Healthcare最新文献

Background: The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) aims to enhance healthcare delivery in India through digital integration. The ABDM, an essential part of India's healthcare system, aspires to transform healthcare delivery through digitization, by emphasizing affordability, accessibility, and transparency. This qualitative study investigated the awareness, challenges, and perceptions of the ABDM among postgraduate students in coastal Karnataka, focusing on their experiences and interactions with digital health technologies. Methodology: A qualitative descriptive approach was employed, involving semi-structured interviews with 17 purposively selected participants from a health science university. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using the NVivo 12 software for thematic analysis. Results: This study revealed that, while many students recognized the ABDM's goal of establishing comprehensive digital health infrastructure to seamlessly integrate healthcare services and information systems, detailed knowledge about its functionalities, implementation processes, and challenges was limited. Participants highlighted the need for improved digital literacy and support to maximize the effective use of the ABDM. Conclusions: The successful implementation of the ABDM depends on overcoming major challenges such as poor awareness and concerns about data security. Addressing these issues will require focused educational campaigns, increased accessibility, and joint efforts by the government, healthcare providers, and technological partners.

Background/objectives: In this study, we aimed to examine the effect of a 12-week dance (Zumba) performance on the fear of happiness and life satisfaction perceptions of high school students studying at boarding school.

Methods: The sample group of this study consisted of high school students staying in the school dormitory in the 2022-2023 academic year. A total of 82 students between the ages of 15 and 17, selected by the convenience sampling method, participated in the study, and 41 of the students were selected as the experimental group and 41 as the control group. The Fear of Happiness Scale and Satisfaction with Life Scale were used in the study. The measurement tools were administered as a pre-test one week before the dance program started and as a post-test one week after the end of the program. Two-way ANOVA for mixed measures was applied to determine whether the fear of happiness and life satisfaction pre-test scores were statistically significantly different between the experimental and control groups and to compare the pre-test and post-test difference scores.

Results: As a result of the research, it was concluded that the fear of happiness of the students who participated in the dance activity decreased, and their life satisfaction levels increased. These findings emphasize that dance can be an important resource that can increase the psychological well-being of young people.

Conclusions: As a result, it can be said that the 12-week dance activity positively affected students' fear of happiness and life satisfaction perceptions.

Background/Objectives: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are one of the major public health concerns worldwide due to their high morbidity and mortality rates. This situation has necessitated the development of tools to assess cardiovascular risk (CVR) in order to prevent the onset of CVD. The aim of this study is to assess how sociodemographic variables and health habits are associated with the values of CVR scales, such as REGICOR, SCORE2, and vascular age. Methodology: This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study involving 44,939 Spanish healthcare workers, where the association between age, sex, type of work, smoking, physical activity, and Mediterranean diet with CVR scales such as REGICOR, SCORE2, and vascular age was evaluated. Results: All the variables analyzed showed an association with the occurrence of moderate-high values in all three CVR scales. Age was the variable that showed the highest odds ratio values: 13.446 (95% CI 11.16-14.77) for REGICOR, 13.90 (95% CI 12.01-15.81) for vascular age, and 14.12 (95% CI 12.01-16.23) for SCORE2. Conclusions: The profile of a healthcare worker with the highest risk of presenting moderate-high values on all three CVR scales would be a male over 60 years old, a nursing assistant or orderly, a smoker, sedentary, and with low adherence to the Mediterranean diet.

Background/objectives: Alexithymia is a condition marked by difficulties in identifying and expressing emotions, rooted in both physiological and behavioral mechanisms. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between parental alexithymia and family functioning in families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) compared to families of typically developing children (TD).

Methods: The study sample included parents of children with ASD (n = 120) and a control group of parents of typically developing children (n = 120). A comprehensive set of self-report instruments was used to evaluate alexithymia levels, parental stress, family experience, resilience, cognitive emotion regulation, social support, and family flexibility and cohesion.

Results: The analysis revealed that parental alexithymia in families of children with ASD was directly associated with lower levels of family flexibility and cohesion, independent of increased stress or reduced family resilience. Furthermore, the findings indicate that alexithymia in parents is directly linked to reduced family cohesion in ASD families.

Conclusions: These results highlight the significant role of parental alexithymia in shaping family dynamics and underscore the necessity for targeted interventions that emphasize emotional skill-building, adaptive coping mechanisms, and resilience to stressful events. This research enhances the understanding of parental alexithymia's effect on family functioning in the context of ASD.

Background: Regular physical activity (PA) and regular exercise (RE) are essential for an active and healthy lifestyle. Additionally, the short-term effects have been investigated to understand how an acute bout of exercise impacts cognitive processing, an important aspect of mental health and well-being. Previous studies have confirmed positive effects. However, several exercise factors and human factors can influence this relationship. Aim/Methods/Results: This perspective paper has three main objectives: firstly, discussing the exercise and human factors that influence exercise-cognition effects significantly across studies according to previous reviews and meta-analytic studies and how this influence could be explained theoretically; secondly, highlighting important knowledge gaps and research questions for future research; and thirdly, discussing what conclusion can be drawn for cognitive health promotion. A particular focus is given to the effects of acute bouts of aerobic exercise and healthy adults as an important target group for primary health prevention. Conclusions: The summary of previous findings shows that the effects of an acute bout of aerobic exercise on cognitive performance in healthy adults depend on (a) exercise factors such as the duration and intensity of the acute bout of exercise, (b) cognitive factors such as the type of cognitive task and domain of cognitive functions, and (c) individual factors such as the physical activity of the individuals. Still, open questions concern the ideal duration, intensity and timing of the acute bout of exercise. In particular, more research is needed to determine whether and how aerobic exercises of short duration and an intensity above and especially below moderate intensity improve cognitive functions in healthy adults. Methodologically, these factors should be addressed by multimethod designs that consider intra- and interindividual comparisons and different response levels (self-report, behavioral, psychophysiological). In conclusion, answering these questions could pave the way for recommendations on how healthcare professionals should prescribe brief aerobic exercise as a cognitive health booster in healthy young adults. To this end, concepts of extended arousal and neurovisceral integration are useful framework models to include individual factors, like self-regulatory abilities of the individual and how these influence exercise-cognition interactions and exercise motivation during, pre-to-post and across testing sessions.

Background: When people decide to treat themselves with medication without going to a physician for a prescription, it is called self-medication (SM). This study aims to detect the prevalence rate of SM among ophthalmic patients in Jordan. Methods: This study applied a cross-sectional study design using a questionnaire tool completed by 1009 ophthalmic patients. Binary logistic regression was used to identify predictors of practicing SM. Results: The prevalence rate of participants practicing SM for ophthalmic conditions was 21.0%. The most common reason for SM was medical recommendations from a pharmacist or optician (55.7%), followed by failure to recognize the severity of the symptoms so that the patients thought they did not need a doctor to treat their eyes (34.4%). Eye symptoms included redness (69.3%), itching (61.3%), and a burning sensation (38.7%). The 24-30 age group was more likely to practice SM (p < 0.05). Other patients who had previously undergone ophthalmic surgery and were currently wearing contact lenses were less susceptible to SM practice (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Younger patients with ophthalmic conditions showed a higher probability of practicing SM. SM for eye diseases carries significant risks and requires careful consideration to avoid harmful consequences.

Background/Objectives: Working with young adults with T1D in outpatients clinic entails achieving a delicate balance between maintaining trust and improving diabetes management. By looking at the interactions between healthcare professionals and young adults with T1D as narrative emplotment, this article seeks to investigate how illness narratives are part of and actively worked on in consultations. Methods: Based on ethnographic observations of fourteen consultations with young adults 18-23 years of age, three narrative strategies to promote better diabetes management among the young adults were identified: (1) replacing sub-optimal practice with technology, (2) encouraging enhanced autonomy, and (3) setting realistic standards for diabetes care. Each strategy works to create a meaningful explanation for experienced challenges, formingas a basis for improved diabetes self-management. Results: Consultations were found to create a space where the meaning of living with an illness can be discussed between the healthcare professionals and the patients. Conclusions: Looking at how this meaning is negotiated in the consultations is an important aspect of understanding how daily diabetes management is made practicable, especially when working with young adults who are constituting their identities and often live with sub-optimal glycaemic control.

Background/Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly affected university students globally, exacerbating their already existing academic stress. This study investigates how the first COVID-19 lockdown (March-July 2020) differently impacted Portuguese, Spanish, and Brazilian university students' perceived academic stress, personal well-being, academic engagement, and performance. Methods: An online survey collected responses from 1081 university students (78.17% female; Mage = 25.43 years, SD = 9.27). Qualitative data on academic stressors were analyzed using content analysis. Cross-country differences were assessed through chi-square analyses and ANOVAs. Hypotheses were tested with a mediation path analysis. Results: Emotional distress emerged as the most prevalent stressor (54%). The results evidence differences in how students from the three countries experienced their academic life during the first COVID-19 lockdown. Personal and academic well-being mediated stress' effects on performance. Conclusions: These findings underscore the need for context-tailored interventions and proactive measures to support students' academic engagement in challenging contexts, informing educators and policymakers alike.

Background: Treatment dropout in substance use disorder (SUD) programs poses a significant challenge to achieving successful outcomes and leads to legal and financial issues. Socioeconomic factors have been identified as key contributors to treatment attrition; yet, the specific impact of patients' socioeconomic conditions remains underexplored. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between socioeconomic factors and SUD treatment dropout. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of socioeconomic factors associated with treatment dropout among individuals with alcohol, marijuana, and heroin substance abuse. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between patients' socioeconomic factors and treatment dropout. Adjusted odds ratios were calculated to quantify the strength of these associations. Results: Our findings demonstrate that demographic factors and financial status, including age (12-19 years), Black or African American race, and reliance on public assistance, correlate with an increased likelihood of treatment dropout. Black or African American patients receiving public assistance exhibit elevated dropout rates in ambulatory services, while patients of other single races without private insurance show higher dropout rates in detox services. Individuals aged 18-49 who are not part of the labor force have increased dropout rates in rehab services. Interestingly, patients in dependent living situations, who pay for services through private insurance or receive them at no charge, experience lower dropout rates as the number of arrests increases. Conversely, independently living patients with prior SUD treatments have higher dropout rates compared to those undergoing treatment for the first time. Conclusions: This study underscores the critical importance of addressing financial barriers to treatment access and retention in order to improve outcomes for individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs). Targeted interventions that support economically disadvantaged populations are essential for reducing treatment dropout rates and enhancing the effectiveness of SUD treatment programs.