followed by an overview of the research on related literature and studies in the field.Lastly the paper concludes that foreign language teachers should give attention to the styles for languages learning and verbal proficiency since they are closely correlated.

Investigating College Students’ Diet and Physical Activity Behaviors Regarding Non-Communicable Diseases Prevention in China

We aimed to investigate if college students’ dietary and physical activity adhered to the Chinese Dietary Guidelines, the Composing Editorial Board of Physical Activity Guidelines, and WHO recommendation for NCDs prevention. Methods: A 3-day (2 weekdays and 1 weekend day) 24-hour (24-HRs) dietary recall was conducted to record details of participants’ food consumption. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to examine the influence of the identified demographic variables (including BMI, gender, major, family monthly income, and place of household registration) on the 8 food groups’ consumption. We analyzed the effect of the various demographic variables on sodium intake by the student’s t-test. The questionnaire, International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)-Short Form, was utilized to assess participants’ physical activity (PA) level. The Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney was applied to analyze participants’ physical activity. Results: Our research indicated participants consumed much fewer fruits and vegetables and excessive meats on average for both males and females regarding NCDs prevention. Conclusion: Participants’ dietary intake did not comply with the Chinese Dietary Guide-lines recommendation for chronic diseases prevention. Nutrition knowledge and health education are needed for college students. .

On Teacher's Feedback from the Perspective of Communication

Classroom interaction involves many aspects,among which teacher's feedback is an important element.This paper aimes at studying teacher's feedback from the perspective of communication.It first discusses the definition of teacher's feedback and analyses the functions of teacher's feedback in the classroom interaction and then explores some strategies for effective feedback based on communication theory.

On the Verbal and Non-Verbal Features in Chinese-English Interpretation

This paper investigates the verbal and non - verbal features of interpretation from Chinese into English . On the one hand the language of interpretation belongs to the category of oral language, So It determines the path an interpreter should follow while interpreting . On the other hand it is suggested that the non - verbal approach plays an important role in interpretation. Therefore an interpreter can not be a qualified interpreter unless he is, in addition to language techniques, skilled in the application of paralanguage.

Multimodal Discourse Analysis of College English Teacher 's Nonverbal Behaviors

This paper analyzes College English teacher's non-verbal behaviors in multimedia classroom from the perspective ofMultimodal Discourse Analysis, aiming to explore how the non-verbal behaviors in classroom teaching can be applied in meaning-making process to facilitate teacher-students interaction and realize three metafunctions of language in class.

Clustering of Non-communicable Diseases Risk Factors in Healthy Adults Aged 35 Years and Older in Shenzhen,China

We assessed the prevalence of non‐ communicable diseases（NCDs） risk factors with a focus on their clustering among healthy adults in Shenzhen, China. Data from the 2011 China Health and Nutrition Survey, comprising a regionally representative sample of 806 healthy adults aged 35 years or older, were obtained to determine the prevalence of five risk factors for NCDs. The prevalence of current smoking, central obesity, impaired fasting glucose, borderline hypertension, and borderline high total cholesterol was 19.97%, 28.29%, 4.47%, 10.55%, and 36.10%, respectively. A total 63.77% of participants had at least one risk factor. Upon examination of risk factor clustering, we observed that 7.57% of participants had at least three risk factors. Using this threshold as a cutoff, clustering of risk factors was associated with sex [odds ratio（OR） = 3.336, 95% confidence interval（CI）： 1.782 to 6.246], physical activity（OR = 1.913, 95% CI： 1.009 to 3.628）, and BMI（OR = 7.376, 95% CI： 3.812 to 14.270）. The prevalence of risk factors for NCDs is fairly high among healthy adults in Shenzhen, with a clustering tendency.

The Role of Non-verbal Behavior of Teachers in Providing Students Corrective Feedback and Their Consequences

Considering the primary focus of corrective feedback literature on verbal-correction provided by teachers and lack of attention to the role of other forms of corrective feedback in FL （foreign language） classroom interaction, this paper demonstrates how essential teachers＇ non-verbal communication and stance display are in making students＇ errors noticeable for them by providing samples from videotaped data. The findings in this study provide insights into the use of non-verbal behavior in providing students with corrective feedback. This study shows that research dealing only with verbal corrections provided by FL teachers cannot fully define the classroom interaction in terms of teachers＇ use of error correction techniques and student notification and uptake.

Impact of sepsis and non-communicable diseases on prognostic models to predict the outcome of hospitalized chronic liver disease patients

AIM To evaluate the impact of sepsis and non-communicable diseases(NCDs) on the outcome of decompensated chronic liver disease(CLD) patients.METHODSIn this cross-sectional study, medical records of patients with CLD admitted to the Gastroenterology unit at the Aga Khan University Hospital were reviewed.Patients older than 18 years with decompensation of CLD(i.e., jaundice, ascites,encephalopathy, and/or upper gastrointestinal bleed) as the primary reason for admission were included, while those who were admitted for reasons other than decompensation of CLD were excluded. Each patient was followed for 6 wk after index admission to assess mortality, prolonged hospital stay(> 5 d), and early readmission(within 7 d).RESULTS A total of 399 patients were enrolled. The mean age was 54.3 ± 11.7 years and64.6%(n = 258) were male. Six-week mortality was 13%(n = 52). Prolonged hospital stay and readmission were present in 18%(n = 72) and 7%(n = 28) of patients, respectively. NCDs were found in 47.4%(n = 189) of patients. Acute kidney injury, sepsis, and non-ST elevation myocardial infarction were found in41%(n = 165), 17.5%(n = 70), and 1.75%(n = 7) of patients, respectively. Upon multivariate analysis, acute kidney injury, non-ST elevation myocardial infarction, sepsis, and coagulopathy were found to be statistically significant predictors of mortality. While chronic kidney disease(CKD), low albumin, and high Model for End-Stage Liver Disease(MELD)-Na score were found to be statistically significant predictors of morbidity. Addition of sepsis in conventionalMELD score predicted mortality even better than MELD-Na(area under receiver operating characteristic: 0.735 vs 0.686; P < 0.001). Among NCDs, CKD was found to increase morbidity independently.CONCLUSION Addition of sepsis improved the predictability of MELD score as a prognostic marker for mortality in patients with CLD. Presence of CKD increases the morbidity of patients with CLD.

Prevalence of Tobacco Use and Associated Factors among Adults in Benin in 2015: Results of the National Survey of Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factors

Introduction: Tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke are one of the most preventable causes of death and disability worldwide. The risk is even higher among daily tobacco consumers. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that surveillance of major risk factors for non- communicable diseases (NCDs), such as smoking, be imperative to predicting the future burden of NCDs, identifying adequate interventions to decrease future burden and monitor trends. In 2015, a survey on NCD risk factors was conducted in Benin to estimate the prevalence of major NCD risk factors. We analyzed the data from this survey to estimate the prevalence and risk factors associated with daily tobacco consumption in Benin. Methods: A nationwide representative sample of the population was constituted in the 12 departments of Benin. The WHO STEPS wise tool was used to collect data on behavioral and demographic characteristics, including daily tobacco consumption. Tobacco consumption was subdivided into three categories: The daily consumption of tobacco, the daily consumption of smoked tobacco and non-smoked tobacco. Multivariate analysis through the weighted logistic regression was used to identify potential factors associated with daily consumption of tobacco. Results: Over the 5.126 surveyed subjects, 7.49% were daily tobacco consumers, with 3.85% being daily users of smoked tobacco and 4.36% being daily consumers of non-smoked tobacco. Men were more likely to be daily consumers of tobacco compared to women (OR = 7.42;95%CI = [4.98;11.06]). Compared to respondents aged 18 to 24, those aged 45 to 54 were five times more likely to consume tobacco (OR = 5.58;95%IC = [2.71;11.47]). Respondents residing in the departments of Atacora, Couffo and Borgou were respectively 4.28 times, 3.93 times and 2.63 times more likely to consume tobacco compared to those residing in the department of Alibori. Respondents with no education were more likely to consume tobacco daily compared to respondents who had finished high school or were in university (OR = 3.73;95%CI = [1.36;10.23]. Respondents who were overweight were less likely to be daily users of tobacco compared to people with normal weight status (OR = 0.57;95%CI = [0.34;0.96]). Conclusion: There is a relatively high prevalence of smoking in Benin, where one out of 8 people, consumes tobacco products daily. Being elderly, male, having no formal education, residing in Atacora, Borgou or Couffo were significantly associated with daily smoking. Prevention actions should thus target those sub-groups of the population.

Evaluation of non-verbal cognitive function in infants with severe hearing impairment

BACKGROUND： The relationship between hearing impairment and verbal developmental deficits in infants has become a hotspot in research, focusing on improving hearing and promoting verbal development. However, language is only one element of cognition. There are other elements of non-verbal cognitive deficits in infants with hearing impairment. OBJECTIVE： This study was designed to compare the differences in gross motor, fine motor, adaptability, and behavioral development between infants with severe hearing impairment and ordinary children of the same age. DESIGN： Case-control observation. SETTING： Department of Otolaryngology-Head Surgery, Bethune International Peace Hospital. PARTICIPANTS： Fifty-two infants with hearing impairment, who received treatment in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head Surgery, Bethune International Peace Hospital from February to December 2007, were confirmed to suffer from severe （or extremely severe） sensorineural deafness by auditory brain-stem response （ABR） and were recruited for this study. The infants comprised 30 males and 22 females. Among them, 18 were aged 0-1 year, 18 were aged 1-2 years, and 16 were aged 2-3 years. An additional 60 individuals, aged 0-3 years, who received developmental monitoring simultaneously, and were confirmed to have normal hearing and verbal ability, were included as controls. Among the control subjects, there were 31 males and 29 females： 20 were 〈 1 year of age, 22 were between 1-2 years of age, and 18 were between 2-3 years of age. Informed consent for laboratory measurements was obtained from each infant＇s guardian, and the study was approved by the Hospital Ethics Committee. METHODS： Infant gross motor, fine motor, adaptability, and behavioral development were assessed in the hearing impairment and control infants. Comparison results were expressed as grading standards of development quotient. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： Developmental quotient of all subjects was determined using ＂psychometric test battery for 0-6 year-old infants＂, revised by Capital Institute of Pediatrics. Developmental quotient of each factor ≥ 130 points and 〈 69 points was defined as excellent and mentally disabled, respectively. RESULTS： All determination results were included in the final analysis. There was no significant difference in each factor between hearing-impaired and control infants, who were 1-year-old （P 〉 0.05）. The behavioral developmental quotient was significantly less in hearing-impaired infants compared to control infants, who were between 1 and 2 years of age （P 〈 0.05）. The development quotients of fine motor and behavioral development were significantly less in hearing-impaired infants than in control infants, who were 2 3 years of age （P 〈 0.05）. CONCLUSION： Compared to control infants, severe hearing-impaired infants have a lower behavioral developmental quotient after 1 year and a lower fine motor developmental quotient after 2 years of age.