METHODS: Three questionnaires were developed to get the responses from healthcare administrators, workers, and clients, representing the three components of Questionnaires to Assess Workplace Violence Risk Factors (QAWRF). The domains of the questionnaires were developed based on The Chappell and Di Martino's Interactive Model of Workplace Violence, and the items were generated from 28 studies identified from a systematic review of the literature. Six experts, 36 raters, and 90 respondents were recruited to assess the content validity, face validity, and usability and reliability of the QAWRF respectively. Item and Scale Level Content Validity Index, Item and Scale Level Face Validity Index, and Cronbach's alpha values were determined for QAWRF-administrator, QAWRF-worker, and QAWRF-client.
RESULTS: The psychometric indices for QAWRF are satisfactory.
CONCLUSION: QAWRF holds good content validity, face validity, and reliability, and findings from QAWRF can contribute towards worksite-specific interventions that are expected to be resource efficient and more effective than general WPV interventions.
RESULTS: From the characterization of physical properties, PCE-0.3 had an impressive amorphous porosity, wettability and 3D honeycomb-like structural morphology with a pore framework consisting of micropores and mesopores. According to the structural advantages of 3D hierarchical pores such as interconnected honeycombs, PCE-0.3 as supercapacitor electrode had a high specific capacitance of up to 285.89 F g-1 at 1 A. Furthermore, the supercapacitor exhibited high energy and power density of 21.54 Wh kg-1 and 161.13 W kg-1 , respectively, with a low internal resistance of 0.059 Ω.
CONCLUSION: The results indicated that 3D porous carbon materials such as interconnected honeycombs derived from the aromatic biomass of torch ginger leaves have significant potential for the development of sustainable energy storage devices. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.
METHODS: We reviewed 39 cases of splenic abscesses in a district hospital in Kapit, Sarawak, from January 2017 to December 2018. The demographics, clinical characteristics, underlying diseases, causative organisms, therapeutic methods, and mortality rates were investigated.
RESULTS: There were 21 males and 18 females (mean age, 33.7±2.7 years). Almost all patients (97.4%) had a history of pyrexia. Diabetes mellitus was present in 8 patients (20.5%). Splenic abscesses were diagnosed using ultrasonography and were multiple in all 39 cases. Positive blood cultures were obtained in 20 patients (51.3%), and all yielded B. pseudomallei. Melioidosis serology was positive in 9 of 19 patients (47.4%) with negative blood cultures. All patients were treated for melioidosis with antibiotics without the need for surgical intervention. All splenic abscesses resolved after anti-melioidosis treatment was completed. One patient died (2.6%) as a result of B. pseudomallei septicaemia with multiorgan failure.
CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasonography is a valuable tool for diagnosing splenic abscesses in resource-limited settings. B. pseudomallei was the most common etiological agent of splenic abscesses in our study.
METHODS: From March to September 2021, a multidisciplinary team in Lao PDR was involved in the costing exercise of the National Deployment and Vaccination Plan for COVID-19 vaccines to develop potential scenarios and gather inputs using the CVIC tool. Financial costs of introducing COVID-19 vaccines for 3 years from 2021 to 2023 were projected from the government perspective. All costs were collected in 2021 Lao Kip and presented in United States dollar.
RESULTS: From 2021 to 2023, the financial cost required to vaccinate all adults in Lao PDR with primary series of COVID-19 vaccines (1 dose for Ad26.COV2.S (recombinant) vaccine and 2 doses for the other vaccine products) is estimated to be US$6.44 million (excluding vaccine costs) and additionally US$1.44 million and US$1.62 million to include teenagers and children, respectively. These translate to financial costs of US$0.79-0.81 per dose, which decrease to US$0.6 when two boosters are introduced to the population. Capital and operational cold-chain costs contributed 15-34% and 15-24% of the total costs in all scenarios, respectively. 17-26% went to data management, monitoring and evaluation, and oversight, and 13-22% to vaccine delivery.
CONCLUSIONS: With the CVIC tool, costs of five scenarios were estimated with different target population and booster dose use. These facilitated Lao PDR to refine their strategic planning for COVID-19 vaccine rollout and to decide on the level of external resources needed to mobilize and support outreach services. The results may further inform inputs in cost-effectiveness or cost-benefit analyses and potentially be applied and adjusted in similar low- and middle-income settings.
METHODS: We chose a double-blinded pragmatic randomized-controlled with factorial design for this investigation. The trial is going to recruit 1648 hypertensive patients with coronary artery disease at the age of 21 to 70 years. All participants will already be on anti-hypertensive medication and own a smartphone. They will be randomized into four groups with each having 412 participants. The first group will only receive standard care; while the second group, in addition to standard care, will receive monthly Ed-counselling (educational booklets with animated infographics and peer counseling); the third group will receive daily written and voice reminders and an education-led video once weekly together with standard care; while the fourth one gets both interventions given to second and third groups respectively. All groups will be followed-up for 1 year (0, 6, and 12 months). The primary outcome will be the change in systolic blood pressure while secondary outcomes include health-related quality of life and changes in medication adherence. For measuring changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and adherence scores difference at 0, 6, and 12 months between and within the group, parametric (ANOVA/repeated measure ANOVA) and non-parametric tests (Kruskal-Wallis test/Friedman test) will be used. By using the general estimating equation (GEE) with negative binomial regression, at 12 months, the covariates affecting primary and secondary outcomes will be determined and controlled. The analysis will be intention-to-treat. All the outcomes will be analyzed at 0, 6, and 12 months; however, the final analysis will be at 12 months from baseline.
DISCUSSION: Besides adding up to existing evidence in the literature on the subject, our designed modules using mHealth technology can help in reducing hypertension-related morbidity and mortality in developing countries.
CONCLUSIONS: There is limited peer-reviewed advice available on providing safe and effective temporary psychiatric consultant cover for patient care. We suggest a framework for reviewing the potential hazards and benefits of a temporary post, and planning for the role, guided by consideration of the following: caring for patients, supporting staff, working with peers, and understanding local healthcare systems and the local regulatory environment. Application of this reflective framework is informed by the psychiatrist's assessment of the temporary role, and consideration of the local service conditions.