METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 225 adults recruited from 9 East and Southeast Asian countries or regions (Indonesia, Japan, Korea, mainland China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand). Trained interviewers conducted semistructured interviews with 25 participants from the general population of each country/region. Qualitative data were analyzed using a content analysis approach. The selection of items was determined based on interview surveys and team member discussions. The description of items was considered based on a detailed qualitative analysis of the interview survey.
RESULTS: A new region-specific PBM-the Asia PBM 7 dimensions instrument-was designed. It reflects East and Southeast Asian values and comprises 7 items: pain, mental health, energy, mobility, work/school, interpersonal interactions, and burden to others.
CONCLUSIONS: The new region-specific instrument is one of the first PBMs developed in the context of non-Western countries. The Asia PBM 7 dimensions contains 7 items that address the core concepts of health-related quality of life that are deemed important based on East and Southeast Asian health concepts.
METHODS: Data were collected by manually recording of aired advertisements from 16 non-school days (July to September 2020) and 16 school days (January to April 2021). Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were used to assess children's rates of exposure to food advertisements (mean ± SD of advertisements aired per channel per hour), the healthiness of promoted foods (as permitted (healthier) or not permitted (unhealthy) according to nutrient profiling models from the World Health Organization), and persuasive techniques used in food advertisements, including promotional characters and premium offers.
RESULTS: The results show that the rates of exposure to food advertisements were higher during school days (14.6 ± 14.8) than on non-school days (11.9 ± 12.0) (p
METHODS: A microsimulation decision tree model was used to model the ACT NOW intervention (including annual clinical breast examination (CBE) and biannual breast ultrasound for women at high risk of breast cancer) over 5 years for healthy women 40-69 years old. Outcomes included health gains (breast cancer deaths saved), financial protection (financial catastrophes saved) and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) (cost per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) saved). Outcomes were stratified by income group. Probabilistic, one-way sensitivity and scenario analyses explored uncertainty.
RESULTS: Over 5 years, the ACT NOW intervention is cost-effective with an ICER of PHP60 711 (USD1098) (average incremental cost PHP743 [95% UI 424-960] and DALYs saved 0.01 [95% UI 0.01-0.02], below Philippines 2022 gross domestic product per capita PHP178 751). Per 100 000 women, 57 deaths and eight financial catastrophes were saved. Cost-effectiveness did not vary significantly by income, but higher income groups incurred greater costs and lower DALYs. Results were sensitive to proportion of late-stage breast cancers post intervention, treatment adherence, intervention costs and downstaging effectiveness. Trade-offs are apparent between government contributions to financial protection and rates of financial catastrophe.
CONCLUSIONS: Early detection interventions (annual CBE, biannual breast ultrasound if at high risk of breast cancer) are likely to be cost-effective, reduce breast cancer-related mortality through detection at earlier stages and modestly effective in reducing the incidence of financial catastrophe. Further research is required to establish the best implementation model to pursue full implementation and ways of designing equity-based screening interventions.
RESULTS: Using Open Data Kit GeoODK, we designed and piloted an electronic questionnaire for rolling cross sectional surveys of health facility attendees as part of a malaria elimination campaign in two predominantly rural sites in the Rizal, Palawan, the Philippines and Kulon Progo Regency, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The majority of health workers were able to use the tablets effectively, including locating participant households on electronic maps. For all households sampled (n = 603), health facility workers were able to retrospectively find the participant household using the Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates and data collected by tablet computers. Median distance between actual house locations and points collected on the tablet was 116 m (IQR 42-368) in Rizal and 493 m (IQR 258-886) in Kulon Progo Regency. Accuracy varied between health facilities and decreased in less populated areas with fewer prominent landmarks.
CONCLUSIONS: Results demonstrate the utility of this approach to develop real-time high-resolution maps of disease in resource-poor environments. This method provides an attractive approach for quickly obtaining spatial information on individuals presenting at health facilities in resource poor areas where formal addresses are unavailable and internet connectivity is limited. Further research is needed on how to integrate these with other health data management systems and implement in a wider operational context.
OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study is to provide advanced surveillance metrics for COVID-19 transmission that account for speed, acceleration, jerk, persistence, and weekly shifts, to better understand country risk for explosive growth and those countries who are managing the pandemic successfully. Existing surveillance coupled with our dynamic metrics of transmission will inform health policy to control the COVID-19 pandemic until an effective vaccine is developed. We provide novel indicators to measure disease transmission.
METHODS: Using a longitudinal trend analysis study design, we extracted 330 days of COVID-19 data from public health registries. We used an empirical difference equation to measure the daily number of cases in East Asia and the Pacific as a function of the prior number of cases, the level of testing, and weekly shift variables based on a dynamic panel model that was estimated using the generalized method of moments approach by implementing the Arellano-Bond estimator in R.
RESULTS: The standard surveillance metrics for Indonesia, the Philippines, and Myanmar were concerning as they had the largest new caseloads at 4301, 2588, and 1387, respectively. When looking at the acceleration of new COVID-19 infections, we found that French Polynesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines had rates at 3.17, 0.22, and 0.06 per 100,000. These three countries also ranked highest in terms of jerk at 15.45, 0.10, and 0.04, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: Two of the most populous countries in East Asia and the Pacific, Indonesia and the Philippines, have alarming surveillance metrics. These two countries rank highest in new infections in the region. The highest rates of speed, acceleration, and positive upwards jerk belong to French Polynesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, and may result in explosive growth. While all countries in East Asia and the Pacific need to be cautious about reopening their countries since outbreaks are likely to occur in the second wave of COVID-19, the country of greatest concern is the Philippines. Based on standard and enhanced surveillance, the Philippines has not gained control of the COVID-19 epidemic, which is particularly troubling because the country ranks 4th in population in the region. Without extreme and rigid social distancing, quarantines, hygiene, and masking to reverse trends, the Philippines will remain on the global top 5 list of worst COVID-19 outbreaks resulting in high morbidity and mortality. The second wave will only exacerbate existing conditions and increase COVID-19 transmissions.
AIMS AND METHODS: Global Adult Tobacco Survey data from Indonesia (2021), Kazakhstan (2019), and the Philippines (2021) were analyzed. The weighted prevalence rates and 95% CI of EC and HTP awareness, current use, and ever use, and their distribution by cigarette smoking status were calculated. Binary logistic regression analyses assessed socioeconomic, and tobacco control factors associated with EC and HTP use.
RESULTS: The prevalence (%) of EC awareness, ever use and current use were 48.7-69.4, 3.6-8.8, and 1.9-3.0, respectively. The prevalence(%) of HTP awareness, ever use and current use were 2.7-21.7, 0.2-2.1, and 0.1-1.2, respectively. The main reasons for EC and HTP use were attractive flavors(45.8%-73.9%), less harmful than smoking(23.0%-70.1%), and enjoyment(40.8%-76.7%). Avoiding going back to smoking(0.9%-54.4%) and quitting smoking(19.4%-49.8%) were less frequently cited reasons (except in the Philippines). EC/HTP use was associated with younger age, higher education and wealth, current/past smoking, exposure to information about the dangers of tobacco use, and advertisements about tobacco products and smoke-free rules at home.
CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of EC and HTP use was higher among younger men with higher education and wealth, and current/past smoking. EC and HTP use should be closely monitored. Regulations to restrict the widespread marketing and sales of EC and HTP are needed to prevent the escalation of their use.
IMPLICATIONS: The population-level data provide the benchmark for future monitoring use of e-cigarettes and HTPs and identify population subgroups for future surveillance in low- and middle-income countries. The association of EC/HTP use with tobacco control-related factors provides leads for policies that should be formulated and implemented to regulate the product contents, marketing, and sales of EC and HTP.