International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health最新文献

Scholars in family therapy are increasingly calling for family-centered interventions for trauma-affected refugees, as many trauma-informed therapies favor individual models of treatment. Research contributes to the study and implementation of family-centered care models. However, for methodological reasons, research on family therapy with displaced populations is limited. In response to scholars' call, this paper argues for the use of documentary film as qualitative research data in refugee family therapy research. Documentary films have historically been used in the social sciences to examine people's lived experiences and to address data gaps in hard-to-reach populations. This paper outlines key methodological considerations inherent in research with refugee populations, including challenges related to recruitment and retention, language and cultural barriers, insecure and unstable living conditions affecting participants, research design constraints, and ethical complexities. It then discusses how the use of documentary film can help mitigate these challenges through careful epistemological positioning, research design, data selection and analysis strategies, and attention to ethical and research trustworthiness considerations. By doing so, the paper contributes to the development of qualitative research skills necessary for studying refugee family well-being and supporting the growth of family-centered therapeutic approaches.

Objective: The current study assessed outcomes of a continuing professional education program aimed at managing job-related stress to assist employees with recognizing and managing burnout and enhancing both productivity and overall well-being. Study Design: This study outlines the implementation of a needs assessment survey and the development of a non-credit training course for working professionals that addressed risks of burnout, suicidality, and self-care strategies to support mental health in the workplace. Methods: The sample for the current study consisted of 398 predominantly mid- to senior-level professionals. Participants were divided into two cohorts. The first cohort completed a structured needs assessment survey between June 2023 and July 2023 and provided ideas for curriculum development. The second cohort participated in synchronous, instructor-led virtual training sessions and completed pre- and post-training questionnaires between January 2024 and June 2024. A mixed-method content analysis was conducted to identify recurring themes and their frequency in course questionnaires. Results: Findings suggest that the training successfully expanded participants' understanding of signs of burnout and of new approaches to improve well-being in the workplace including forming friendships, engaging in mindfulness activities, and taking time off for a mental health day. Conclusions: Future research should explore the long-term impacts of such interventions and compare delivery methods, including virtual and in-person formats, to determine the most effective approaches for promoting mental well-being at work.

Micronutrient deficiencies remain a persistent challenge to global health and food security, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where evidence-based strategies are urgently needed. Biofortification of staple crops has been promoted as a complementary intervention to supplementation and food fortification, but its effective implementation requires locally relevant studies. Such evidence is essential because the performance and adoption of biofortified crops depend on context-specific factors, including crop varieties, soil micronutrient dynamics, dietary patterns, cultural acceptability, and bioavailability, which limit the transferability of findings across settings. This perspective examines whether countries with the highest micronutrient burdens generate sufficient local research to inform biofortification policy decisions. We conducted a bibliometric mapping of peer-reviewed literature indexed in Scopus and compared country-level publication counts with indicators of iodized salt coverage, zinc deficiency, and childhood anemia, which were selected because they are prioritized metrics in global health and food security. From 776 eligible articles, most publications originated from a small group of high- and middle-income countries, whereas regions facing the greatest nutritional burdens, including parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, contributed little to the scientific output. Countries with low iodized-salt coverage, high zinc deficiency, or childhood anemia above 40% frequently showed zero or minimal publications. This misalignment suggests that countries facing the greatest nutritional vulnerabilities may be underrepresented in the indexed scientific literature. These findings highlight the value of further strengthening research participation and visibility in high-burden settings to ensure that the evidence base more accurately reflects global needs.

Despite mandatory cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training for elementary school personnel in South Korea, current programs are often delivered as uniform, compliance-oriented sessions that prioritize procedural completion over sustained engagement and self-regulated practice. However, little empirical evidence explains why some participants remain actively engaged and capable of self-managing CPR skills after mandatory training, while others do not. In this study, immersion in CPR education refers to learners' cognitive and behavioral engagement during training, reflecting their concentration and active participation in learning activities. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine how achievement goal orientation influences CPR education immersion and self-management among elementary school educational officials. A survey was conducted from March to June 2024 with 150 teachers and administrative staff in Gangwon Province, South Korea. Data were analyzed using correlation and multiple regression analyses. The results showed significant positive correlations among achievement goal orientation, CPR education immersion, and self-management. Both self-goal and task goal orientations significantly increased CPR education immersion, whereas only task goal orientation positively influenced self-management. In addition, both cognitive and behavioral immersion significantly predicted self-management These findings suggest that mastery-oriented motivation is associated with deeper engagement during CPR training and stronger self-management, supporting motivationally informed instructional design rather than compliance-focused delivery.

This study investigates the impact of occupational noise on the physical and mental health of 50 water pumping station operators in Lebanon. The research aimed to quantify noise exposure, assess its effects on hearing and psychological well-being, and identify contributing factors. To achieve this, this study employed several evaluation methods. Noise exposure was measured using a calibrated sound level meter to determine the average A-weighted sound pressure levels (dBA) at 52 stations, which were then compared to the 85 dBA recommended limit from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Physical health, specifically hearing ability, was assessed using a validated smartphone-based pure-tone audiometry application to measure hearing thresholds across multiple frequencies. The resulting data were used to calculate the pure-tone average (PTA) and classify hearing impairment according to the World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Psychological health was evaluated through a structured 14-item questionnaire developed for this study, covering self-reported impacts on stress, anxiety, sleep quality, concentration, communication, and emotional state. The results indicated a hazardous work environment, with the mean noise level across stations (86.67 dBA) significantly exceeding the NIOSH safety threshold. A high prevalence of hearing impairment was observed among operators, with 88% exhibiting impairment in the worse ear. A multiple linear regression analysis revealed that noise level, age, and duration of exposure were all statistically significant predictors, collectively explaining 62.3% of the variance in hearing impairment (F(3, 46) = 25.32, p < 0.001). The analysis further identified age as a key effect modifier; the duration of exposure was the dominant risk factor for younger workers, while the intensity of the noise level was more critical for older workers. Psychologically, workers reported a high prevalence of adverse effects, with sleep disturbances being the most common issue (reported by 75%), followed by emotional distress (67%) and anxiety (60%). This study also found a complete lack of hearing protection use and no formal training on noise hazards, highlighting significant gaps in occupational safety practices.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the cost of hospitalization and length of stay (LOS) associated with dental infections and their impact on healthcare resources.

Materials and methods: Web of Science, Medline via Ovid, and Google Scholar were searched for articles published from 2013 to 2023 using relevant MeSH terms. A descriptive summary was produced to describe study characteristics, and selected studies were analyzed to evaluate financial implications and hospitalization outcomes.

Results: After removing duplicates, 125 articles were screened, with 25 read in full and 9 excluded. Sixteen retrospective studies were included, encompassing 156,487 patients. Hospital length of stay ranged from 1.15 to 10 days, and hospitalization costs ranged from AUD 2402 to USD 47,836.60. Variability in outcomes appeared to be influenced by infection severity, healthcare infrastructure, and geographic setting.

Conclusions: Dental infections impose a substantial and variable burden on healthcare systems. These findings emphasize the need for timely intervention, preventive strategies, and standardized management protocols to reduce clinical complications and financial strain on healthcare services.

Prostate cancer (PrCa), the second most common cancer diagnosed in men globally, remains a critical challenge in precision oncology. While PrCa can be deadly, it is highly treatable if detected early. Identifying associative factors influencing disease progression risks can help inform preliminary steps that will further the expedition of clinical therapeutic intervention decisions, which will improve treatment outcomes. While conventional PrCa progression assessment tools rely heavily on a few clinical parameters, the importance of genomic information is increasingly recognized. In this study, we evaluate the prognostic value of patients' clinicogenomic profiles in modeling progression-free survival (PFS) of PrCa. Three survival models, namely the penalized Cox model, random survival forest, and a deep learning survival neural network, were deployed with extensive tuning applied to a dataset for a cohort of 494 patients with PrCa. This dataset, compiled from public data in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) accessed via cBioPortal, consists of relevant clinical features and single-nucleotide variant information on likely PrCa-related genes. The survival models demonstrated satisfactory discriminatory performance, with Harrell's concordance index ranging from approximately 0.80 to 0.87 on held-out test data, indicating their ability to rank patients according to their relative progression risk among patients, while exhibiting distinct dynamics, all three models consistently identified clinical variables that indicated neoadjuvant treatment history, neoplasm cancer status, and tumor recurrence as well as the gene MYH6 as important predictor variables for PrCa PFS. Our findings suggest the incorporation of genomic data into the survival modeling workflow, thereby allowing the use of integrated clinicogenomics information to gain insights into progression risks for patients with PrCa.

Background: Motivational text messages can encourage increased physical activity. This study aimed to validate motivational text messages among older adults and care partners and to assess differences in perceived motivational value between the two groups.

Methods: We designed nine motivational text messages to capture nine distinct physical activity scenarios. For this cross-sectional observational study, we enrolled 14 content experts, 310 older adults, and 305 care partners. Content experts assessed the relevance, while the older adults and care partners assessed the perceived motivational value of each text message on a 5-point Likert scale. We computed the item content validity index and assessed differences in perceived motivational value among older adults and care partners using quantile regression while adjusting for sociodemographic and health characteristics.

Results: The item content validity index ranged from 0.86 to 1.00. The median (interquartile range) perceived motivational value for each text message was 4.0 (3.0-5.0), and there were no statistically significant differences in reported motivational values between older adults and care partners.

Conclusion: We present nine content-validated text messages with high motivational value for older adults and care partners that can be integrated into technology-based intervention studies and may improve physical activity behavior in both groups.

Civil registration of births and deaths underpins people's legal identity, access to essential services, and evidence-based policy. Over the last two decades, the expansion of the National Health Mission (NHM) and the dramatic increase in institutional deliveries have created new opportunities to link maternal healthcare with critical event documentation. Primary health centres (PHCs) and community health centres (CHCs), which are frequently the initial point of contact for rural households, are emerging as important places for birthing and registration. Despite their expanding importance, the particular role of these grassroots facilities in birth registration results has not been thoroughly investigated. This study addresses that gap by assessing their role in increasing registration coverage among children under the age of five. We analyzed nationally representative data from the National Family Health Survey rounds 4 (2015-2016) and 5 (2019-2021). This study focused on children under five, examining the association between place of delivery and registration status. Descriptive analysis and multivariable logistic regression estimated the odds of registration across delivery settings. Pooled data from both survey rounds captured temporal shifts, and predicted probabilities were calculated for institutional deliveries, adjusting for socio-demographic covariates. The proportion of institutional births occurring in PHCs and CHCs rose from 30.5% to 34.7% between the two survey rounds. Registration among children delivered in these facilities increased from 80.8% to 90.2%, the highest gain among all delivery settings. Regression analysis showed that births in PHCs/CHCs were associated with 38% higher odds of being registered compared to private facilities. States designating PHCs and CHCs as official registrars, such as Delhi, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, reported the greatest improvements. Lower-level government health facilities are not only advancing safe delivery but also acting as pivotal nodes for civil registration. Their dual function creates a scalable model for integrating healthcare with legal identity creation, supporting equity and accelerating progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 16.9.

Background: This study compared the reasons for dental presentations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian adults at the Nepean Centre for Oral Health, NSW, Australia.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on adult patients presenting between 1 July and 31 December 2019. Clinical notes were audited and categorized as either 'emergency' (pain, dental infection, dental trauma, loose teeth or dental implants, bleeding) or 'conservative' (dental check-ups, examinations, prosthodontic, restorative, periodontal, or non-emergency endodontic therapy).

Results: A total of 4663 patients met the inclusion criteria; 61.6% were female, and 6.4% were identified as Indigenous Australians. Overall, 41.3% of presentations were for emergency dental care. Indigenous Australians were significantly more likely to present for dental emergencies compared with non-Indigenous (58.2% vs. 40.2%; χ²(1, N = 4663) = 53.4, p < 0.00001; OR = 2.07, 95% CI: 1.64-2.63), and were also more likely to undergo emergency tooth extractions (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Indigenous Australians demonstrated a higher proportion of emergency and oral surgery-related presentations and underwent tooth extractions as the primary treatment compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. These findings suggest a higher burden of oral disease and delayed access to general dental services among Indigenous Australians, highlighting the need for targeted and culturally appropriate public health interventions.