Reducing Dietary Salt to Improve Health in the Americas: Fact Sheet for Healthcare Professionals

2013 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Dietary Salt ◽  
Fact Sheet ◽  
Improve Health

scholarly journals Facing a blind alley - Experiences of stress-related exhaustion: a qualitative study

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. e038230
Author(s):  
Sara Alsén ◽  
Lilas Ali ◽  
Inger Ekman ◽  
Andreas Fors
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Sick Leave ◽  
Personal Identity ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Blind Alley ◽  
Existential Issues ◽  
Frequent Reason ◽  
Improve Health

IntroductionMental illness is a major concern in many countries. In Sweden, stress-related mental illness is currently the most frequent reason for sick leave.ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore patients’ experiences of stress-related exhaustion.DesignA qualitative study with interview data analysed using a phenomenological hermeneutic method.SettingParticipants were selected from public primary healthcare centres in a larger city in western Sweden.ParticipantsSeven women and five men on sick leave from work due to stress-related exhaustion were included in the study.FindingsStress-related exhaustion was experienced as a loss of access to oneself and one’s context and feelings of being trapped and lost in life. The condition had a significant impact on personal identity, raised existential issues and was interpreted as facing a blind alley. Participants described a mistaken direction in life, being forced to stop, change direction and act differently.ConclusionStress-related exhaustion is a challenging, life-changing existential experience that involves a crisis with an opportunity for new insights. Careful consideration of patients’ narratives together with the expertise of healthcare professionals can be combined to improve health and optimise recovery based on individual’s situation.

scholarly journals Sodium Consumption: An Individual's Choice?

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norm R. C. Campbell ◽  
Jillian A. Johnson ◽  
Tavis S. Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Developing Economies ◽  
Behavioural Change ◽  
International Health ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Dietary Salt ◽  
Dominant Source ◽  
International Health Organizations ◽  
Improve Health

Excess intake of dietary salt is estimated to be one of the leading risks to health worldwide. Major national and international health organizations, along with many governments around the world, have called for reductions in the consumption of dietary salt. This paper discusses behavioural and population interventions as mechanisms to reduce dietary salt. In developed countries, salt added during food processing is the dominant source of salt and largely outside of the direct control of individuals. Population-based interventions have the potential to improve health and to be cost saving for these countries. In developing economies, where salt added in cooking and at the table is the dominant source, interventions based on education and behaviour change have been estimated to be highly cost effective. Regardless, countries with either developed or developing economies can benefit from the integration of both population and behavioural change interventions.

scholarly journals ID/HIV Physician Ambassadors: Advancing Policy to Improve Health

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximo O Brito ◽  
Caitlin M Dugdale ◽  
Michelle Collins-Ogle ◽  
Jessica Snowden ◽  
David A Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Access To Health Care ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Access To Health ◽  
Adults And Children ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Hiv Programs ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Improve Health

Abstract ID/HIV physicians and other healthcare professionals advocate within the healthcare system to ensure adults and children receive effective treatment. These advocacy skills can be used to inform domestic and global infectious diseases policies to improve healthcare systems and public health. ID/HIV physicians have a unique frontline perspective to share with federal policymakers regarding how programs and policies benefit patients and public health. Providing this input is critical to the enactment of legislation that will maximize the response to infectious diseases. This article discusses the advocacy of ID/HIV physicians and other healthcare professionals in federal health policy. Key issues include funding for ID/HIV programs; the protection of public health and access to health care; improving research opportunities; and advancing the field of ID/HIV, including supporting the next generation of ID/HIV clinicians. The article also describes best practices for advocacy and provides case studies illustrating the impact of ID/HIV physician advocacy.

scholarly journals ID/HIV Physician Ambassadors: Advancing Policy to Improve Health

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximo O Brito ◽  
Caitlin M Dugdale ◽  
Michelle Collins-Ogle ◽  
Jessica Snowden ◽  
David A Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Access To Health Care ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Access To Health ◽  
Adults And Children ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Hiv Programs ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Improve Health

Abstract ID/HIV physicians and other healthcare professionals advocate within the healthcare system to ensure adults and children receive effective treatment. These advocacy skills can be used to inform domestic and global infectious diseases policies to improve healthcare systems and public health. ID/HIV physicians have a unique frontline perspective to share with federal policymakers regarding how programs and policies benefit patients and public health. Providing this input is critical to the enactment of legislation that will maximize the response to infectious diseases. This article discusses the advocacy of ID/HIV physicians and other healthcare professionals in federal health policy. Key issues include funding for ID/HIV programs; the protection of public health and access to health care; improving research opportunities; and advancing the field of ID/HIV, including supporting the next generation of ID/HIV clinicians. The article also describes best practices for advocacy and provides case studies illustrating the impact of ID/HIV physician advocacy.

scholarly journals DIETARY SALT INTAKE: HISTORY, ASSESSMENT, AND BENEFIT IN HYPERTENSIVE TREATMENT

2016 ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Sunitha Esther Raj ◽  
Lee Mei Tan ◽  
Adyani Md Redzuan
Keyword(s):  
Salt Intake ◽  
Urinary Sodium ◽  
Dietary Sodium ◽  
Dietary Salt ◽  
Dietary Survey ◽  
Pharmacological Management ◽  
Dietary Salt Intake ◽  
Salt Hypertension ◽  
Health Complications ◽  
Improve Health

<p>ABSTRACT<br />Multiple lines of investigation including genetic, epidemiological, and interventional studies have demonstrated consistently a positive relationship<br />between salt intake, blood pressure (BP) increment, and cardiovascular consequences. In addition, it has been documented that excessive salt intake<br />can be attributed to various health complications such as asthma, osteoporosis, obesity, and gastric cancer. On the contrary, a reduction in salt intake<br />has been shown to reduce BP and improve health outcomes, although the evidence is not completely unequivocal. Despite this discrepancy, a lowsodium<br />diet<br />is widely<br />being recommended<br />to<br />all hypertensive<br />patients in<br />particular,<br />as evidence<br />against<br />its efficacy in<br />conjunction with optimum<br />hypertensive<br />treatment<br />is<br />well<br />established.<br />Determination<br />of<br />salt<br />intake<br />among hypertensive<br />patients is important<br />since dietary<br />salt<br />restriction<br />had</p><p>been<br />proven<br />to<br />improve<br />BP control<br />in conjunction with optimum pharmacological management.<br />Various<br />methods<br />have<br />been used to<br />estimate<br />sodium<br />intake<br />includes 24-hrs<br />urinary<br />sodium,<br />overnight<br />urinary sodium,<br />spot<br />urinary sodium/creatinine<br />ratio,<br />and dietary survey<br />methods. Reducing</p><p>population<br />salt<br />intake<br />has been proven<br />to<br />be beneficial, preventing<br />millions<br />of<br />deaths from<br />cardiovascular<br />disease<br />and<br />stroke,<br />and reducing<br />the burden</p><p>on<br />health<br />services.<br />Many<br />individual<br />countries around<br />the globe<br />have<br />already<br />taken<br />action against<br />reducing<br />population<br />salt<br />intake.<br />These strategies</p><p>were<br />either led by<br />government,<br />nongovernment<br />organizations,<br />or industry.<br />Keywords: Dietary sodium, Salt, Hypertension, Sodium measurement, Cost-effectiveness.</p>

scholarly journals Beliefs and Experiences of Individuals Following a Zero-Carb Diet

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 161
Author(s):  
Cleo Protogerou ◽  
Frédéric Leroy ◽  
Martin S. Hagger
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
Dietary Carbohydrates ◽  
Qualitative Survey ◽  
Carb Diet ◽  
Inductive Thematic Analysis ◽  
Improve Health

The adoption of carbohydrate-restrictive diets to improve health is increasing in popularity, but there is a dearth of research on individuals who choose to severely restrict or entirely exclude carbohydrates. The present study investigated the beliefs and experiences of individuals following a diet that severely limits, or entirely excludes, dietary carbohydrates, colloquially known as a ‘zero-carb’ diet, for at least 6 months. Zero-carb dieters (n = 170) recruited via a social networking site completed an online qualitative survey prompting them to discuss their motives, rationale, and experiences of following a low-carb diet. Transcripts of participants’ responses were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Results revealed that participants’ decision to follow a zero-carb diet was driven by health concerns and benefits. Participants expressed a strong social identity and belongingness to online zero-carb communities. Participants reported strong intentions to follow the diet indefinitely. Shortcomings of the diet centered on experienced stigma; lack of support from healthcare providers and significant others; limited access to, and high cost of, foods; and limited scientific data on the diet. Further research into the benefits and shortcomings of zero-carb diets across settings and populations is warranted, and guidelines for healthcare professionals on how to support individuals following a zero-carb diet are needed.

scholarly journals P46 Dose-banding limits for commonly prescribed medications for children in the UK

2020 ◽  
Vol 105 (9) ◽  
pp. e30.2-e31
Author(s):  
Asia N Rashed ◽  
Stephen Tomlin
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Delphi Process ◽  
List Type ◽  
Drug Products ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Drug Doses ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Improve Health ◽  
Paediatric Medicines

AimCurrently, majority of prescribed medication doses are calculated according to a child’s body weight without considering the available drug products for administration or the therapeutic range of the drug. This can lead to lack of consistency in dosing and drug administration errors, which affects many children of all ages treated with medicines.1 There are no established standards for dose-banding in national or international healthcare systems. This project aimed to establish dose-banding limits for paediatric medicines, to be used for prescribing and administering accurate, safe, and effective drug doses.MethodA list of the most common oral prescribed medications was established from the medication dispensing database of four hospitals in the UK. Then the evidence for safe and effective dose ranges for each drug on the list was identified from paediatric reference books, Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) and published literature. After using these data to develop dose bands based on body weight, we used a Delphi process to achieve healthcare professionals’ consensus about the suggested dose bands for each drug on the list.ResultsA total of 45 drugs for 45 specific indications were included. Four categories of dose-banding limits were established; drugs with 2-weight bands; 3-weight bands; 4-weight bands and 5-weight bands. Overall, for 53.3% (24/45) of the included drug, all their suggested dose-banding limits reached consensus after two rounds of Delphi. For 92% (22/24) of them, consensus was achieved on all their suggested bands in the first round. Only for 2 drugs the agreement was achieved after the second round. For the drugs included in 2-weight band and 5-weight band categories, all their suggested dose-banding limits received total consensus after round 1 of the Delphi process. For 9 drugs included in the 4-weight bands category, the agreement was achieved only on either one or two of their suggested dose bands. For 12 drugs, no agreement was reached on any of their suggested bands.ConclusionThe study results provide healthcare professionals with a set of recommended dose-banding limits for commonly prescribed drugs in the UK. These recommended limits could establish the basis for change in clinical practice to improve health care provided for children.AcknowledgementThis work is part of a larger project funded by the Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacists Group.ReferenceRashed AN, Tomlin S, Arenas-Lópes S, et al. Evaluation of the practice of dose-rounding in paediatrics. Int J Pharm Pract 2019 May 29. doi:10.1111/ijpp.12549. [Epub ahead of print]

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