scholarly journals Talk weight: an observational study of communication about patient weight in primary care consultations

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (03) ◽  
pp. 309-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Laidlaw ◽  
Calum McHale ◽  
Heather Locke ◽  
Jo Cecil

BackgroundObesity is a major public health issue and primary care practitioners are well placed to opportunistically raise the issue of overweight or obesity with their patients.Aim and methodsThis study investigated the prevalence of weight discussion in primary care consultations with overweight and obese patients, in a practice in Fife, Scotland, and described weight-related communication using video analysis.FindingsWeight was raised in 25% of consultations with overweight and obese patients. GPs initiated weight discussion more often than patients; however, these attempts were often blocked by patients. Weight-related outcomes were more common when patients initiated the weight discussion. This study confirms the potential of video analysis for understanding primary care weight discussion. It also suggests that GPs may benefit from a communication-based intervention to tackle patient blocking behaviours and contributes to the evidence suggesting that interventions targeted to increase the prevalence of weight-related discussions with their patients are needed.

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 573-573
Author(s):  
A.E. Ribeiro ◽  
M. Santos

Despite Goa's privileged economic and environmental position, research has demonstrated that mental health is in fact a major public health issue in this Indian state.Besides learning difficulties, child abuse, and high suicide rates, depression and anxiety seem to affect more than one third of the patients in primary care attenders. Medically unexplained physical symptoms are common clinical features, frequently misdiagnosed by the primary care physicians. Alcohol consumption has always been an integral part of Goan lifestyle, with alcohol dependence being a major public health issue. Drug abuse, in particular heroin and more recently LSD and ecstasy, are of concern in the coastal areas, and foreign influence might not be the only explanation for this fact.Goa has one of the most extensive health systems in India. Private psychiatry is also relatively well represented, and fortunately there are some NGOs working in this field, providing care in areas where government services have been inadequate.Despite those facts, the majority of persons with mental health disorders have never come in contact with mental health care providers. Persons prefer to consult non-mental health professionals, and frequently continue to seek help from Religious and Spiritual Leaders, Informal Counsellors, priests and Gurus with healing powers. Many of such practices are unregulated, expensive and potentially dangerous.Priority mental health issues in Goa include sensitizing health workers to mental illnesses, and improving access to care in existing health services.


2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Yuh Leong ◽  
Louis Tong

Dry eye, a visually disabling disease that has been reported to be a major public health issue in many countries, is known to induce a significant decrease in quality of life. In this report, we aim to compile information on the investigators of dry eye that published most frequently in peer reviewed scientific journals and the publications in Asia and Europe.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Liu ◽  
Youlin Long ◽  
Yifan Cheng ◽  
Qiong Guo ◽  
Liu Yang ◽  
...  

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is a major public health issue and challenge to health professionals. In similar epidemics, nurses experienced more distress than other providers.Methods: We surveyed both on-duty nurses caring for infected patients and second-line nurses caring for uninfected patients from Hubei and other provinces throughout China.Results: We received completed surveys from 1,364 nurses from 22 provinces: 658 front-line and 706 second-line nurses. The median (IQR) GHQ-28 score of all nurses was 17 (IQR 11–24). The overall incidence of mild-to-moderate distress (GHQ score > 5) was 28%; that for severe distress (GHQ score > 11) was 6%. The incidence of mild-to-moderate distress in the second-line nurses was higher than that in the front-line nurses (31 vs. 25%; OR, 0.74; 95 CI, 0.58–0.94). Living alone (OR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44–0.86) and feeling supported (OR, 0.82, 95% CI, 0.74–0.90) independently predicted lower anxiety.Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the psychological problems of all nurses were generally serious. The interviewed second-line nurses face more serious issues than the front-line nurses.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (17) ◽  
pp. 8169
Author(s):  
Domenico Iacopetta

Cancer is a reputed non-communicable disease, namely a non-transmittable illness affecting humankind, which represents a major public health issue and is one of the leading causes of death worldwide [...]


Author(s):  
James McKivigan ◽  
Gregory Gilmour

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a major public health issue in the United States that accounts for approximately 50% of poisoning cases in the nation each year and around 50,000 emergency room visits. In most instances of CO poisoning, the culprit is a malfunctioning or poorly tended heating system within the home or, occasionally, commercial building, which causes the system to leak this hazardous gas. One of the more insidious aspects of CO poisoning is that the gas is odorless and colorless, and victims of CO poisoning often do not realize that there is a problem until they begin to experience the effects of poisoning and have no choice but to seek medical attention. Unfortunately, many victims of CO poisoning die before they are able to seek treatment. This paper makes use of a qualitative, systematic literature review to examine the four major parts of the brain that are most severely affected by CO poisoning. Overall, the literature review showed that the white matter, globus pallidus, basal ganglia, and cortex are the parts of the brain most severely impacted by CO poisoning. While many CO poisoning victims do make it to the hospital on time and are treated, they may nonetheless suffer long-term neurological consequences as a result of their exposure. As such, CO poisoning is a major public health issue.


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