METHODS: This study employs a quantitative research design using a cross-sectional survey of 300 older persons over 60 years living in the six urban districts of Xi'an city. Data were collected using the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ) and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). This study employed descriptive statistics and inferential methods to analyze the data. The inferential methods applied structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the hypothesis of the mediator role of health literacy between the presence of chronic disease and psychological distress.
RESULTS: In this study, chronic disease had an effect on health literacy among older persons living in Xi'an city (β=-0.047, p
METHODS: The electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science, SCOPUS, and SPORTDiscus were systematically searched up to June 2023 without placing any restrictions on the publication dates. The PICOS method was adopted to establish the inclusion criteria: (a) healthy athletes who participate in racket sports; (b) a PT program; (c) a control group; (d) assessment of physical fitness components pre- and post-PT; and (e) RCTs. The records' methodological quality was assessed utilizing the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale. The certainty in the evidence related to each outcome was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) assessment. A random-effects model was used to calculate effect sizes (ES; Hedges' g) between experimental and control groups.
RESULTS: There were 14 eligible studies of moderate-to-high-quality, involving 746 athletes in total. The results revealed small-to-moderate effects (p < 0.05) of PT on muscle power (ES = 0.46), muscle strength (ES = 0.50), sprint speed (ES = 0.45), change of direction ability (ES = 0.76), and reaction time (ES = 0.67), while no clear evidence was found on balance and flexibility. The training-induced changes in muscle power showed no significant difference (p > 0.05) between youth (ES = 0.72) and adults (ES = 0.40). There were also similar muscle power improvements (ES = 0.36-0.54 vs 0.38-0.56, all p > 0.05) for a length of ≤7 weeks with ≤14 total PT sessions vs >7 weeks with >14 total PT sessions, and ≤2 weekly sessions vs >2 sessions. No adverse effects were reported in the included studies regarding the PT intervention. The certainty of evidence varied from very low to moderate. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that PT has positive effects on important indices of physical fitness among athletes participating in racket sports. Future studies are required to clarify the optimal doses and examine interactions among training variables to further promote the physical fitness of this specific population.
METHOD: This cross-sectional study was conducted at two health centres. Sociodemographic characteristics, hypertension and treatment statuses were recorded. Blood pressure (BP) was measured by either doctors or nurses using automated BP machines. The cost of manpower was calculated as the average salaries of manpower during the 3-day health campaign divided by the total number of days. The final sum was the cost of detecting undiagnosed hypertension.
RESULTS: A total of 2009 participants median age = 50 (IQR = 18-91) were included in the study. The overall prevalence of hypertension was 41.4% (n=832). Among the patients with hypertension, 49.2% (n=409) were unaware of their hypertension status. Conversely, 21.1% (n=423) were known to have hypertension, among whom 97.4% (n=412) were on medications. Among those who were on medications, 49% (n=202) had good BP control. The average total cost of manpower during the 3-day health campaign was RM 5019.80 (USD 1059). The cost of detecting an individual with elevated BP was RM 12.27 (USD 2.59).
CONCLUSION: The prevalence of hypertension and unawareness is high. However, the average cost of manpower to detect an individual with elevated BP is low. Therefore, regular public health campaigns aiming to detect undiagnosed hypertension are recommended.