scholarly journals Food and nutrition assistance activities at emergency shelters and survivors’ homes after the Great East Japan earthquake, and longitudinal changes in vulnerable groups needing special assistance

2021 ◽  
pp. 102598
Author(s):  
Nobuyo Tsuboyama-Kasaoka ◽  
Sakiko Ueda ◽  
Kazuko Ishikawa-Takata
Keyword(s):  
Great East Japan Earthquake ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Longitudinal Changes ◽  
Emergency Shelters ◽  
Food And Nutrition ◽  
Nutrition Assistance

Survey of Preventable Disaster Deaths at Medical Institutions in Areas Affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake: Retrospective Survey of Medical Institutions in Miyagi Prefecture

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 515-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Yamanouchi ◽  
Hiroyuki Sasaki ◽  
Hisayoshi Kondo ◽  
Tomohiko Mase ◽  
Yasuhiro Otomo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Support ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
Medical Intervention ◽  
Great East Japan Earthquake ◽  
Medical Resources ◽  
Retrospective Survey ◽  
Emergency Shelters ◽  
Medical Institutions ◽  
Miyagi Prefecture

AbstractIntroductionIn 2015, the authors reported the results of a preliminary investigation of preventable disaster deaths (PDDs) at medical institutions in areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake (2011). This initial survey considered only disaster base hospitals (DBHs) and hospitals that had experienced at least 20 patient deaths in Miyagi Prefecture (Japan); therefore, hospitals that experienced fewer than 20 patient deaths were not investigated. This was an additional study to the previous survey to better reflect PDD at hospitals across the entire prefecture.MethodOf the 147 hospitals in Miyagi Prefecture, the 14 DBHs and 82 non-DBHs that agreed to participate were included in an on-site survey. A database was created based on the medical records of 1,243 patient deaths that occurred between March 11, 2011 and April 1, 2011, followed by determination of their status as PDDs.ResultsA total of 125 cases of PDD were identified among the patients surveyed. The rate of PDD was significantly higher at coastal hospitals than inland hospitals (17.3% versus 6.3%; P<.001). Preventable disaster deaths in non-DBHs were most numerous in facilities with few general beds, especially among patients hospitalized before the disaster in hospitals with fewer than 100 beds. Categorized by area, the most frequent causes of PDD were: insufficient medical resources, disrupted lifelines, delayed medical intervention, and deteriorated environmental conditions in homes and emergency shelters in coastal areas; and were delayed medical intervention and disrupted lifelines in inland areas. Categorized by hospital function, the most frequent causes were: delayed medical intervention, deteriorated environmental conditions in homes and emergency shelters, and insufficient medical resources at DBHs; while those at non-DBHs were disrupted lifelines, insufficient medical resources, delayed medical intervention, and lack of capacity for transport within the area.Conclusion:Preventable disaster death at medical institutions in areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred mainly at coastal hospitals with insufficient medical resources, disrupted lifelines, delayed medical intervention, and deteriorated environmental conditions in homes and emergency shelters constituting the main contributing factors. Preventing PDD, in addition to strengthening organizational support and functional enhancement of DBHs, calls for the development of business continuity plans (BCPs) for medical facilities in directly affected areas, including non-DBHs.YamanouchiS, SasakiH, KondoH, MaseT, OtomoY, KoidoY, KushimotoS. Survey of preventable disaster deaths at medical institutions in areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake: retrospective survey of medical institutions in Miyagi Prefecture. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(5):515–522.

scholarly journals ADDietCoach - A Personalized Virtual Diet Coach for Alzheimer’s Disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
General Health ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Use Cases ◽  
Context Aware ◽  
Food And Nutrition ◽  
Nutrition Assistance

The aging population worldwide is expected to increase the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease. As there is no medical curative treatment for this disease to date, alternative treatments have been applied to improve the patient’s brain and general health. One of these efforts includes providing Alzheimer’s patients with proper food and nutrition. In this paper, we propose a knowledge-powered personalized virtual coach to provide diet and nutrition assistance to patients of Alzheimer’s and/or their informal caregivers. The virtual coach is built on top of an ontology-enhanced knowledge base containing knowledge about patients, Alzheimer’s disease, food, and nutrition. Semantics-based searching and reasoning are performed on the knowledgebase to get personalized context-aware recommendation and education about healthy eating for Alzheimer’s patients. The proposed system has been implemented as a mobile application. Evaluation based on use cases has demonstrated the usefulness of this tool.

Survey of Preventable Disaster Death at Medical Institutions in Areas Affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake: A Retrospective Preliminary Investigation of Medical Institutions in Miyagi Prefecture

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Yamanouchi ◽  
Hiroyuki Sasaki ◽  
Miho Tsuruwa ◽  
Yuzuru Ueki ◽  
Yoshitaka Kohayagawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
Medical Intervention ◽  
Great East Japan Earthquake ◽  
Medical Resources ◽  
Emergency Shelters ◽  
Medical Institutions ◽  
Miyagi Prefecture ◽  
Common Causes

AbstractProblemThe 2011, magnitude (M) 9, Great East Japan Earthquake and massive tsunami caused widespread devastation and left approximately 18,500 people dead or missing. The incidence of preventable disaster death (PDD) during the Great East Japan Earthquake remains to be clarified; the present study investigated PDD at medical institutions in areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake in order to improve disaster medical systems.MethodsA total of 25 hospitals in Miyagi Prefecture (Japan) that were disaster base hospitals (DBHs), or had at least 20 patient deaths between March 11, 2011 and April 1, 2011, were selected to participate based on the results of a previous study. A database was created using the medical records of all patient deaths (n=868), and PDD was determined from discussion with 10 disaster health care professionals.ResultsA total of 102 cases of PDD were identified at the participating hospitals. The rate of PDD was higher at coastal hospitals compared to inland hospitals (62/327, 19.0% vs 40/541, 7.4%; P<.01). No difference was observed in overall PDD rates between DBHs and general hospitals (GHs); however, when analysis was limited to cases with an in-hospital cause of PDD, the PDD rate was higher at GHs compared to DBHs (24/316, 7.6% vs 21/552, 3.8%; P<.05). The most common causes of PDD were: insufficient medical resources, delayed medical intervention, disrupted lifelines, deteriorated environmental conditions in homes and emergency shelters at coastal hospitals, and delayed medical intervention at inland hospitals. Meanwhile, investigation of PDD causes based on type of medical institution demonstrated that, while delayed medical intervention and deteriorated environmental conditions in homes and emergency shelters were the most common causes at DBHs, insufficient medical resources and disrupted lifelines were prevalent causes at GHs.ConclusionPreventable disaster death at medical institutions in areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred mainly at coastal hospitals. Insufficient resources (at GHs), environmental factors (at coastal hospitals), and delayed medical intervention (at all hospitals) constituted the major potential contributing factors. Further investigation of all medical institutions in Miyagi Prefecture, including those with fewer than 20 patient deaths, is required in order to obtain a complete picture of the details of PDD at medical institutions in the disaster area.YamanouchiS, SasakiH, TsuruwaM, UekiY, KohayagawaY, KondoH, OtomoY, KoidoY, KushimotoS. Survey of preventable disaster death at medical institutions in areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake: a retrospective preliminary investigation of medical institutions in Miyagi Prefecture. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2015;30(2):1-7.

scholarly journals Adolescent Voices and Perspectives on Food and Nutrition: Feasibility of an Innovative Participatory Methodology

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 744-744
Author(s):  
Catharine Fleming ◽  
Juliano Diniz De Oliveira ◽  
Virginia Schmied ◽  
la Girish La ◽  
Deepika Sharma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Distributed Data ◽  
Window Of Opportunity ◽  
Food And Nutrition

Abstract Objectives Adolescence presents a window of opportunity for establishing lifelong dietary habits that support nutritional well-being today and for future generations. The aim of this study was to explore an innovative highly participatory qualitative methodology to capture adolescents’ food and nutrition perspectives and lived experiences. Adolescence presents a window of opportunity for establishing lifelong dietary habits that support nutritional well-being today and for future generations. The aim of this study was to explore an innovative highly participatory qualitative methodology to capture adolescents’ food and nutrition perspectives and lived experiences. Methods Adolescents’ experiences of food and nutrition were collected through a distributed data gathering approach, based on a process in which participants completed creative participatory workshop-based qualitative activities that explored the participants’ lived experiences. This methodology allowed for adaptation and administration of the study across 18 countries. The workshop manual included diverse participatory activities to collect food and nutrition information on dietary intake, body image, influences on food choices, food environments, barriers to healthy eating, and solutions voiced by adolescents. All workshop data were digitised and uploaded to a secure online repository for analysis by researchers. Qualitative thematic coding and quantitative dietary analyses based on the NOVA classification system were used for analysis. After each workshop, facilitators completed a short open-ended questionnaire to provide feedback on workshop activities. Results Thirty-seven workshops were successfully completed with 656 adolescents across 18 countries and 5 world regions. Workshops included a diverse sample of adolescents, together with highly vulnerable groups such as displaced refugees in Sudan. The application of a distributed data gathering methodology was found to effectively engage adolescents in openly discussing their own food and nutrition experiences. Conclusions The highly innovative distribute data methodological approach allowed adolescent to express their food and nutrition needs and wants, which is key for better understanding of diverse perspectives and experiences to improving policies and programs. Funding Sources UNICEF.

scholarly journals ADDietCoach

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Rasha Hendawi ◽  
Juan Li ◽  
Shadi Alian
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
General Health ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Use Cases ◽  
Context Aware ◽  
Food And Nutrition ◽  
Nutrition Assistance

The aging population worldwide is expected to increase the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease. As there is no medical curative treatment for this disease to date, alternative treatments have been applied to improve the patient's brain and general health. One of these efforts includes providing Alzheimer's patients with proper food and nutrition. In this paper, the authors propose a knowledge-powered personalized virtual coach to provide diet and nutrition assistance to patients of Alzheimer's and/or their informal caregivers. The virtual coach is built on top of an ontology-enhanced knowledge base containing knowledge about patients, Alzheimer's disease, food, and nutrition. Semantics-based searching and reasoning are performed on the knowledge base to get personalized context-aware recommendation and education about healthy eating for Alzheimer's patients. The proposed system has been implemented as a mobile application. Evaluation based on use cases has demonstrated the usefulness of this tool.

Hunger, Nutrition, and Food Programs

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristine Siefert
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
High Standard ◽  
The United States ◽  
Assistance Programs ◽  
Adequate Funding ◽  
Food And Nutrition ◽  
Nutrition Assistance ◽  
Nutrition Assistance Programs

Food insecurity and hunger are serious problems around the world, with an estimated 870 million people chronically undernourished. The vast majority of these people—an estimated 14.9%—live in developing countries. Although federal food and nutrition assistance programs and the generally high standard of living in the United States have eliminated the more extreme forms of hunger found in developing countries, less severe but nonetheless serious forms of hunger and food insecurity affect millions of households. Food and nutrition programs require adequate funding, increased access, and further evaluation, but to achieve the goals of ending hunger and assuring food security for all, multisectoral strategies that address the macro-level determinants of food security are needed.

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