MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study employs a crosssectional study design and utilises self-reported data obtained from locally validated personal stress inventory questionnaires. The data collection period spanned from August 1 to 31, 2020. The study sample consisted of 163 healthcare drivers affiliated with the Negeri Sembilan State Health Department. The Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were the first used to determine the association between variables prior to conducting multiple logistic regression to predict the relationship between dependent and independent variables.
RESULTS: In COVID-19's first year, 7.4% (n = 12) of healthcare drivers reported perceived stress with ambulance drivers reporting more stress (10.6%; n = 5) than non-ambulance drivers (6.0%; n = 7). Simple statistical analysis identified perceived stress significantly associated with household income, smoking status and performing on-call. Further analysis by multiple logistic regression found that perceived stress was significantly related to smoking (aOR 19.9, 95% CI: 1.86-213.90), and performing on-call (aOR 8.69, 95% CI 1.21-62.28). Nevertheless, no association was found between perceived stress and age, ethnicity, marital status, education, household income, co-morbidities, driving assignment, employment duration, needing a part-time job or motor vehicle accident history.
CONCLUSION: The study found that the perceived stress amongst Malaysian healthcare drivers during the COVID-19 pandemic was relatively low. This could be due to fewer lifethreatening tasks, emergencies, assigned tasks and increase income due to overtime during the COVD-19 pandemic. The OSH team's efforts to provide consistent safety and health training, including stress management, may have contributed to the healthcare driver's ability to effectively manage the stressful circumstances encountered during the pandemic. In order to enhance salary competitiveness, employers should provide financial management education alongside subsidised housing and childcare provisions. Healthcare drivers who smoke should be taught different stress reduction techniques so that they can handle their stress in a healthy way.
METHODS: A 24-item ASK-Q with four domains: self-understanding (5 items), aetiology (5 items), complications (5 items) and management (9 items) of liver cirrhosis was developed based on literature review and expert panel input. It was then piloted in five English-speaking patients with liver cirrhosis. These patients commented that the font size was too small. Hence, the font was enlarged and the final version of the ASK-Q was administered to English-speaking patients with liver cirrhosis, aged ≥18 years, with or without decompensation, at a tertiary hospital, from September 2020 to November 2021, at baseline and fortnight later. Patients with encephalopathy were excluded.
RESULTS: 120/135 patients agreed to participate (response rate = 88.9%). The overall median score was 59.1 (45.6-68.2). A total of 7/22 (31.8%) items were "easy", 14/22 (63.6%) items were "moderately easy" and 1/22 (4.5%) items were "difficult". Exploratory factor analysis extracted nine factors, and two items were omitted. The ASK-Q was able to discriminate the knowledge level of patients with and without tertiary education [59.1 (50.0-72.7) vs. 54.5 (36.4-63.6); P
METHODS: Muslim people with diabetes and CKD were surveyed in 13 countries shortly after the end of Ramadan 2020, using a simple Survey Monkey questionnaire.
RESULTS: This survey recruited 6736 people with diabetes, of which 707 (10.49%) had CKD. There were 118 (16.69%) people with type1 diabetes (T1D), and 589 (83.31%) were with type2 diabetes (T2D). 62 (65.24%) people with T1D and 448 (76.06%) people with T2D had fasted with CKD. Episodes of hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia were more frequent among people with T1D compared to T2D, 64.52% and 43.54% vs 25.22% and 22.32% respectively. Visits to the emergency department and hospitalization were more frequent among people with CKD, however no significant difference was found between people with T1D and T2D.
CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic had only a minor effect on the intention to fast during Ramadan in people with diabetes and CKD. However, hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia were found to be more frequent, as well as emergency visits and hospital admissions among people with diabetic kidney disease. Prospective studies are needed in future to evaluate the risk indicators of hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia among fasting people with CKD, especially in the context of different stages of kidney disease.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to investigate how job crafting augments work outputs (i.e., innovation performance and career satisfaction) through work engagement.
METHODS: Data were collected from 477 workers working in the Pakistan manufacturing sector. A structural equation modeling technique was used to investigate the mediation model.
RESULTS: Job crafting has a direct and indirect association with innovation performance and career satisfaction - via employees' work engagement. Additionally, the mediating impact was stronger for innovation performance than for career satisfaction. The findings advocate that managers should pay attention to employees' job crafting to improve employees' work engagement in manufacturing organizations. To improve employees' innovation performance and career satisfaction via work engagement, it is important to improve organization-wide job crafting in traditional manufacturing organizations. Strategic and managerial actions related to job crafting might boost employees' engagement in the organization that environments provide incessantly better outcomes.
CONCLUSION: By linking job crafting and work engagement to their attitude towards career satisfaction and innovation performance in Pakistani manufacturing firms, this study adds a new dimension to the study of Pakistani manufacturing employees and typically to the best practices in career debates. This knowledge is important and unique because it accentuates that in addition to work engagement, which focuses primarily on employee growth in the organization, job crafting should also be given equal importance to advance manufacturing employees' outcomes.
METHODS: Meeting records from September 2013 till June 2021 were reviewed. Detailed minutes were available starting August 2016; case data were analyzed including diagnoses, purpose of presentation and recommendations. A 38-item survey assessing perception of benefits, challenges, and opportunities of the forum was distributed to members of the POEM group and results analyzed.
RESULTS: A total of 140 cases were presented from 14 countries. After August 2016, 67 cases were presented, and those were analyzed regarding reasons for discussion, barriers, and recommendations. Details are presented in this report, and the most common challenges identified were related to histopathologic/molecular diagnosis (24%), imaging interpretation (18%), resource limitations (12%), and surgical difficulties (9%). A survey was distributed to all POEM members in 28 countries, and 76 responded. The main benefit reported was the provision of recommendations regarding treatment and evaluation, while the main challenges reported were time zone difference and workload. Recognized opportunities included conducting regionally relevant research studies based on clinical problems identified during discussions, and setting guidelines for resource-adapted treatment regimens.
CONCLUSIONS: The POEM CDF identified areas for multi-institutional regional studies and led to a twinning project between two centers in the region for improving diagnostic infrastructure. Such forums can identify specific resource limitations in pediatric cancer and direct efforts for targeted capacity building.
METHOD: An online survey was conducted over a 5-week period from July to August 2023 in the Asia-Pacific region, which targeted endoscopists, nurses, and other healthcare professionals of the endoscopy unit. The primary outcome was the agreement to adopt green endoscopy. The secondary outcomes included views on sustainable practices, factors associated with increased acceptance of green endoscopy, the acceptance of different carbon reduction measures, and the perceived barriers to implementation.
RESULTS: A total of 259 valid responses were received. Overall, 79.5% of participants agreed to incorporate green endoscopy into their practice. Nevertheless, existing green policies were only reported by 12.7% of respondents. The level of understanding of green endoscopy is the only significant factor associated with its acceptance (odds ratio 3.10, P
METHODS: A total of 2319 university students were recruited from mainland China and they completed the TAPAS. Rasch analysis was used to examine the TAPAS' rating scaling functioning, test unidimensionality, item hierarchy, ceiling and floor effects, and differential item functioning (DIF). Moreover, the concurrent validity of the TAPAS was examined using the Weight Self-Stigma Questionnaire (WSSQ), Weight Bias Internalization Scale (WBIS), and body mass index (BMI).
RESULTS: Unidimensionality was confirmed except for one item. Items corresponding to attitude toward physical activity were more easily adopted compared to items corresponding to actual behavioral aspects. No ceiling and floor effects were found. No DIF existed in the TAPAS items. The TAPAS was strongly correlated with both the WSSQ and WBIS, but not BMI.
CONCLUSION: The study showed that overall, the TAPAS has robust psychometric properties. However, future research needs to address the misfit item and explore the feasibility of applying the TAPAS to other populations including wider ethnic groups, age ranges, and life stages.
METHODS: The participants consisted of 612 athletes (310 males, 302 females) aged 12-70 years (mean age = 25.33; SD = 8.99) who were competing in sport competitions at the time, either individually or in a team, or both, and who had formally registered in local, regional, or national sport federations in Malaysia. They completed the Athletic Religious Faith Scale (ARFS) and a self-perceived sport performance questionnaire.
RESULTS: The results showed that religious-psychological factors explain around 21% of the variance in self-perceived sport performance among religious athletes. Only three religious-psychological factors (i.e., religious coping, athletic identity, and religious dietary practices) contributed to the stimulation of self-perceived sport performance; in particular, religious coping was the most predictable factor, whereas the other factors (i.e., dependence on faith, flow, religious mental healing, and religious psychological effects) had no meaningful relationship with self-perceived sport performance.
CONCLUSIONS: This finding suggests that sport psychologists, coaches, and other professionals should consider the importance of religious faith and help religious athletes practice positive religious coping (e.g., religious social support or religious meditation) to enhance athletes' well-being and athletic performance.
DESIGN: This work was conducted using a modified Delphi consensus process. Initial statements were developed by the International Standards and Guidelines for Quality Safe Surgery and Anesthesia Working Group of the Global Alliance for Surgical, Obstetric, Trauma and Anesthesia Care (G4 Alliance) and the International Society of Surgery based on previously published literature and clinical expertise. The Guidance on Conducting and REporting DElphi Studies framework was applied.
SETTING: The Working Group convened in Suva, Fiji for a meeting hosted by the Ministry of Health and Medical Services to develop the initial statements. Local experts were invited to participate. The modified Delphi process was conducted through an electronically administered anonymised survey.
PARTICIPANTS: Expert LMIC surgeons were nominated for participation in the modified Delphi process based on criteria developed by the Working Group.
PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The consensus panel voted on statements regarding the organisation of surgical services, principles for scale-up and prioritisation of scale-up. Statements reached consensus if there was ≥80% agreement among participants.
RESULTS: Fifty-three nominated experts from 27 LMICs voted on 27 statements in two rounds. Ultimately, 26 statements reached consensus and comprise the current recommendations. The statements covered three major themes: which surgical services should be decentralised or regionalised; how the implementation of these services should be prioritised; and principles to guide LMIC governments and international visiting teams in scaling up safe, accessible and affordable surgical care.
CONCLUSIONS: These recommendations represent the first step towards the development of international guidelines for the scaling up of surgical services in LMICs. They constitute the best available basis for policymaking, planning and allocation of resources for strengthening surgical systems.
METHODS: Thirty-four participants completed up to 10 ecological momentary assessment surveys before, during and after 63 AFL games (n = 437 completed surveys). Surveys collected data about their drinking, and their social and environmental milieu (e.g., location, company). Binary logistic regression analyses clustered by participant identified which game-day characteristics were associated with higher odds of risky single occasion drinking. Significant differences between pre-game, during-game and post-game drinking on social and environmental factors were explored using pairwise comparisons.
RESULTS: Risky single occasion drinking was more likely when games began in the early-afternoon (1-3 pm) than late-afternoon (3-6 pm), when participants watched the game at a stadium or pub compared to home, and when participants watched the game with friends compared to family. Pre-drinking was more likely before night games and post-drinking was more likely after day games. Drinking during the game was heavier when watching the game at a pub and when watching with a combined group of friends and family.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary findings suggest that social and contextual factors matter in the way alcohol is consumed while watching AFL games. These findings require further investigation in larger samples.