PLoS ONE最新文献

{"title":"Analysis of factors impacting electoral integrity in Africa between 2006-2023 - Examining the association between free and fair election and rule of law.","authors":"Michael Oluchi Ikoko, Dilek Latif","doi":"10.1371/journal.pone.0334505","DOIUrl":"10.1371/journal.pone.0334505","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Regular elections in Africa are associated with increasing democratization. However, the level of electoral integrity has sparked post-electoral violence in several African countries. Furthermore, the rise of military regimes in West Africa has interrupted the democratic process in some countries. To contribute to understanding democratization, this article explores the impact of the rule of law, electoral pluralism, and political rights on free and fair elections from 2006-2023. The study used the ordinary least squares regression and wavelet quantile on quantile granger causality to examine the predictive power of the rule of law, electoral pluralism, and political rights on free and fair elections to measure electoral integrity. The results show that the three variables predict free and fair elections at different levels. The rule of law was significant at all lower levels of free and fair elections; the rule of law and electoral pluralism were both significant at moderate and higher levels. Hence, African countries with poor electoral process democracies should establish more mechanisms towards the rule of law, and a moderate level of electoral integrity should enhance the established mechanisms.</p>","PeriodicalId":20189,"journal":{"name":"PLoS ONE","volume":"20 10","pages":"e0334505"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12510509/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145258862","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Psychometric properties of the earthquake knowledge questionnaire: Development for the Persian population.","authors":"Leila Jahangiry, Javad Babaei, Mitra Baghaeian, Hosna RashidiBirgani, Neda Gilani","doi":"10.1371/journal.pone.0331764","DOIUrl":"10.1371/journal.pone.0331764","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background: &lt;/strong&gt;Disaster management, as defined by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) involves foresighted planning to prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. Research proves that earthquake knowledge significantly contributes to preparedness behavior. The aim of this research is to develop a psychometrically valid questionnaire following UNDRR guidelines to assess earthquake awareness.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Method: &lt;/strong&gt;An exploratory sequential mixed-methods study was conducted between April and July 2024 in Tabriz, Iran. In the initial phase of the study, a comprehensive literature review and qualitative research were conducted to develop a preliminary item pool related to earthquake knowledge. Subsequently, the face validity, content validity, and construct validity of the items were assessed, followed by an evaluation of reliability through internal consistency, McDonald's omega and test-retest methods. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) using polychoric correlations and parallel analysis was conducted to determine factor structure. A polychoric correlation matrix was estimated from the sample of 350 respondents with 1000 iterations and using the principal factors method.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;A polychoric correlation matrix was computed in R software (version 4.4.1) to estimate the non-linear relations between 14 ordinal items of the earthquake knowledge scale, of a sample of 350 participants. Parallel analysis using principal axis factoring determined three factors with adjusted eigenvalues greater than zero (observed eigenvalues: 7.5, 1.8, and 1.2 for the first, second, and third factor, respectively), which were retained as significant. The 14-item earthquake knowledge questionnaire (14-EKQ) was organized into three factors: Geological Knowledge, Mitigation Measures, and Preparedness Knowledge, reflecting various dimensions of earthquake awareness. EFA revealed that these three factors collectively accounted for 83.6% of the total variance. The RMSEA value of (RMSE = 0.070) falls within the acceptable range (≤ 0.08), indicating a reasonable fit. The CFI (CFI = 0.916) value is close to the threshold of 0.95, indicating a relatively good fit. The TLI value (TLI = 0.908) is slightly below the threshold of 0.95 but still suggests an acceptable fit. The internal consistency and internal correlation coefficient of EKQ indicated acceptable reliability.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusion: &lt;/strong&gt;This study successfully developed and validated a 14-item EKQ. The scale was organized into three distinct factors: Geological knowledge, Mitigation measures, and preparedness knowledge, which collectively accounted for 83.6% of the total variance, demonstrating strong explanatory power. The use of polychoric correlation matrices, parallel analysis, and principal axis factoring (PAF) improved the factor extraction process by appropriately accounting for the ordinal nature of the questionnaire ","PeriodicalId":20189,"journal":{"name":"PLoS ONE","volume":"20 10","pages":"e0331764"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12510506/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145258960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Introducing FMEA plus method for comprehensive safety risk assessment in the steel industry.","authors":"Ahmad Soltanzadeh, Esmaeil Zarei, Mohsen Mahdinia, Kiana Hosseinzadeh, Mohsen Sadeghi-Yarandi","doi":"10.1371/journal.pone.0331748","DOIUrl":"10.1371/journal.pone.0331748","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Addressing the challenge of employing a comprehensive risk analysis approach that effectively captures and quantifies all contributing factors remains a significant endeavor in both academic research and practical field applications. This study endeavors to fill this gap by introducing a practical safety risk assessment approach, named the FMEA+ method, grounded in the conventional Failure Modes and Effects Analysis. To construct a comprehensive taxonomy that encompasses the contributing factors within each dimension of risk, a three-stage Delphi study engaged 35 Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). The Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) was employed to acquire knowledge and assign weights to the factors and sub-factors. The validation and reliability assessment of the developed taxonomy included evaluating the Content Validity Ratio (CVR), Content Validity Index (CVI), and Cronbach's alpha coefficient, yielding values of 0.77, 0.91, and 0.86, respectively. Independent peer reviews and reality checks further substantiated the credibility of the proposed taxonomy. The introduced safety risk assessment algorithm, FMEA + , derived from the FMEA technique, comprises three main factors and 12 sub-factors. The final normalized weights for the three factors-occurrence, severity, and detectability-were determined to be 0.337, 0.348, and 0.315, respectively. In the three factors of occurrence, severity, and detection, the most important sub-factors identified were human reliability, human injury, and technical inspection, respectively. This proposed taxonomy serves as a foundational tool for facilitating informed decision-making and the effective implementation of risk mitigation strategies. The application of this innovative approach offers a scientific alternative to traditional FMEA methods within similar industries, addressing existing challenges in a more comprehensive and nuanced manner.</p>","PeriodicalId":20189,"journal":{"name":"PLoS ONE","volume":"20 10","pages":"e0331748"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12510507/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145258969","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impacts of enrichment programs on cognitive and affective skills of gifted students: A meta-analysis.","authors":"M Davut Gül, Zekai Ayık","doi":"10.1371/journal.pone.0333714","DOIUrl":"10.1371/journal.pone.0333714","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This meta-analysis aims to study research on enrichment programs for gifted students and synthesize the effects on cognitive and affective skills reported by studies conducted between 2014-2024 years. During the screening process, the focus was on quantitative studies published between 2014 and 2024 that explored the influence of enrichment programs (ER) on cognitive and affective abilities of gifted students. Searches were carried out in Web of Science and Scopus databases for publications in English. The researchers examined publication bias by analysing data using various methods, including the funnel plot, Begg's test, Egger's test, and trim-and-fill test. Additionally, the researchers utilized Classic fail-safe N and Orwin's fail-safe N values for further analysis. Hedges's g was used to report the magnitude or strength of the standardized mean differences between groups in a study as effect size, since it provides effect size for smaller sample sizes. A total of 16 publications included in this meta-analysis, and results demonstrated that enrichment programs had a large effect on cognitive skills (g = 1.14, 95% CI [.83, 1.45], under random-effect model), a medium effect on affective personal skills (g = .51, 95% CI [.30,.73], under random-effect model), and small impact on affective social skills (g = .44, 95% CI [.23,.66], under random-effect model). This review underscores nuanced findings focusing on sub-domains of achievement, higher-order thinking, and personal and social-affective skills. The overall results implied that enrichment programs play a significant role in fulfilling both the cognitive and non-cognitive needs of gifted students.</p>","PeriodicalId":20189,"journal":{"name":"PLoS ONE","volume":"20 10","pages":"e0333714"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12510610/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145258976","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An enhanced spatial-temporal graph convolution network with high order features for skeleton-based action recognition.","authors":"Mohammed H Al-Hakimi, Ibrar Ahmed, Muhammad Haseeb, Taha H Rassem, Fahmi H Quradaa, Rashad S Almoqbily","doi":"10.1371/journal.pone.0332815","DOIUrl":"10.1371/journal.pone.0332815","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Skeleton-based action recognition has emerged as a promising field within computer vision, offering structured representations of human motion. While existing Graph Convolutional Network (GCN)-based approaches primarily rely on raw 3D joint coordinates, these representations fail to capture higher-order spatial and temporal dependencies critical for distinguishing fine-grained actions. In this study, we introduce novel geometric features for joints, bones, and motion streams, including multi-level spatial normalization, higher-order temporal derivatives, and bone-structure encoding through lengths, angles, and anatomical distances. These enriched features explicitly model kinematic and structural relationships, enabling the capture of subtle motion dynamics and discriminative patterns. Building on this, we propose two architectures: (i) an Enhanced Multi-Stream AGCN (EMS-AGCN) that integrates joint, bone, and motion features via a weighted fusion at the final layer, and (ii) a Multi-Branch AGCN (MB-AGCN) where features are processed in independent branches and fused adaptively at an early layer. Comprehensive experiments on the NTU-RGB+D 60 benchmark demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach: EMS-AGCN achieves 96.2% accuracy and MB-AGCN attains 95.5%, both surpassing state-of-the-art methods. These findings confirm that incorporating higher-order geometric features alongside adaptive fusion mechanisms substantially improves skeleton-based action recognition.</p>","PeriodicalId":20189,"journal":{"name":"PLoS ONE","volume":"20 10","pages":"e0332815"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12510661/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145258852","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The relationship between anemia and sleep disturbances among older Chinese adults: The mediating role of handgrip strength.","authors":"Jie Li, Zunyi Ma, Xiaojiang Zhao","doi":"10.1371/journal.pone.0333673","DOIUrl":"10.1371/journal.pone.0333673","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Sleep plays an important role in human health, and anemia can lead to a continuous deterioration of sleep. However, the association and mechanism between anemia and sleep disturbances remain unclear. This study aimed to examine the relationship between anemia and sleep disturbances among older Chinese adults, in addition to examining the mediating role of handgrip strength in this relationship.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This research utilized data from the 2015 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Following the application of specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 6,057 Chinese adults aged 60 and above were finally selected as the analysis samples. The dependent variable was sleep disturbances (yes/no), with anemia (present/absent) serving as the main independent variables. Handgrip strength was employed as the mediating factor. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression analyses were conducted to investigate the relationships among anemia, handgrip strength, and sleep disturbances. Additionally, bootstrap tests were performed to assess the mediating role of handgrip strength in the association between anemia and sleep disturbances.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In the unadjusted model, a positive association was observed between anemia and sleep disturbances (OR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.08-1.38), whereas handgrip strength exhibited a negative association with sleep disturbances (OR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.93-0.97). These associations persisted even after adjusting for covariates in Models 1, 2, and 3. Furthermore, handgrip strength was found to significantly mediate the link between anemia and sleep disturbances(mediating effect = 5.75x10 -3), with the mediating effect accounting for 15.67% of the association.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The study indicate that anemia is positively associated with an increased risk of sleep disturbances among older Chinese individuals, with handgrip strength acting as a significant mediator in this relationship. This study provides valuable references for improving the sleep quality of older adults.</p>","PeriodicalId":20189,"journal":{"name":"PLoS ONE","volume":"20 10","pages":"e0333673"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12510644/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145258926","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cultural adaptation and validation of the short food literacy questionnaire (SFLQ) for adults in Lebanon.","authors":"Sahar Obeid, Souheil Hallit, Feten Fekih-Romdhane, Marie Hokayem, Ayoub Saeidi, Yonna Sacre, Maha Hoteit","doi":"10.1371/journal.pone.0334137","DOIUrl":"10.1371/journal.pone.0334137","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>In recent decades, Food Literacy (FL) has gained significant attention in the fields of food and nutrition. It is considered a key determinant of public health and presents a promising approach to addressing health challenges like obesity and environmental sustainability. However, Lebanon currently lacks a validated tool to assess food literacy. In this context, the Short Food Literacy Questionnaire (SFLQ) offers potential for translation and cultural adaptation. Adapting an established tool for use in a new cultural setting enables cross-country comparisons and supports the development of cross-cultural study models. Therefore, this study aims to culturally adapt the SFLQ to assess food literacy among Lebanese adults, enhance their knowledge, and promote healthier lifestyle habits.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A nationally representative sample of 450 adults was selected through probability cluster sampling from the eight Lebanese governorates. The SFLQ was administered between 11 December 2022 and 23 March 2023 to evaluate participants' food literacy. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was conducted using SPSS AMOS version 30, applying the maximum likelihood estimation method to obtain parameter estimates.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The average age of the participants was 46.0 years, with women making up 59.0% of the sample. The one-factor model showed an acceptable fit after accounting for correlated residuals between items 4-5, 9-10 and 11-12 (RMSEA = 0.079 (90% CI 0.068, 0.091), SRMR = 0.053, CFI = 0.935, TLI = 0.916). Internal consistency was satisfactory (ω = .86/ α = .86). Measurement invariance across gender was confirmed at the configural, metric and scalar levels. Males had significantly higher average SFLQ scores than females (32.80 ± 7.91 vs 28.76 ± 9.26; p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 0.486). A significant negative correlation was observed between SFLQ and Household Food Insecurity Access scores (r = -0.28; p < 0.001).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The SFLQ demonstrated strong internal consistency, indicating that it is a reliable tool for both research and clinical use. Expanding validation efforts to include a broader Arabic-speaking population, particularly individuals without internet access, would further strengthen the tool's applicability and cultural relevance across diverse contexts in the Arab world.</p>","PeriodicalId":20189,"journal":{"name":"PLoS ONE","volume":"20 10","pages":"e0334137"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12510489/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145258883","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Surgical placement possibilities, audiological benefit, and quality of life following Bonebridge implantation in children.","authors":"Milan Urík, Soňa Šikolová, Vít Kruntorád, Dagmar Hošnová, Jan Šíma","doi":"10.1371/journal.pone.0332978","DOIUrl":"10.1371/journal.pone.0332978","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study's primary goal was to evaluate how smaller size of the BCI602 transcutaneous bone conduction implant affects surgical placement possibilities in children compared to its precursor model, the BCI601. Additionally, audiological benefits, quality of life, and surgical safety of the implant system were investigated in a retrospective cohort of 21 patients. Computed tomography imaging data of the previously implanted patients were examined using a surgical planning software to determine which locations on the scull were feasible for placing the floating mass transducer of the respective implant version. Audiological outcomes in terms of sound field audiometry, speech recognition threshold, and speech recognition in noise were assessed. The Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ12) and the Assessment of Quality of Life 6 Dimensions (AQoL-6D) questionnaires were used to assess subjective benefit in terms of hearing and quality of life. Evaluation of placement options revealed that placement of the BCI602 in the transmastoid plane was possible in 100% of the children, as well as in 89.5% of the cases with the BCI601 variant when using lifts. Likewise, it would be possible to place the BCI602 in 100% of patients superior to the temporal line. For the older BCI601 version, this would be possible only in 58% of cases. With the implant, audiological performance as well as subjective benefit scores improved significantly in the study population. The pediatric cohort reports significant audiological benefit, significantly improved quality of life, and low complication rates. Its combination of high safety, significant audiological benefits, and easy placement of the BCI602 makes the Bonebridge a comfortable and effective option for hearing rehabilitation in children.</p>","PeriodicalId":20189,"journal":{"name":"PLoS ONE","volume":"20 10","pages":"e0332978"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12510592/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145258907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genome-wide identification of Solanum tuberosum L. AAAP gene family and its response to abiotic stress.","authors":"Zhichang Gao, Xinrui Zhao, Yanqun Wang, Xiaotian Chen, Lei Wang, Xiaojing Liu, Jianghui Cui","doi":"10.1371/journal.pone.0333560","DOIUrl":"10.1371/journal.pone.0333560","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The amino acid/auxin permease (AAAP) protein is an amino acid transporter involved in many biological processes in plants, especially in plant responses to abiotic stress. This study systematically identified potato StAAAP gene family, revealed its characteristics, and analyzed its functions in potato resistance to abiotic stress. Furthermore, its gene structure, chromosome distribution, cis-acting elements, conserved protein moieties, and collinearity between species were analyzed. The expression pattern of StAAAP in potato plants under abiotic stress was analyzed using RNA-seq data downloaded from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), and the gene expression pattern was verified using qRT-PCR. A total of 56 members of the StAAAP gene family were identified in potato and were distributed across 12 chromosomes. Based on their phylogenetic characteristics, they were divided into eight subfamilies: ATLa, ATLb, AAP, ANT, AUX, GAT, LHT, and ProT. The gene structure and conserved motifs of members of the same subfamily are essentially the same, and the AAAP gene family members are mostly distributed in the plasma membrane. Potato StAAAP family members contain a large number of cis-acting elements related to the stress response. Collinearity analysis revealed a large number of homologous gene pairs in the potato, tomato, pepper, and tobacco AAAP families. Expression analysis revealed that StAAAP family members were highly expressed under drought and salt stress conditions, and the expression of the same gene was different in different family members. The genes StAAAP4, StAAAP24, StAAAP29, StAAAP40, and StAAAP46 may play key roles in the abiotic stress response of potatoes. StAAAP genes play an important role in the growth, development, and abiotic stress responses of potato plants.</p>","PeriodicalId":20189,"journal":{"name":"PLoS ONE","volume":"20 10","pages":"e0333560"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12510606/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145258912","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reclaiming motherhood through shame, distance, and gratitude-A phenomenological study of Swedish women's lived experiences of giving birth while ill with COVID-19.","authors":"Maria Revelj, Anna Wessberg, Ylva Carlsson, Maria Lindqvist, Verena Sengpiel, Karolina Linden","doi":"10.1371/journal.pone.0333937","DOIUrl":"10.1371/journal.pone.0333937","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Pregnant women were one of the most exposed and vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 pandemic. While much is known about the general effects of the pandemic on pregnant women's well-being, little research has focused on the experiences of women who gave birth while infected with SARS-CoV-2. The aim of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of women who gave birth while being ill with COVID-19.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>This is a qualitative study utilising a phenomenological reflective lifeworld approach to explore the lived experiences of Swedish women (n = 10) who gave birth while ill with COVID-19 between April 2020 and May 2021.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The essence of the women's experiences was described as 'Reclaiming motherhood through shame, distance, and gratitude,' supported by four constituents: \"feeling intense shame and guilt for getting infected\",\" striving to overcome distance in the birth setting\", \"experiencing gratitude for receiving compassionate care\" and \"trying to comprehend motherhood and fighting to be reunited\".</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>A nuanced understanding of the experience at the intersection between childbirth, illness and the societal context is imperative for healthcare professionals and society to provide optimal care for one of the most vulnerable groups during pandemics, pregnant women and their newborns.</p>","PeriodicalId":20189,"journal":{"name":"PLoS ONE","volume":"20 10","pages":"e0333937"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12510478/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145258947","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}