Death and grief in Swedish children’s books

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UPPSALA UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: 

FROM THE BOOK "BLÅ UGGLAN" BY LOTTA GEFFENBLAD (2023) WITH PERMISSION. IMAGE: LOTTA GEFFENBLAD, ILLUSTRATOR. CONTACT: LOTTAGEFFENBLAD.SE

view more 

CREDIT: LOTTA GEFFENBLAD

Death is blue, or a flying animal. This is how death is most commonly illustrated in Swedish children’s literature, according to a new study from Uppsala University based on analyses of 62 books. Just six out of ten books use the word ‘dead’, which may be a problem.

“The actual word ‘dead’ comes up in about two thirds of the books. The others use metaphors such as ‘fell asleep’ or ‘passed away’, which can make it difficult for children to understand and can even scare them. For example, a child could be afraid of sleeping, because someone who has ‘fallen asleep’ hasn’t come back,” says Rakel Eklund, PhD, specialist nurse and the researcher behind the study.

In her work as a researcher on children’s grief, she often recommends adults to read books with children to help them begin talking about potentially difficult topics, such as death. To obtain a better overview of the existing literature, she enlisted a librarian at Uppsala City Library to help her search for books on the subject. They found 110 titles and Eklund considered 62 of them suitable for her study. She analysed hard facts such as author, publisher and date, as well as what the stories showed about the causes of death, funerals, the main character and the characteristics of the person who dies. The study also includes the process of grief following death. She has investigated the words used to describe death, grief and the person who has died.

A few conclusions from the study: 

Usually it is a pet or an older relative such as a grandparent who dies. Half the books mention causes of death, generally stillbirth or old age. The main character generally learns that someone has died by their mother telling them. 

Most of the books include a grieving process. The most common way for the main character to cope with grief and other emotions is to be with family and friends and remember the deceased person together. 

“It’s important to give the reader a chance to follow the grieving process. This can teach children that grieving is something that comes and goes in life and that grief doesn’t suddenly disappear or pass. The books I have looked at stand out in comparison with similar books from other European countries. Previous studies have indicated that far fewer children’s books there describe a grieving process.” 

Eklund thinks it is a good thing there are so many children’s books dealing with death, from different angles. One perspective she finds is lacking is stories where it is the child itself who is dying. Previous research shows that dying children want to have honest and open information about their own illness and impending death. Only four of the books analysed describe this process.

“Since one purpose of the books is to help children to cope and to talk about death and grief, more books describing preparation for one’s own death are needed. This would make it easier for both children and their parents and other significant adults reading to the child to have meaningful conversations about death and dying from the perspective of the dying person.”

In cases where the books include funerals, they follow the Christian tradition with a church, a priest and a coffin. None of the books offered a perspective from any other world religion. 

“It’s problematic that the only religion reflected is Christianity. Death and grief are closely bound up with religious issues as they make us wonder why we live, why we die and what the meaning of it all is. Our society contains more philosophies of life and religions, and many people have beliefs of their own or no beliefs. I think children’s book editors, publishers and authors of children’s books have work to do here,” Eklund says. 

CAPTION

From the book "Blå ugglan" by Lotta Geffenblad (2023) with permission. Image: Lotta Geffenblad, illustrator. contact: lottageffenblad.se

CREDIT

Lotta Geffenblad

From the book "Blå ugglan" (Blue owl) by Lotta Geffenblad (2023) with permission. Image: Lotta Geffenblad lottageffenblad.se

CREDIT

lottageffenblad.se

Rakel Eklund, PhD, researcher and specialist nurse, Department of Women's and Children’s Health, Uppsala University, Sweden, email: rakel.eklund@uu.se, phone: +46-73-469 75 76

CREDIT

Isak Eklund

Rakel Eklund (2024) Death and grief in illustrated storybooks: an inventory of Swedish literature for young children, Death Studies (Taylor & Francis), DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2024.2317167, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07481187.2024.2317167

Other research by Rakel Eklund in progress (Swedish): www.ungisorg.se, www.minsorg.com

---

JOURNAL

Death Studies

DOI

10.1080/07481187.2024.2317167 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Literature review

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Death and grief in illustrated storybooks: an inventory of Swedish literature for young children

 

Teachers’ growth mindset appears more important than warmth

Peer-Reviewed Publication

WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY

PULLMAN, Wash. -- Students tend to like friendly teachers, but they like those who believe they can improve even more, new research indicates.

Students in a study still responded positively to instructors described as being cold but who also had a growth mindset, meaning they felt students’ ability in a subject could improve by working hard and trying different strategies. The opposite was also true: more participants reacted negatively to a warm, smiling teacher when they stated a fixed mindset, which is a belief that innate abilities cannot be changed, such as someone being naturally good at math.

“It's not enough to just be nice,” said lead author Makita White, a Washington State University psychology Ph.D. candidate. “If teachers can change their demeanor to be warmer, it does have a good impact, but it’s a lot better to convey a growth mindset than a fixed mindset to students.”

Previous research has noted that students tend to view teachers who have growth mindsets as friendly and warm, so this proof-of-concept study, published in the journal Motivation Science, was designed to evaluate those factors separately.

The study participants still responded best to an instructor described as both friendly and having a growth mindset. However, a “cold” instructor with a growth mindset still saw a greater positive response than a “warm” one with a fixed mindset.

This indicates that teachers might consider their mindset more important than their demeanor, said Elizabeth Canning, a WSU psychology researcher. 

“At a very simple level, being friendly is good, but the mindset messages that you send students are really important. They can be even more powerful than just being friendly or welcoming to students,” said Canning, the senior author on the paper. 

For this study, researchers presented 332 college students with one of four vignettes describing a statistics professor with different demeanors and mindsets. The students then answered a series of questions about what they thought of the professor and the class they taught, including their comfort level taking the course and how well they thought they would perform.

In the growth mindset scenarios, the professor stated that “any student can learn the material” if they worked hard, learned from mistakes and sought help when needed. In the fixed mindset vignettes, the professor said that some students had “a natural gift in statistics” while other students might struggle if they weren’t a “stats person.”

Whether instructors were described as being “very warm and friendly” or staring blankly and making students nervous, the scenarios that had professors stating a growth mindset had a much more positive response from the students. They reported they would have a greater sense of belonging in the class, lower “imposter” feelings and a better chance of doing well in the course.

Growth mindset is often touted as an advantage in relation to education. However, most prior research has focused on students’ motivational beliefs with only recent attention to the instructors’ mindsets. In addition to this study, Canning’s lab has done work indicating that instructors with growth mindsets can narrow performance gaps for traditionally disadvantaged groups. For instance, instructors with fixed mindsets were found in one study to undermine women’s performance in STEM courses and in another created a greater racial achievement gap than in courses taught by those with growth mindsets.

“When you only focus on the students’ mindset, it can lead to blaming the student, so if they're not performing well, you can tell yourself that they just don't have the right mindset,” she said. “By looking at how the mindset of instructors and culture are affecting students, it may take some of the onus off the students themselves. Instead, we can focus more on how we can make the environment motivating and conducive, so that everybody can be successful in that class.”

---

JOURNAL

Motivation Science

DOI

10.1037/mot0000322 

 

New evidence shows UK solar parks can provide for bees and butterflies

A new study shows that UK solar parks, if managed correctly, can provide vital resources to help stem the decline in the nation’s bees and butterflies.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

LANCASTER UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: 

MEADOW BROWN AND GATEKEEPER BUTTERFLIES ON A UK SOLAR PARK

view more 

CREDIT: HOLLIE BLAYDES

A new study shows that UK solar parks, if managed correctly, can provide vital resources to help stem the decline in the nation’s bees and butterflies.

The new research, led by scientists at Lancaster University and in collaboration with the University of Reading, has been published in the journal Ecological Solutions and Evidence. It provides the first peer-reviewed field data of insect pollinators at solar parks in the UK, covering 15 sites.

The scientists recorded around 1,400 pollinators across more than 30 species, including nearly 900 butterflies, more than 170 hoverflies, more than 160 bumble bees, as well as moths and honeybees.

The most commonly observed species was the meadow brown butterfly. Bumble bees were observed at two thirds of the solar parks, while the small heath butterfly, a priority biodiversity species, was observed at three of the solar parks.

Their field data, gathered through repeated surveys during the summer of 2021, shows two critical factors are at play in determining whether solar parks can become beneficial to pollinators – the flowering plants available to pollintaors within solar farms and the characteristics of the surrounding landscape.

The availability of a greater diversity of flowering plant species was a key factor in increased pollinator abundance and biodiversity within solar parks. Parks containing a wider variety of flowering plants saw increased numbers of bumblebees, butterflies and hoverflies.

The study also showed the number of flowering plants available is less important to the pollinators than having a variety of flowering species to forage across.

The surrounding landscape was also a critical determining factor. Solar parks managed for biodiversity that are located in disconnected landscapes with fewer features such as hedgerows appear to benefit pollinators the most.

The researchers say this is because those pollinating insects are more reliant on the food resources on offer in the solar parks than they would be for solar parks located in landscapes containing more food and habitat options.

Hollie Blaydes, of Lancaster University and lead author of the study, said: “Pollinating insects such as bees, butterflies and hoverflies have been in dramatic decline in recent years and there is a need to restore more resources for these species in our landscapes. One potential option is to use sites such as solar parks to help benefit biodiversity – however, until now empirical evidence has been lacking around how, and which, solar parks might best support pollinators.

“We’ve shown that through management decisions such as planting a variety of flowering plants, solar parks can support insect pollinators and also those communities can be relatively diverse and abundant - particularly in those landscapes where there are few hedgerows and wildflowers for pollinators to depend on.”

Professor Alona Armstrong, also of Lancaster University and Principal Investigator of the study, said: “This is the first time that pollinators have been systematically and repeatedly surveyed on solar parks across the UK - building on previous modelling work.

“This adds to the evidence showing that solar parks, while helping to meet the UK’s renewable energy goals, and if managed correctly, also have the potential to support insect biodiversity.”

The study is outlined in the paper ‘On-site floral resources and surrounding landscape characteristics impact pollinator biodiversity at solar parks’.

The paper’s authors are Hollie Blaydes, Professor Duncan Whyatt and Professor Alona Armstrong of Lancaster University; and Professor Simon Potts of the University of Reading.

The study was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council with support from Low Carbon.

Common blue butterfly on UK solar park

CREDIT

Hollie Blaydes

JOURNAL

Ecological Solutions and Evidence

DOI

10.1002/2688-8319.12307 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

On-site floral resources and surrounding landscape characteristics impact pollinator biodiversity at solar parks

 

Citizen science to mitigate the environmental crisis in the marine environment

In defence of marine ecosystems

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF BARCELONA

 

IMAGE: 

A NEW STUDY BY THE UB AND THE ICM-CSIC REVEALS THAT THE PARTICIPATION OF VOLUNTEERS IN CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECTS IS AN EFFECTIVE TOOL TO HELP CONSERVE CORALS AND GORGONIANS, WHICH ARE HIGHLY THREATENED IN THE MEDITERRANEAN DUE TO GLOBAL CHANGE.

view more 

CREDIT: YANIS ZENTNER (UNIVERSITY OF BARCELONA - IRBIO)

Citizen science can help to improve conservation and management strategies for Mediterranean marine ecosystems, and to mitigate the impact of the environmental crisis. This is the conclusion of a study by the University of Barcelona and the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), which highlights the scientific rigour of the work carried out by volunteers in assessing the state of conservation of corals and gorgonians on the Mediterranean coast. In addition, the results of the citizen science initiative also warn of the increase in the mortality of these species at many points along the Costa Brava (Girona, Spain).

The study, published in the journal Environmental Management, shows the improvement of the scientific quality of the data collected by the volunteers (regarding precision and accuracy). “With only one training session, they reached values equal to those obtained by scientists”, says Professor Cristina Linares, ICREA Academia professor from the UB’s Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute of the UB (IRBio), who coordinated the research, published together with Joaquim Garrabou, from ICM-CSIC, both members of the MedRecover research group. 

These results are part of Laura Figuerola-Ferrando’s doctoral thesis (UB-IRBio). The article is also signed by Yanis Zentner (UB-IRBio) and Paula López-Sendino (ICM-CSIC).

Citizen science in defence of marine ecosystems

The Mediterranean coral reef, formed by the accumulation of calcareous organisms, is home to more than 1,600 marine species that have been affected by the rise of water temperatures over the last years. This study was carried out as part of the Atenció Coralls! project, promoted by the citizen science platform Observadors del Mar, to train volunteers in the study of the distribution and ecological status of populations of octocorals and hexacorals affected by human disturbances (largely by the temperature rise).

The team compared the data obtained in the Costa Brava by the volunteers with different training levels in the application of the sampling protocol, to observe whether there as an improvement between the first and the second sampling after training. 

“The data on the assessment of the state of conservation, obtained from the percentage of affected colonies, collected by volunteers who trained for two days, are comparable to the data obtained by the scientists. After only one day of training, the volunteers obtained quite remarkable results from the first sampling”, notes Cristina Linares, from the UB’s Department of Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences.   

Key factors in the study are the previous training the volunteers receive and the expert validation of the data before their transfer and analysis. “The validation process by the experts is essential to guarantee the assessment of the conservation state to be consistent and reliable”, says Laura Figuerola, predoctoral researcher at MedRecover. 

Worse conditions of corals and gorgonians

Once the effectiveness and rigour of the volunteers' work had been validated, the researchers analysed all the data obtained. In different areas of the north-western Mediterranean, coral and gorgonian populations are, according to the authors of the study, "getting worse and worse", as the percentage of affected colonies is going from mostly unimpacted or lightly impacted populations in the 2012/14 period, to moderately and severely impacted populations in the 2015/2019 and 2020/2022 periods.

"These results are similar to those reported in scientific articles, but in areas that had not been studied before, giving an enrichment of knowledge about the conservation status of these species in areas that had not been studied until now", says ICM researcher Joaquim Garrabou.

Coralligenous Weekends: citizen science sessions

The data of this study were obtained in 2022, but the trips to assess the state of other species continued in 2023, expanding the sampling spots. Thus, last year, the UB and Observadors del Mar organized the Coralligenous Weekends, which received the participation of seventy volunteers and seven diving centers of Costa Brava that followed the Atenció Coralls! protocols to assess the impact of heatwaves on more than 10,000 gorgonians — 95 censuses in sixteen towns — in Cap de Creus and in Espai Natura 2000 Baix Empordà.

Elisenda Franco, from the Club Nàutic Port de la Selva, is one of the people who took part in the conference. "It was a very positive experience. Citizen science is great, because it allows us to mix citizens who are enthusiastic about the sea with scientists, taking advantage of the experience of each one, in my case, as a diver", she points out. For Robert López, a biologist who also participated in the activity, it is an opportunity "to help obtain data that can be disseminated or published in a scientific article".

About the training, the volunteer recalls that it is "very visual and understandable". "It gives you a different view of the sea: now you can see how the gorgonians are and you can see that many of them are damaged," she explains. In the same vein, Robert López, a member of the Biology Immersion Club of the UB's Faculty of Biology, adds: "It makes you aware of the impact on the gorgonians and the changes that are taking place under the water due to the warming of the sea".

Finally, both volunteers agree that it is a way of "raising awareness" about the reality of climate change and ensuring that this knowledge reaches the public. "The fact that they told us about it so well, that it was such a motivating experience, makes you try to transfer it to your environment. In a way, it is a step that remains, it is a kind of chain to educate, raise awareness and disseminate what we have learned", stresses Elisenda Franco.

Mortality due to high temperatures

The first results revealed that, in all the populations that suffered mortality due to the high temperatures over the last years, “the white gorgonian was the most affected one, with 80% of the populations being severely affected, while in the case of the red gorgonian, 50% of the populations were severely affected”, note the researchers. 

The effects also vary according to depth. "In the first twenty metres, severe damage predominates, between twenty and thirty metres, moderate damage predominates — corresponding to 30% -60% of the gorgonians being affected — and it is not until we go beyond thirty metres that we find populations with low damage, i.e. with less than 30% of the gorgonians affected", the experts conclude.

This conference is part of the activities of the CORFUN project (TED2021-131622B-I00), financed by the Spanish State Research Agency and coordinated from the UB by Cristina Linares and Joaquim Garrabou.
 

 

---

JOURNAL

Environmental Management

DOI

10.1007/s00267-023-01913-x 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Marine Citizen Science and the Conservation of Mediterranean Corals: The Relevance of Training, Expert Validation, and Robust Sampling Protocols

 

Aston University to find greener method of processing Ghana’s staple crop

Business Announcement

ASTON UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: 

ASTON UNIVERSITY TO FIND GREENER METHOD OF PROCESSING GHANA’S STAPLE CROP

view more 

CREDIT: AUGUSTINE FIIFI AMOAH

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• Aston University is to help one of the world’s largest cassava processers develop a sustainable way to dry its crops
• The University has entered a knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) with the Tropical Starch Company
• Current dryers use electricity or fossil fuels, are difficult to regulate and expensive to run.

Aston University is to help one of the world’s largest cassava processers develop a sustainable and faster way to dry its crops.

The University has entered a knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) with the Tropical Starch Company, Ghana’s leading cassava processing business.

According to The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the country is the second biggest consumer of cassava and contributes to almost a quarter of the country’s agricultural gross domestic product.

Despite its popularity cassava is difficult to process as it needs to be thoroughly cleaned, mashed, sieved, dried and packaged. 

Currently the Tropical Starch Company uses industrial uses bin dryers which need electricity or fossil fuels to generate heat and can only dry one crop per production line. They are expensive to run and as it is hard to regulate their temperatures sometimes products are overcooked or discoloured.

A KTP is a three-way collaboration between a business, an academic partner and a highly qualified researcher, known as a KTP associate. The UK-wide programme helps businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills. Aston University is a sector leading KTP provider, with 80% of its completed projects being graded as very good or outstanding by Innovate UK, the national body.

The aim of the KTP is to develop an integrated drying device which can operate off-grid, using several different technologies. Aston University will develop an off-grid, solar-powered drying device that is faster, temperature-controllable, uses less energy and can process bigger volumes of raw cassava.

Augustine Fiifi Amoah, who is a supervisor at the company said: “We already have the customers demanding it and so we are praying that we will be able to meet demand. 

“If we could produce 20 tons a day we would be so happy. We have the market, we just need the product!”
Although some of these technologies are already developed individually, the way they will be integrated will be new. In particular, data needs to be collected to design and optimise the system which will be completed with computer simulation modelling.

This will require expertise in several fields including modular design, desiccant drying techniques (where desiccant materials are used in a piece of industrial equipment to eliminate water) energy systems, post-harvest technology and food engineering.

The project is supervised by Dr Ahmed Rezk, senior lecturer in mechanical engineering from Aston University’s College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, an expert in thermal systems, whose mainstream research is in sustainable and zero-carbon heating and cooling technologies, in collaboration with Dr Tabbi Wilberforce Awotwe, a lecturer in engineering, who specialises in design optimisation of mechanical systems and energy storage modelling. 

Dr Rezk said: “The main goal of our research is to find more efficient and green ways of heating and cooling. They are two sides of the same problem, both requiring energy. 

“If we devise a good heating method through this project it could have implications for cooling methods in other countries as well.”

Dr Wilberforce Awotwe who is based at Kings College London, has previously conducted research at Aston University. He said “I’m a Ghanaian myself and my vision for this project goes beyond delivering work packages. 

“If we can get this done we will support many companies in this field, not just one, and address the issue of young people leaving the countryside in search of employment. 

“The long-term impact on the community is the most important thing.”

The project will also involve Professor Robert Sarpong Amoah and Dr Fatimah Abubakar Von from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. In addition a KTP associate will be recruited to work at the company’s main site in Abura-Dunkwa, Ghana. 

Once the system has been agreed, the Tropical Starch Company will collaborate with a local fabrication partner, First Product Enterprise Limited, to construct and test the system. Local farmers will later be trained to use the new food drying practices and it is expected that the final dryer will use either sustainable or scrap local materials.

The two-year project will run till January 2026.

 

Women in healthcare face significantly higher burnout rates compared to their male colleagues

New study also identifies factors that protect women healthcare professionals against harmful stress

Peer-Reviewed Publication

GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

 

VIDEO: 

A NEW STUDY BY RESEARCHERS AT THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SHOWS THAT WOMEN IN HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONS ENDURE HIGHER BURNOUT RATES THAN THEIR MALE COLLEAGUES.

view more 

CREDIT: THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY; REPORTERS CAN USE THIS TO GO ALONG WITH THE STUDY

WASHINGTON (Feb. 22, 2024)--A new study finds women in healthcare occupations endure significantly more stress and burnout compared to their male counterparts. The analysis by researchers at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences also found that job satisfaction and better work-life balance can protect women healthcare professionals from harmful stress.

 

“Human beings are not equipped to handle the combined, intense pressures in healthcare in part due to the pressure to not take time to care for yourself,” Leigh A. Frame, associate director of the GW Resiliency & Well-being Center, said.

 

The study is the first comprehensive analysis to examine the relationship between work-related stress and the well-being of women in healthcare professions, not just in the United States but worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic cast a spotlight on the issue of healthcare burnout; Frame says women are under tremendous pressure to succeed simultaneously both at home and on the job. That pressure can lead to toxic stress, occupational burnout, depression, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts, Frame said.

 

Frame and her colleagues identified and reviewed 71 studies published in 26 countries and 4 languages between 1979 and 2022. The research looked at female healthcare professionals including nurses, physicians, clinical social workers, and mental health providers. Many of the studies were conducted using evidence-based measures of well-being such as an index created by the World Health Organization.

 

Key Findings of the Study:

 

• Gender inequality in the workplace led to added stress and burnout for female healthcare professionals. For example, Frame says women wearing scrubs in a hospital are often assumed to be a nurse even if they are the physician on call.
• Other factors leading to harmful stress include poor work-life integration and a lack of workplace autonomy.
• On the flip side, factors that protect women from stress and burnout include a supportive and flexible working environment, access to professional development, supportive relationships, and an intentional mindfulness practice.

 

Frame says the healthcare workplace may amplify the stress for women in the US and around the world. She says that female healthcare workers often must work long hours, multiple shifts and still balance the on the job demands with family responsibilities such as child care, housework and other duties that often fall to women.

 

The analysis also showed that compared to their male colleagues, many female healthcare professionals were assigned to patients with complex medical problems. Handling a complicated medical case takes more emotional energy and time, which ramps up stress in healthcare settings that reward speed, Frame said.

 

Research shows that restorative sleep, physical activity, a healthy diet (rich in plants and fresh foods), and other health-promoting habits can help mitigate job stress. However, the problem goes beyond what individual women can do, Frame says. She says healthcare employers and policymakers need to develop solutions to help prevent burnout, a system-wide problem that leads to issues like healthcare workforce shortages, which are becoming increasingly common.

 

The analysis, “The Well-being of Women in Healthcare Professions: A Comprehensive Review,” was published in Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health by Frame and first author Viktoriya Karakcheyeva, who is also the behavioral services director of the GW Resiliency & Well-being Center. In addition, Haneefa Willis-Johnson and Patrick Corr–both at the GW Resiliency & Well-being Center served as co-authors on the paper.

 

For more information about supporting well-being in workers in healthcare and beyond, visit the GW Resiliency & Well-being Center website for resources, on-demand lectures, and the Resiliency & Well-being for Whole Health Worksheet, a guide for individuals to prevent burnout and promote well-being.

 

-GW-

 

---

JOURNAL

Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

The Well-being of Women in Healthcare Professions: A Comprehensive Review

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

22-Feb-2024

 

New technique can quickly detect fentanyl and other opioids

Testing method can analyze blood samples twice as quickly as other techniques

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO

 

IMAGE: 

PICTURE OF THE MICROFLUIDIC OPEN INTERFACE SYSTEM DESCRIBED IN THE PRESS RELEASE.

view more 

CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO

University of Waterloo researchers have developed a new blood testing method that can detect potent opioids much faster than traditional approaches and potentially save lives. 

The method, the latest effort by Waterloo researchers and entrepreneurs to lead health innovation in Canada, can simultaneously analyze 96 blood samples that could contain opioids such as fentanyl in under three minutes – twice as quickly as other techniques. 

"The difference between our blood testing method and traditional methods used in laboratories and hospitals is that we can do it faster and reach the same conclusion," said Emir Nazdrajić, a postdoctoral fellow in Waterloo's Department of Chemistry and co-author of a study that details the new technique. 

"Let's say someone who has overdosed is in the emergency room, and doctors need to quickly determine what they've taken to treat them effectively. The speed of our method can be lifesaving."

In 2022, over 70,000 Americans died of overdoses from fentanyl, an opioid that is 50 times more powerful than heroin. About 7,000 people die from fentanyl annually in Canada, nearly one-third of which occurs in British Columbia, which is among the worst rates per capita in North America.

When using the Waterloo-designed method, the researchers place a small amount of blood in a 96-well plate with a phosphate buffer. The well plate is then put in a machine that agitates the samples, and a solid phase microextraction (SPME) probe is introduced to enhance the drugs of interest. The sample is then analyzed by a mass spectrometer coupled to a microfluidic open interface, with results available in about 90 seconds.  

"There is a high demand for rapid screening methods using mass spectrometry (MS) that can decrease the turnaround time, cost, and limits of quantitation of existing methodologies," said Dr. Janusz Pawliszyn, corresponding author of the study and a professor in Waterloo's Department of Chemistry. "Our method targets not only fentanyl but other drugs and certain types of diseases."

A study detailing the new blood testing method, co-author by Nazdrajić, Pawliszyn and Daniel Ricket, a PhD candidate in Waterloo's Department of Chemistry, was recently published in the journal Analytical Chemistry. 

---

JOURNAL

Analytical Chemistry