Cross-sectional study of characteristics of clinical registries in Australia: a resource for clinicians and policy makers

Purpose: To estimate the extent of WhatsApp utilization using text and media messages for inter-physician consultations among ophthalmologists (residents and specialists) at various clinical settings and its perceived benefits for ophthalmologists and their patients. We also aimed to detect obstacles that concern ophthalmologists when using WhatsApp as a consultation platform. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using a self-administered survey through Google Forms, which was sent to 660 practicing ophthalmologists during April to May 2020. Results: One hundred and ninety-two ophthalmologists completed the questionnaire, 151 of which (78.6%) were specialists and 41 (21.4%) were residents. Most ophthalmologists reported using WhatsApp at least once a day for both personal and professional use. Residents reported lower rates of contacting patients using WhatsApp than specialists (1.51 ± 0.98 vs 2.72 ± 1.32, p < 0.001). Respondents reported WhatsApp consultations frequently replaced referrals of patients to other physicians, with a median of once a week. 97.8% of residents and 91.4% of specialists reported the ability to share media is a major advantage of WhatsApp over other medias, followed by rapid responses for consultations. Conclusion: Many ophthalmologists already use WhatsApp as a tool for professional consultations with other providers, mainly thanks to its simplicity and wide availability. Residents use it more frequently than specialists, and ranked it higher when asked how much WhatsApp has improved the clinical setting. Policy makers should address concerns brought up by physicians, such as documentation in medical records and proper compensation for consulting ophthalmologists during and after work hours.

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Intention to Adopt mHealth Apps Among Informal Caregivers: Cross-Sectional Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.24755 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Fereshteh Ghahramani ◽

Jingguo Wang

Keyword(s):

Mobile Apps ◽

Informal Caregivers ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Mobile App ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Intention To Adopt ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

Amazon's Mechanical Turk

BACKGROUND Caregiving responsibility can change caregivers’ lives; modify their emotions; and make them feel frustrated, fearful, and nervous, thereby imposing physical and mental stress. Caregiving-related mobile apps provide a platform for obtaining valuable and trusted information, connecting more easily with other caregivers, monitoring medications, and managing appointments, and assessing health requirements and conditions of care receivers. Such apps also incorporate valuable resources that address care for the caregivers. Despite the potential benefits of caregiving-related apps, only a limited number of caregivers have adopted and used them. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to explore the important factors that affect caregivers’ intentions to integrate related mobile apps into their routine caregiving responsibilities. METHODS Using the protection motivation theory, we conducted a cross-sectional study among 249 participants. Purposive sampling was used to target participants who met 4 inclusion criteria: US residents, owning and using a smartphone, informal caregivers (individuals who give care to a friend or family member without payment) who provided at least 8 hours of care per week in the past year, and those currently not using any mobile app for caregiving purposes. We created a survey using Qualtrics and posted it on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk website. Participants received monetary compensation after successful completion of the survey. RESULTS We found that capabilities and skills of caregivers to use mobile apps, the app’s effectiveness in responding to the needs of caregivers, the degree of control of caregivers over their responsibilities, and the decisions they make for their care receivers can predict their willingness to adopt caregiving-related apps. In addition, the severity of health status and vulnerability of care receivers to unexpected health changes indirectly shape their caregivers’ decisions to adopt and use mobile apps for caregiving purposes. CONCLUSIONS This study explores the important factors that affect informal caregivers’ intentions to adopt related mobile apps into their routine caregiving responsibilities. The results contribute to both mobile health adoption and the caregiving literature, and they offer significant implications for developers, health care practitioners, and policy makers. CLINICALTRIAL

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The Assessment of Fear of COVID-19 among the Elderly Population: A Cross-Sectional Study

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm10235537 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (23) ◽

pp. 5537

Author(s):

Siddarth Agrawal ◽

Mateusz Dróżdż ◽

Sebastian Makuch ◽

Alicja Pietraszek ◽

Małgorzata Sobieszczańska ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Older Adults ◽

Well Being ◽

The Elderly ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Related Information ◽

Fear And Anxiety

The prevailing COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected the mental health and well-being of individuals. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the perceived fear of COVID-19 among older adults in Poland and identify subpopulations with the highest risk of potential mental health disorders. The study was conducted in November–December 2020 on 500 people aged ≥60 years (mean M = 67.9, standard deviation SD = 4.2). In order to collect information on participants’ characteristics and COVID-19-related information, they were asked to complete a questionnaire based on recorded telephone calls. Perceived fear of COVID-19 was measured using our generated and validated seven-item tool: “Scale of fear of COVID-19 infection”, which ranged from 7 to 35. Multiple linear regression was performed to identify factors associated with the perceived fear of COVID-19. Our results showed that the highest level of fear of COVID-19 infection was observed among women (p = 0.025) and patients taking anticoagulants (p = 0.004). Moreover, older adults with higher anxiety levels were more likely to be fearful of COVID-19 (according to the GAS-10 scale; p < 0.001). These findings may help policy makers and healthcare workers to adapt and implement better mental health strategies to help the elderly fight fear and anxiety during the prevailing pandemic.

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SEROPOSITIVITY OF HEPATITIS C VIRUS;

The Professional Medical Journal ◽

10.29309/tpmj/2017.24.12.569 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 24 (12) ◽

pp. 1835-1839

Author(s):

Syed Amir GilaniSyed Amir Gilani ◽

Muhammad Athar Khan ◽

Muhammad Zahid Latif ◽

Ahmad Azam Malik

Keyword(s):

Rural Communities ◽

Prevalence Rate ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Review Committee ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Institutional Review ◽

Hcv Screening ◽

Structured Questionnaire

Objectives: This study was conducted to find out the occupation basedHCV prevalence in the rural communities of Punjab. Settings: Rural communities of Punjab,Pakistan. Study Design: Epidemiological, descriptive, cross sectional study. Study Period:January 2013 to June 2016. Methods: Punjab was divided into three regions. Three districtswere selected from each region and from each district three rural union councils were selected.After the approval of institutional review committee, non-probability convenience basedsampling technique was adopted and study subjects of different occupations were includedin the study. A structured questionnaire was prepared for data collection. Standard procedurefor HCV screening was observed. The collected data was organized and entered into version22 of SPSS for analysis. Results: A total of 1465 subjects related to ten different occupationsincluded in the study and tested for anti HCV antibodies, out of which 323 (22%) were positive.The prevalence was much higher in the collector of hospital garbage (67.2%) followed by factoryworkers (30.3%) and white wash painters (26.6%) respectively. The lowest prevalence rate wasobserved in black smith workers (10%) and carpenters (5.5%) only. Conclusion: This studyconclude occupation based prevalence rate of (22%) in rural Punjab. This is a high prevalencewhich need the immediate attention of the policy makers. It is recommended to manage anoccupation based hepatitis awareness and screening campaign for the affected and generalcommunity.

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Association Between Sampling Method and Covid-19 Test Positivity Among Undergraduate Students: Testing Friendship Paradox in Covid-19 Network of Transmission

10.1101/2020.12.14.20248144 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sina Kianersi ◽

Yong-Yeol Ahn ◽

Molly Rosenberg

Keyword(s):

Undergraduate Students ◽

Online Survey ◽

Sampling Method ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Intervention Strategies ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Policy Makers ◽

University Policy

In November 2020, we conducted a cross sectional study to implement and test the method of acquaintance sampling (randomly sampling friends of randomly sampled individuals) in detecting students with higher probability of COVID-19 positivity. Overall, 879 students were randomly sampled and participated in this study. In an online survey, the randomly sampled participants nominated a friend, and reported their own and their nominated friend's COVID-19 status. Nominated friends were about 1.64 (95% CI: 1.33, 2.00) times more likely to have ever been infected with COVID-19, compared to randomly sampled students. Our study corroborates the effectiveness of acquaintance sampling for identifying members of networks with higher COVID-19 risk. These findings could be useful for university policy makers when developing mitigation testing programs and intervention strategies against COVID-19 spread.

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Prevalence and sociodemographic factors associated with stunting and thinness in adolescent females: a cross sectional study from Pakistan

Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association ◽

10.47391/jpma.1757 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ayaz Ali Samo ◽

Zulfiqar Ali Laghari ◽

Aslam Memon ◽

Nimra Masood Baig ◽

Salma Farukh Memon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sociodemographic Factors ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Adolescent Females ◽

Female Adolescents ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Healthy Female ◽

Socio Demographic Factors

Objective: To explore the prevalence and socio-demographic factors associated with stunting and thinness in adolescent females. Method: The survey-based cross-sectional study was conducted in randomly selected schools of the Kotri Taulka of Jamshoro District in Sindh, Pakistan, from October to December 2019, and comprised healthy female adolescents aged 1019 years. Data about demographic and anthropometric factors was collected using a pre-tested questionnaire. Data was analysed using SPSS 23. Results: There were 393 subjects with mean age 14.93±2.18 years, mean weight 45.9±8.85kg, and mean height 151.6±6.25cm. The prevalence of stunting and thinness was 127(32.31%) and 42(10.68%) respectively. Stunting was more frequent in participants with father’s income ?15000 Pak rupees (p<0.05). Conclusion: The increased prevalence of stunting and thinness in adolescent females needs to be addressed by the policy-makers. Key Words: Stunting, Thinness, Adolescent, Females, Sindh, Pakistan. Continuous....

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Intention to Adopt mHealth Apps Among Informal Caregivers: Cross-Sectional Study

JMIR mhealth and uhealth ◽

10.2196/24755 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. e24755

Author(s):

Fereshteh Ghahramani ◽

Jingguo Wang

Keyword(s):

Mobile Apps ◽

Informal Caregivers ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Mobile App ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Intention To Adopt ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

Amazon's Mechanical Turk

Background Caregiving responsibility can change caregivers’ lives; modify their emotions; and make them feel frustrated, fearful, and nervous, thereby imposing physical and mental stress. Caregiving-related mobile apps provide a platform for obtaining valuable and trusted information, connecting more easily with other caregivers, monitoring medications, and managing appointments, and assessing health requirements and conditions of care receivers. Such apps also incorporate valuable resources that address care for the caregivers. Despite the potential benefits of caregiving-related apps, only a limited number of caregivers have adopted and used them. Objective The aim of this study is to explore the important factors that affect caregivers’ intentions to integrate related mobile apps into their routine caregiving responsibilities. Methods Using the protection motivation theory, we conducted a cross-sectional study among 249 participants. Purposive sampling was used to target participants who met 4 inclusion criteria: US residents, owning and using a smartphone, informal caregivers (individuals who give care to a friend or family member without payment) who provided at least 8 hours of care per week in the past year, and those currently not using any mobile app for caregiving purposes. We created a survey using Qualtrics and posted it on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk website. Participants received monetary compensation after successful completion of the survey. Results We found that capabilities and skills of caregivers to use mobile apps, the app’s effectiveness in responding to the needs of caregivers, the degree of control of caregivers over their responsibilities, and the decisions they make for their care receivers can predict their willingness to adopt caregiving-related apps. In addition, the severity of health status and vulnerability of care receivers to unexpected health changes indirectly shape their caregivers’ decisions to adopt and use mobile apps for caregiving purposes. Conclusions This study explores the important factors that affect informal caregivers’ intentions to adopt related mobile apps into their routine caregiving responsibilities. The results contribute to both mobile health adoption and the caregiving literature, and they offer significant implications for developers, health care practitioners, and policy makers.

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The Long Covid abyss in Brazil; Is this another concern for an overwhelmed healthcare system?

Annals of Public Health and Research ◽

10.47739/publichealth.1111 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 1-3

Author(s):

Phiri P ◽

Cavalini HFS ◽

Delanerolle G ◽

Shi JQ ◽

Shetty A ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthcare System ◽

Health Hazard ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Real World Data ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Middle Income ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Middle Income Countries

Long Covid is an ongoing health hazard to many patients who had an original Covid-19 diagnosis. Whilst there has been much debate about the phenotypic nature of the disease, the implications of these among differing populations is yet to be comprehensively reviewed. This is particularly important for low-to-middle-income countries such as Brazil, that have limited resources and infrastructure within their healthcare systems to manage patients long-term that have had Covid-19 and Long covid. Brazil have had to stare at the Covid abyss with over-crowding of their intensive care units that left their healthcare system in chaos. The ongoing long-Covid case numbers therefore are exacerbating an ongoing issue for patients, policy makers and healthcare professionals. In line with this, and the population density of Brazil, we have explored the prevalence of long-Covid in one of the largest municipalities in northeast Brazil to report active patient and clinical reported outcomes that would enable a better understanding of the next steps require to curb these issues to a manageable situation. Methods: We designed a two-step approach to demonstrate the wider implications of long-covid using a commentary and a retrospective, cross-sectional study using realworld data. Findings: In this commentary we highlight the current issues and potential barriers Brazil faces. We will follow this up with a retrospective, cross-sectional study using real world data to report on the prevalence of long covid within 1,600 patients.

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A cross sectional study of tobacco use among the college students of B. G. Nagara, Karnataka

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health ◽

10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20194011 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 (9) ◽

pp. 4019

Author(s):

N. Sabari Raja

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Tobacco Use ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Male Students ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

Plant Grown ◽

Structured Questionnaire

Background: Tobacco is a leafy plant grown around the world with its addictive substance nicotine. It becomes the need of the hour to provide enough evidence on the correlates of tobacco use in the community to assist government policy makers, health professionals and the public in developing realistic models towards effective tobacco control to cater to sections of community in need. The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence and the pattern of tobacco use among the college students and to find out the reasons for the tobacco use among the college students.Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among various college students of B. G. Nagara with 1003 subjects selected. Data was collected with a pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire and analysed. Results were expressed in percentages and proportions.Results: The overall prevalence of tobacco use among the study subjects was found to be 5.8% and was exclusively among male students only. Cigarette smoking was the most commonly used form of tobacco, used by 89.7% of the tobacco users and the major reasons for initiation of tobacco use were due to friends (58.6%).Conclusions: Present study showed that the prevalence of tobacco use (5.8%) was lower when compared to state and national average. But since majority of users were in the age group of 19 to 21 years and were away from their homes, strict measures should be enforced in hostel and college premises banning its use and sale.

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RAIL TRANSPORTATION AND CORE-PERIPHERY RELIANCE IN ISRAEL

Journal of Urban and Regional Analysis ◽

10.37043/jura.2014.6.2.1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Orit ROTEM-MINDALI ◽

Dor GEFEN

Keyword(s):

Local Development ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Rail Transportation ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Core ◽

Passenger Rail ◽

The World ◽

Rail Service

Many policy makers suggest that rail is the solution for the development of the periphery, often conceived as a space suffering from under-development and lack of accessibility to the core. However, this policy, promoted around the world, does not consider core-periphery reliance as one of the rail investments' impacts. This study will examine the question: to what extent does the peripheral city, connected to the rail service, has a larger reliance on the core city? This study is a cross-sectional study that focuses on the passenger rail of an existing line to the periphery and of a planned line. The research reveals that rail does not necessarily induce the local development of the periphery but it induces larger reliance on the core.

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