METHODS: A cross-sectional, facility-based, concurrent mixed-methods study was carried out in seven health facilities in the Kailali, Baglung, and Ilam districts of Nepal. A total of 822 beneficiaries, sampled using probability proportional to size (PPS), attending health care institutions, were interviewed using a structured questionnaire for quantitative data. A total of seven focus group discussions (FGDs) and 12 in-depth interviews (IDIs), taken purposefully, were conducted with beneficiaries and service providers, using guidelines, respectively. Quantitative data were entered into Epi-data and analyzed with SPSS, MS-Excel, and Epitools, an online statistical calculator. Manual thematic analysis with predefined themes was carried out for qualitative data. Percentage, frequency, mean, and median were used to describe the variables, and the Chi-square test and binary logistic regression were used to infer the findings. We then combined the qualitative data from beneficiaries' and providers' perceptions, and experiences to explore different aspects of health insurance programs as well as to justify the quantitative findings.
RESULTS AND PROSPECTS: Of a total of 822 respondents (insured-404, uninsured-418), 370 (45%) were men. Families' median income was USD $65.96 (8.30-290.43). The perception of insurance premiums did not differ between the insured and uninsured groups (p = 0.53). Similarly, service utilization (OR = 220.4; 95% CI, 123.3-393.9) and accessibility (OR = 74.4; 95% CI, 42.5-130.6) were found to have high odds among the insured as compared to the uninsured respondents. Qualitative findings showed that the coverage and service quality were poor. Enrollment was gaining momentum despite nearly a one-tenth (9.1%) dropout rate. Moreover, different aspects, including provider-beneficiary communication, benefit packages, barriers, and ways to go, are discussed. Additionally, we also argue for some alternative health insurance schemes and strategies that may have possible implications in our contexts.
CONCLUSION: Although enrollment is encouraging, adherence is weak, with a considerable dropout rate and poor renewal. Patient management strategies and insurance education are recommended urgently. Furthermore, some alternate schemes and strategies may be considered.
METHODS: An online questionnaire was distributed randomly to 1,050 HCWs from the Ministry of Health facilities in the Klang Valley who were involved directly in managing or screening COVID-19 cases from May to August 2020. The questionnaire was divided into five domains, which were concerns, impact on life and work, practice, perceived adequacy of preventive measures, and Revised Impact of Event Scale (IES-R). Logistic regression was used to identify sociodemographic predictors of the five domains.
RESULTS: A total of 907 respondents (86.4%) participated in this survey. Approximately half of the respondents had a low concern (50.5%), most of them had a good practice (85.1%), with 67.5% perceiving there were adequate preventive measures, and they perceived the outbreak had a low impact (92%) on their life and work. From the IES-R domain, 18.6% of respondents potentially suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
CONCLUSION: During the second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia, HCWs practiced high levels of precautions and preventive measures because they were aware of the risk of infection as an occupational hazard. With the adequate implementation of policy and control measures, the psychological wellbeing of the majority HCWs remained well and adequately supported.
METHODS: Experimental and observational studies conducted in sub-Saharan Africa between 2000 and 2021 which had quantitatively evaluated the impact of health education interventions on malaria knowledge and ITN usage were included in the review.
RESULTS: A total of 11 studies (20,523 participants) were included. Four studies used educational interventions to teach appropriate ITN strategies and promote ITN usage. Two others focused on improving knowledge of malaria transmission, prevention, treatment, and its signs and symptoms. The remaining five studies assessed both ITN use and malaria knowledge. Of these, 10 were eligible for meta-analysis. On average, the odds of a person in the intervention group reporting better malaria knowledge (odds ratio 1.30, 95% CI: 1.00 to 1.70, p = 0.05) and higher ITN usage (odds ratio 1.53, 95% CI: 1.02 to 2.29, p = 0.004) increased significantly after receiving health education interventions compared to those in the control group. The odds of ITN usage also substantially increased when the interventions were based on a theory or model (odds ratio 5.27, 95% CI: 3.24 to 8.58, p = 0.05).
DISCUSSION: Our review highlights sub-Saharan Africa's various health education strategies to curb malaria over the past two decades. Meta-analysis findings show that health education interventions are moderately effective in improving malaria knowledge and ITN usage and have contributed to the effort of global malaria strategy.
METHODS: We analyzed the collaborative 2019 Rehabilitation Database of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study and World Health Organization for neurological and mental disorders available for 204 countries and territories. Point prevalence and YLDs with 95% uncertainty intervals (UI) are presented.
RESULTS: Globally, 8.1 million (7.1-9.2) or 1.2% of children under 5 years are estimated to have CP with 16.1 million (11.5-21.0) or 2.4% having intellectual disability. Over 98% resided in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). CP and intellectual disability accounted for 6.5% and 4.5% of the aggregate YLDs from all causes of adverse health outcomes respectively. African Region recorded the highest prevalence of CP (1.6%) while South-East Asia Region had the highest prevalence of intellectual disability. The top 10 countries accounted for 57.2% of the global prevalence of CP and 62.0% of the global prevalence of intellectual disability.
CONCLUSION: Based on this Database, CP and intellectual disability are highly prevalent and associated with substantial YLDs among children under 5 years worldwide. Universal early detection and support services are warranted, particularly in LMICs to optimize school readiness for these children toward inclusive education as envisioned by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
METHODS: In this study, a cross-sectional design was employed using the baseline data obtained from the My Body Is Fit and Fabulous at school (MyBFF@school) intervention program involving obese school children. Obesity status was defined using the body mass index (BMI) z-score from the World Health Organization (WHO) growth chart. Cardiometabolic risk factors presented in this study included fasting plasma glucose (FPG), triglycerides (TGs), total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), blood pressure, acanthosis nigricans, insulin resistance (IR), and MetS. MetS was defined using the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) 2007 criteria. Descriptive data were presented accordingly. The association between cardiometabolic risk factors, such as obesity status, and acanthosis nigricans with MetS was measured using multivariate logistic regression, which was adjusted for gender, ethnicity, and strata.
RESULTS: Out of 924 children, 38.4% (n = 355) were overweight, 43.6% (n = 403) were obese, and 18% (n = 166) were severely obese. The overall mean age was 9.9 ± 0.8 years. The prevalence of hypertension, high FPG, hypertriglyceridemia, low HDL-C, and the presence of acanthosis nigricans among severely children affected by obesity was 1.8%, 5.4%, 10.2%, 42.8%, and 83.7%, respectively. The prevalence of children affected by obesity who were at risk of MetS in <10-year-old and MetS >10-year-old was observed to be similar at 4.8%. Severely children affected by obesity had higher odds of high FPG [odds ratio (OR) = 3.27; 95% confdence interval (CI) 1.12, 9.55], hypertriglyceridemia (OR = 3.50; 95%CI 1.61, 7.64), low HDL-C (OR = 2.65; 95%CI 1.77, 3.98), acanthosis nigricans (OR = 13.49; 95%CI 8.26, 22.04), IR (OR = 14.35; 95%CI 8.84, 23.30), and MetS (OR = 14.03; 95%CI 3.97, 49.54) compared to overweight and children affected by obesity. The BMI z-score, waist circumference (WC), and percentage body fat showed a significant correlation with triglycerides, HDL-C, the TG: HDL-C ratio, and the homeostatic model assessment for IR (HOMA-IR) index.
CONCLUSIONS: Severely children affected by obesity exhibit a higher prevalence of and are more likely to develop cardiometabolic risk factors compared to overweight and children affected by obesity. This group of children should be monitored closely and screened periodically for obesity-related health problems to institute early and comprehensive intervention.
METHOD: Several research methodologies were incorporated into the current study, and a review was carried out using PRISMA as a guide. The publications for this study were chosen from two prominent databases, Scopus and Web of Science. All of the studies were assessed, reviewed, and evaluated independently by two reviewers. The meta-analysis tool, Review Manager (RevMan Copenhagen Version 5.4.1), was used to record the extracted data for the meta-analysis. Moran's I 2 and a funnel plot were utilized to measure heterogeneity, and publication bias was investigated. A 95% confidence interval (CI) and overall risk difference (RD) were estimated using a random-effects model.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION: As a consequence of the search efforts, a total of 46 articles were selected for inclusion in the systematic review and meta-analysis. This review was divided into five major themes, based on a thematic analysis: (i) hatching rate, (ii) development time, (iii) longevity, (iv) survival rate, and (v) wing morphology. In addition, the development time, survival rate, and wing morphology revealed significantly higher risk differences between the maximum and minimum temperatures (RD: 0.26, 95% CI: 0.16, 0.36; p = < 0.00001; RD: 0.10, 95% CI: 0.05, 0.14; p < 0.0001; and RD: 0.07, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.12; p = 0.006, respectively). This study makes several substantial contributions to the body of knowledge and to practical applications. Finally, a number of recommendations are made at the conclusion of this research for the future reference of researchers.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in three paediatric oncology centres in Malaysia from September 2020 until December 2022. A total of 167 parents were recruited. Parents completed a set of questionnaires to assess their perception on effect of COVID-19 infection to children with cancer and COVID Stress Scale (CSS) to assess the parents' stress level.
RESULTS: Patients' mean age at study entry was 8.75 years (SD 4.38). Ninety-one (54.5%) patients were still on active treatment. More than 80% of the parents obtained information regarding COVID-19 infection from mass media and social networking. Fear of their children contracting COVID-19 infection was high especially among patients who were still on treatment. Forty-nine (29.3%) parents were significantly affected by the pandemic leading to loss of job or monthly income. Twenty-nine (17.4%) patients required treatment modification during the pandemic. The median total score for CSS was 78.0 (IQR 25th 64.0; 75th 95.0). Ninety-one (54.5%) respondents were very/extremely stressed based on the CSS scores. Components with high scores were xenophobia (median score 18.0; IQR 25th 13.0, 75th 22.0), fear of danger (median score 17.0; IQR 25th 14.0, 75th 20.0) and contamination fears (median score 16.0; IQR 25th 12.0, 75th 19.0). Lower household income was associated with higher stress level (p = 0.006).
CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated high awareness regarding risk of COVID-19 infection among parents of oncology children. Half of the parents had high stress level, with low household income identified as a factor associated with high stress level.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among academic health professionals via web-based professional networks from August 2022 to February 2023. Validated tools were used, and descriptive and inferential statistics were applied.
RESULTS: 505 participants were included, predominantly female (63%), with a mean age of 38.15 ± 9.6 years. High burnout was reported by 10.9%, 13.7% experienced exhaustion, and 6.3% were disengaged. Resilience and thriving were moderate at 59.2 and 51.9%, respectively. Age correlated negatively with burnout (r = -0.131, p = 0.003) but positively with resilience (r = 0.178, p