METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from 27 May 2020 to 17 June 2020 using the convenient sampling technique in the general population of Pakistan. Data were collected by designing an online questionnaire consisting of demographic information, knowledge, attitude perceptions, barriers, utilization, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on telemedicine.
RESULTS: Of the 602 participants included in the study, 70.1% had heard about telemedicine, 54.3% had a good understanding of the definition of "telemedicine," 81.4% had not used telemedicine in the past, 29.9% did not know that telemedicine was available before the COVID-19 pandemic, and 70.4% responded that the COVID-19 pandemic had changed their attitudes toward telemedicine. Gender (p = 0.017) and family income (p = 0.027) had a significant association with the perception of the benefits of telemedicine.
CONCLUSION: The knowledge and usage of telemedicine are lacking due to inadequate awareness and technology. The need of the hour is to maximize the application of telemedicine to overcome the deficiencies of the healthcare system. Hence, it is essential to increase awareness through various means and develop an appropriate infrastructure to attain maximum benefits from telehealth services.
METHOD: Between September and December 2020, a health questionnaire was administered via telephone to n = 250 migrants from Venezuela. Descriptive statistics summarized the constructs of Andersen's Behavioral Model. The model comprised of predisposing factors including migrants' social characteristics; enabling factors namely monthly earnings, education level and most trusted source of information on medical needs; need for care factors such as migrants self-reported health status, presence of non-communicable health conditions and having visited a doctor in the past 12 months; and the outcome variables which were migrants' decisions to seek public and private health services. Pearson χ2 tests, odds ratios and multivariable logistic regression with backward elimination examined the factors influencing a migrant's decision to seek health services.
RESULTS: Overall, 66.8% of migrants reported they would seek public health services, while 22.4% indicated they would seek private health services. Predisposing factors namely length of time residing in Trinidad and Tobago (p = 0.031) and living with family/friends (p = 0.049); the enabling factor of receiving information from publicly available sources (p = 0.037); and the need for care factor of visiting a doctor for a physical health problem (p = 0.010) were significant correlates of their decision to seek care in the public sector. Predisposing factors namely living with family/friends (p = 0.020) and the enabling factor of having difficulty accessing healthcare services (p = 0.045) were significant correlates of their decision to seek care from private providers.
DISCUSSION: Our findings demonstrated the positive association between social networks and a migrant's decision to use public and private health services, thus underscoring the importance of family and friends in facilitating health service use, promoting proper health practices and preventing diseases. Overall, the use of Andersen's Behavioral Model aided in identifying the factors associated with the use of health services by Venezuelan migrants in Trinidad and Tobago. However, further studies are needed to better understand their need for ongoing care, to inform policy, and to plan targeted health interventions for addressing the gaps in health service access, barriers and use.
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this systematic review is to determine the effect of brisk walking on the elderly's health-related physical fitness, balance, and life satisfaction.
DESIGN: We conducted a comprehensive search from the PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus databases from January to September 2021. We selected studies through PICOS and conducted a systematic literature review according to the PRISMA guidelines.
RESULTS: Thirteen studies met all criteria; 11 were classed as low risk of bias, while two were classified as high risk of bias. Generally, brisk walking has been shown to improve cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, and body composition. Limited evidence was presented on flexibility, muscular endurance and development and life satisfaction, and there was conflicting evidence on balance. Moreover, evidence of restriction proves that high-intensity (80-85%) brisk walking is more effective than moderate-intensity (60-75%) brisk walking on the aerobic capacity of the elderly. Furthermore, there was less research conducted on males.
CONCLUSION: Brisk walking has been shown to improve cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, and body composition. Other outcomes (balance, flexibility, muscular endurance, and life satisfaction) and the impact of the intensity of brisk walking on the elderly should be confirmed. Therefore, there remains insufficient research on brisk walking, while single brisk walking cannot meet requirements of elderly in terms of their health-related physical fitness, balance, and life satisfaction. Future research should aim to examine the effectiveness of combining several types of exercises to promote general health in the elderly, as the World Health Organization recommends. Unintelligible FITT (frequency, intensity, time, type) principles of brisk walking training should be trenched for the results of scientific and effective physical exercise.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to translate and adapt cross-culturally the OHLI into French, to evaluate its psychometric properties and to compare its results to oral health knowledge.
METHOD: This study followed and applied well-established processes of translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation, based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization guidelines and on the Consensus-Based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) study design checklist for patient-reported outcomes. Two psychometric assessments were planned, the comparison of OHLI-F scores according to education level and frequency of dental visits, and the test-retest reliability of the OHLI-F.
RESULTS: A total of 284 participants answered the OHLI-F. The OHLI-F scores were significantly different between participants with different levels of education and frequency of dental visits (p
METHODS: In this umbrella review, we searched four databases (Pubmed, Embase, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Epistemonikos) from database inception to April 2022. The methodological quality of each meta-analysis was assessed using the Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews, version 2 (AMSTAR-2). The strength of evidence of the associations between race and ethnicity with outcomes was ranked according to established criteria as convincing, highly suggestive, suggestive, weak, or non-significant. The study protocol was registered with PROSPERO, CRD42022336805.
RESULTS: Of 880 records screened, we selected seven meta-analyses for evidence synthesis, with 42 associations examined. Overall, 10 of 42 associations were statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05). Two associations were highly suggestive, two were suggestive, and two were weak, whereas the remaining 32 associations were non-significant. The risk of COVID-19 infection was higher in Black individuals compared to White individuals (risk ratio, 2.08, 95% Confidence Interval (CI), 1.60-2.71), which was supported by highly suggestive evidence; with the conservative estimates from the sensitivity analyses, this association remained suggestive. Among those infected with COVID-19, Hispanic individuals had a higher risk of COVID-19 hospitalization than non-Hispanic White individuals (odds ratio, 2.08, 95% CI, 1.60-2.70) with highly suggestive evidence which remained after sensitivity analyses.
CONCLUSION: Individuals of Black and Hispanic groups had a higher risk of COVID-19 infection and hospitalization compared to their White counterparts. These associations of race and ethnicity and COVID-19 outcomes existed more obviously in the pre-hospitalization stage. More consideration should be given in this stage for addressing health inequity.
METHODS: This study adopted the instructional design framework of the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation (ADDIE) model to guide the design and development of the functional training program. After development, the program was implemented and evaluated.
RESULTS: The results showed the program aroused students' interest and significantly improved students' physical fitness.
CONCLUSION: This study showed the usefulness of functional training in improving the physical fitness of primary school students. In addition, it provided a reference for how to use functional training in conjunction with the physical education syllabus.