Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health最新文献

Objectives: Comorbidities increase susceptibility to severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections, but limited information has been published regarding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and COVID-19 co-infections. This study explored the relationships among socioeconomic characteristics, sexual behaviors, and COVID-19 infection rates among Korean men who have sex with men (MSM) who are also living with HIV.

Methods: Data were collected through a web survey aimed at members of the largest gay portal site in Korea, supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (n=1005). The primary independent variables included COVID-19-related vaccinations and sexual behaviors. The dependent variable was the incidence of COVID-19 infection among respondents during the pandemic. For statistical analysis, hierarchical multiple logistic regression was performed, controlling for potential confounding variables.

Results: Model I indicated that older MSM were less likely to contract COVID-19 (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.98; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.96 to 0.99). Model II demonstrated that HIV-positive MSM were nearly twice as likely to be infected with COVID-19 compared to their HIV-negative counterparts (aOR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.14 to 3.41). Furthermore, even after accounting for COVID-19 vaccination status in model III, HIV-positive MSM continued to show a higher risk of infection (aOR, 1.93; 95% CI, 1.12 to 3.35).

Conclusions: The findings of this study indicate that HIV-positive MSM are at an increased risk of contracting COVID-19, even when their vaccination status is considered. Therefore, it is essential to prioritize the prevention of COVID-19 infections in HIV-positive individuals by administering appropriate antiretroviral therapy and ensuring adherence to public health guidelines.

Objectives: This study developed a causal relationship model of herb use from observational data and analyzed the direct and indirect effects of herb use on health according to the model.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 400 participants aged 26-59 years, selected through multistage random sampling. The instruments used for data collection included demographic information, herb use, health literacy (HL), perceived social support, societal values, and attitudes toward herb use. The conceptual model, hypothesized based on prior evidence, was tested using confirmatory factor analysis through structural equation modeling. Path coefficients were estimated using the maximum likelihood method.

Results: The final model utilized empirical data, which showed that perceived social support had the most significant impact on herb use. This was followed by HL, positive attitudes toward herbal remedies, and societal values, with coefficients of 0.31, 0.18, and 0.16, respectively. When analyzing variables that indirectly affected herb use, it was clear that positive attitudes, perceived social support, and societal values significantly influenced herb use through HL, with influence coefficients of 0.08, 0.16, and 0.04, respectively. Together, these variables accounted for 68% of the variance in herb use.

Conclusions: The findings from this study can be utilized to develop and implement strategies that guide the use of herbal products, ultimately aiming to improve human health.

Objectives: This study was conducted to measure financial toxicity (FT) among patients with cancer in Vietnam using the COmprehensive Score for financial Toxicity (COST) and to describe the cost management strategies employed by these patients.

Methods: This comprehensive cross-sectional study enrolled 634 patients from 2 specialized oncology hospitals in Vietnam. Using COST cut-off scores, FT was classified as none/mild (≥26), moderate (14-25), or severe (≤13). Cost management strategies, or coping mechanisms, were classified into 4 groups: lifestyle changes, financial resource strategies, treatment modifications, and support seeking.

Results: The prevalence of FT was 91.8%, with 51.7% of participants demonstrating severe and 40.1% exhibiting moderate FT. Severe FT was significantly associated with female, low education level, unstable employment, low household economic status, and advanced cancer stage. The most common coping strategies were as follows: among lifestyle changes, reducing spending on basic items and leisure activities (78.7%) and cutting back on essential household expenses (66.4%); among financial resource strategies, borrowing money from relatives or friends (49.1%) and withdrawing funds from retirement or savings accounts (34.1%); within treatment modifications, switching treatment facilities or doctors due to cost concerns (9.3%); and within support seeking, obtaining help from welfare or community organizations (18.8%). All strategies were significantly more likely to be used by patients with severe FT.

Conclusions: FT was highly prevalent among patients with cancer. Most patients relied on lifestyle adjustments and coping strategies, underscoring the need for improved financial support systems to alleviate the economic burden associated with cancer care.

Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has exacerbated the rate of tuberculosis (TB) infection among close contacts of TB patients in remote regions. However, research on preventive behaviors, guided by the Health Belief Model (HBM), among household contacts of TB cases is scarce. This study aimed to employ the HBM as a framework to predict TB preventive behaviors among household contacts of TB patients in the border areas of Northern Thailand.

Methods: A cross-sectional study with multi-stage random sampling was conducted in Chiang Rai Province. The study included 422 TB patients' household contacts aged 18 years or older who had available chest X-ray (CXR) results. A self-administered questionnaire was used to conduct the survey.

Results: The participants' mean age was 42.93 years. Pearson correlation analysis showed that TB preventive behavior scores were significantly correlated with TB knowledge (r=0.397), perceived susceptibility (r=0.565), perceived severity (r=0.452), perceived benefits (r=0.581), self-efficacy (r=0.526), and cues to action (r=0.179). Binary logistic regression revealed that the modeled odds of having an abnormal CXR decreased by 30.0% for each 1-point score increase in preventive behavior (odds ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval, 0.61 to 0.79).

Conclusions: HBM constructs were able to explain preventive behaviors among TB patients' household contacts. The HBM could be used in health promotion programs to improve TB preventive behaviors and avoid negative outcomes.

Objectives: Health development is a key element of national development. The goal of improving health development at the societal level will be readily achieved if it is directed from the smallest social unit, namely the family. This was the goal of the Healthy Indonesia Program with a Family Approach. The objective of the study was to analyze variables of family health indicators across all provinces in Indonesia to identify provincial disparities based on the status of healthy families.

Methods: This study examined secondary data for 2021 from the Indonesia Health Profile, provided by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, and from the 2021 welfare statistics by Statistics Indonesia (BPS). From these sources, we identified 10 variables for analysis using the k-means method, a non-hierarchical method of cluster analysis.

Results: The results of the cluster analysis of healthy family indicators yielded 5 clusters. In general, cluster 1 (Papua and West Papua Provinces) had the lowest average achievements for healthy family indicators, while cluster 5 (Jakarta Province) had the highest indicator scores.

Conclusions: In Indonesia, disparities in healthy family indicators persist. Nutrition, maternal health, and child health are among the indicators that require government attention.

Objectives: Epilepsy is a chronic disease that requires long-term treatment and intervention from health workers. Medication adherence is a factor that influences the success of therapy for patients with epilepsy. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the role of pharmacists in improving the clinical outcomes of epilepsy patients, focusing on medication adherence.

Methods: A scoping literature search was conducted through the ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases. The literature search included all original articles published in English until August 2023 for which the full text was available. This scoping review was carried out by a team consisting of pharmacists and neurologists following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Extension for Scoping Reviews and the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines, including 5 steps: identifying research questions, finding relevant articles, selecting articles, presenting data, and compiling the results.

Results: The literature search yielded 10 studies that discussed pharmacist interventions for patients with epilepsy. Five articles described educational interventions involving drug-related counseling with pharmacists. Two articles focused on similar pharmacist interventions through patient education, both verbal and written. Three articles discussed an epilepsy review service, a multidisciplinary intervention program involving pharmacists and other health workers, and a mixed intervention combining education and training with therapy-based behavioral interventions.

Conclusions: Pharmacist interventions have been shown to be effective in improving medication adherence in patients with epilepsy. Furthermore, these interventions play a crucial role in improving other therapeutic outcomes, including patients' knowledge of self-management, perceptions of illness, the efficacy of antiepileptic drugs in controlling seizures, and overall quality of life.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between objective social isolation (SI) and unmet medical needs (UMN) in adults aged 19 and older.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted of 208 619 adults aged 19 and older, excluding missing data, using the 2019 Korea Community Health Survey. To analyze the association between objective SI and UMN, the chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were performed.

Results: The prevalence of UMN was 1.14 times higher (odds ratio [OR], 1.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06 to 1.23) among those with SI than among those without SI, and the OR for groups with 5 SI types was 2.77 (95% CI, 1.86 to 4.12) compared to those with no SI types. In addition, a stratified analysis by age group showed that the association between SI and UMN existed even in groups under 64 years old. However, among those aged 65 and older, SI was associated with an OR of 1.53 (95% CI, 1.37 to 1.71) for UMN compared to non-SI. As the number of SI types increased, the prevalence of UMN also increased, indicating a strong association between SI and UMN in older adults.

Conclusions: This study found that individuals with SI experienced UMN due to fear and anxiety about interpersonal relationships. Therefore, based on the results of this cross-sectional study, it is necessary to investigate the causal relationship between SI and UMN through future longitudinal data.

Objectives: This study validated the Vietnamese version of the Disaster Adaptation and Resilience Scale (DARS) for use in vulnerable communities in Vietnam.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 595 adults from 2 identified communities. The original DARS assessment tool was translated, and the validity and reliability of the Vietnamese version of DARS (V-DARS) were assessed. The internal consistency of the overall scale and its subscales was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega reliability coefficients. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to evaluate its construct validity, building upon the factor structure identified in exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Construct validity was assessed based on convergent and discriminant validity.

Results: Following the established criteria for EFA, 8 items were removed, resulting in a refined V-DARS structure comprising 35 items distributed across 5 distinct factors. Both alpha and omega reliability coefficients indicated strong internal consistency for the overall scale (α=0.963, ω=0.963) and for each of the 5 sub-scales (all>0.80). The CFA model also retained the 5-factor structure with 35 items. The model fit indices showed acceptable values (RMSEA: 0.072; CFI: 0.912; TLI: 0.904; chi-square test: <0.01). Additionally, the convergent and discriminant validity of the V-DARS were deemed appropriate and satisfactory for explaining the measurement structure.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the V-DARS is a valid and reliable scale for use within vulnerable communities in Vietnam to assess adaptive responses to natural disasters. It may also be considered for use in other populations.

Objectives: Recovery from drug addiction often poses challenges for the recovering person. The coping mechanisms employed by these individuals to resist temptations and manage stress play a key role in the healing process. This study was conducted to explore the coping strategies or techniques that individuals with addiction use to handle stress and temptation while undergoing treatment.

Methods: A qualitative meta-synthesis approach was utilized to critically evaluate relevant qualitative research. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines were used for article selection, with these standards applied to 4 academic databases: Scopus, PubMed, ProQuest, and CINAHL. The present review included studies published between 2014 and 2023, selected based on pre-established inclusion criteria. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Qualitative Studies Checklist. This review was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) under the registration number CRD42024497789.

Results: The analysis of 13 qualifying qualitative articles revealed 5 major themes illustrating the coping mechanisms employed in the pursuit of recovery by individuals who use drugs. These themes include seeking social support, as well as psychological coping strategies, spiritual experiences, professional interventions, and the enhancement of awareness.

Conclusions: Among individuals with drug addiction, coping mechanisms are crucial for resisting stress and temptations throughout the recovery process. Healthcare professionals, as medical specialists, can establish more thorough and effective plans to support these patients on their path to recovery.

Objectives: Regional disparities in cardiovascular care in Korea have led to uneven patient outcomes. Despite the growing need for and access to procedures, few studies have linked regional service availability to mortality rates. This study analyzed regional variation in the utilization of major cardiovascular procedures and their associations with short-term mortality to provide better evidence regarding the relationship between healthcare resource distribution and patient survival.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using nationwide claims data for patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), stent insertion, or aortic aneurysm resection in 2022. Regional variation was assessed by the relevance index (RI). The associations between the regional RI and 30-day mortality were analyzed.

Results: The RI was lowest for aortic aneurysm resection (mean, 26.2; standard deviation, 26.1), indicating the most uneven regional distribution among the surgical procedures. Patients undergoing this procedure in regions with higher RIs showed significantly lower 30-day mortality (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.73; 95% confidence interval, 0.55 to 0.96; p=0.026) versus those with lower RIs. This suggests that cardiovascular surgery regional availability, as measured by RI, has an impact on mortality rates for certain complex surgical procedures. The RI was not associated with significant mortality differences for more widely available procedures like CABG (aOR, 0.96), PCI (aOR, 1.00), or stent insertion (aOR, 0.91).

Conclusions: Significant regional variation and underutilization of cardiovascular surgery were found, with reduced access linked to worse mortality for complex procedures. Disparities should be addressed through collaboration among hospitals and policy efforts to improve outcomes.