On Health Equity

2019 ◽  
pp. 7-14
Author(s):  
Viviana Martinez-Bianchi
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Equity ◽  
Personal Responsibility ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Individual Health ◽  
Economic Survival ◽  
Health Equality ◽  
High Level

Chapter 2 asks: what is health equality? It is the attainment of the highest level of health for all people. This so-called “high level” is determined by a mixture of personal responsibility, biology, and the options and possibilities for good health available to each individual. Health equality, the chapter argues, matters from many perspectives and the economic survival of an entire community is affected by health equality. The chapter goes on to look at the issues associated with attaining health equality and how to teach it. It argues for the benefits of having a passion for health for all and a desire to make a difference beyond the confines of health care walls.

scholarly journals Patients’ satisfaction with government health care and services in the Taung district, North West Province

Curationis ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
MA Bediako ◽  
M Nel ◽  
LA Hiemstra
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Good Health ◽  
North West ◽  
Patients Satisfaction ◽  
Level Of Satisfaction ◽  
North West Province ◽  
Asking Questions ◽  
After Hours ◽  
High Level

This was a descriptive study that determined patients’ satisfaction with health care in the Taung district state health institutions, North West Province. One hospital, three health centres and five clinics were randomly selected, and consecutive patients were recruited at outpatients during 17 May 2000 - 17 June 2000. The patients completed a questionnaire regarding the service or care provided. Five hundred and sixty seven patients participated in the study. The median age was 30 years, and most patients were female (76.7%). More than half of patients (56.8%) were not satisfied with the availability of medicines and other supplies. Approximately two thirds of patients (65.2%) did not know about the quality of telephone services rendered. There was a high level of dissatisfaction (63.1 %) among patients regarding accessing doctors after hours. Most patients were satisfied with the general attitude of health workers (62.1 %) but 21.2% were dissatisfied. Few (11.7%) patients felt rushed during consultation. Most patients felt they received good health education when their illness was discussed (74.6%). Words and explanations used were easy to understand (76.7%); and they were not discouraged from asking questions (69.9%, n=539). Generally the level of satisfaction among the patients was high except for difficulty in accessing doctors after hours and lack of medicines.

Health Communication: Implications for Diverse Populations

2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-19
Author(s):  
Amy Hasselkus
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Linguistically Diverse ◽  
Good Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Poor Health ◽  
Health Care Decisions ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
Health Related

The need for improved communication about health-related topics is evident in statistics about the health literacy of adults living in the United States. The negative impact of poor health communication is huge, resulting in poor health outcomes, health disparities, and high health care costs. The importance of good health communication is relevant to all patient populations, including those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Efforts are underway at all levels, from individual professionals to the federal government, to improve the information patients receive so that they can make appropriate health care decisions. This article describes these efforts and discusses how speech-language pathologists and audiologists may be impacted.

Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of chickenpox in the adult population at the present stage

2020 ◽  
pp. 17-24
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Peredelskaya ◽  
Tatyana Safyanova ◽  
Mikhail Druchanov
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Final Diagnosis ◽  
Health Care Institution ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Economic Damage ◽  
Clinical Hospital ◽  
Care Institution ◽  
High Level ◽  
Epidemiological Characteristics

Chickenpox is an urgent problem, as it is widely spread with a high level of morbidity and an increasing share in the structure of the General infectious pathology with significant economic damage. The aim of the study is to study the epidemiological and clinical features of chickenpox in adults hospitalized in Krai government-owned publicy funded health care institution «City clinical hospital No. 5, Barnaul» for the period 2008‑2018. Content analysis included statistical reporting forms No. 2 of Federal state statistical supervision «Data on infectious and parasitic diseases» in the city of Barnaul during the period 2008‑2018 of medical archival documents adult infectious Department Krai government-owned publicy funded health care institution «City clinical hospital №5, Barnaul» for the same period. Data processing was performed using calculation of intensive and extensive indicators, calculation of the arithmetic mean (X) and standard error of the average (m). Calculations were made using the STATISTICA-10 program. Consistently high rates were recorded, with an average of 64.32 ± 3.46 per 100,000 population. The percentage of hospitalized adults averaged 18.5% during the study period. Adults aged 18‑30 were more likely to be admitted to the hospital (90.3%); 41.6% were students. Adults with moderate severity were hospitalized more often (70.6%); 7 patients (1.3%) had complications: aphthous stomatitis (3 cases), pustulosis (2 cases), and pneumonia (2 cases). Patients with severe severity of the disease accounted for 2.4%, the premorbid background was burdened in 48% (HIV infection, tuberculosis). In 35% of patients with severe severity, the final diagnosis of Herpes zoster was made, all patients older than 40 years, stayed in the hospital for 20‑25 days.

scholarly journals Using Prospective Methods to Identify Fieldwork Locations Favourable to Understanding Divergences in Health Care Accessibility

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 506
Author(s):  
Jan Ketil Rød ◽  
Arne H. Eide ◽  
Thomas Halvorsen ◽  
Alister Munthali
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Access To Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Health Care Accessibility ◽  
Barriers To Health ◽  
Walking Time

Central to this article is the issue of choosing sites for where a fieldwork could provide a better understanding of divergences in health care accessibility. Access to health care is critical to good health, but inhabitants may experience barriers to health care limiting their ability to obtain the care they need. Most inhabitants of low-income countries need to walk long distances along meandering paths to get to health care services. Individuals in Malawi responded to a survey with a battery of questions on perceived difficulties in accessing health care services. Using both vertical and horizontal impedance, we modelled walking time between household locations for the individuals in our sample and the health care centres they were using. The digital elevation model and Tobler’s hiking function were used to represent vertical impedance, while OpenStreetMap integrated with land cover map were used to represent horizontal impedance. Combining measures of walking time and perceived accessibility in Malawi, we used spatial statistics and found spatial clusters with substantial discrepancies in health care accessibility, which represented fieldwork locations favourable for providing a better understanding of barriers to health access.

scholarly journals Contraceptive prevalence rate and associated factors among reproductive age women in four emerging regions of Ethiopia: a mixed method study

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Delayehu Bekele ◽  
Feiruz Surur ◽  
Balkachew Nigatu ◽  
Alula Teklu ◽  
Tewodros Getinet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Prevalence Rate ◽  
Contraceptive Use ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Sociocultural Factors ◽  
Contraceptive Prevalence Rate ◽  
Individual Health ◽  
Reproductive Age Women ◽  
Contraceptive Prevalence ◽  
Knowledge And Attitude

Abstract Background Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa, known for its high fertility and low contraceptive use. The magnitude of contraceptive use in the emerging regions of the country is below the national average. However, there is a paucity of evidence regarding the reasons for low contraceptive use in these regions. Therefore, this study aimed to assess contraceptive use and associated factors in the emerging regions of Ethiopia. Methods For the quantitative part, a community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 2891 reproductive age women who were selected by multistage sampling technique. Data were collected face to face using an open data kit software, and STATA version 14 was used for data analysis. Frequencies, percentages, summary measures and tables were used to summarize and present the data. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with contraceptive use, by computing odds ratio with 95% confidence interval. Level of significance was considered at p-value < 0.05. For the qualitative part, phenomenological study was conducted among 252 health care workers and community members who were selected purposely. The data were collected by focused group discussions, in-depth interviews and key informant interviews. The data were audio-recorded in the local languages, and then translated to English verbatim. NVivo version 11 was used to analyze the data through a thematic analysis method. Results The overall contraceptive prevalence rate was 22.2%; with 11.7, 38.6, 25.5 and 8.8% for Afar, Benshangul Gumuz, Gambela and Somali Regions, respectively. Age, religion, education, marital status, family size, ideal children, knowledge and attitude were significantly associated with contraceptive use. Additionally, the qualitative study identified three themes as barriers to contraceptive use: individual, health care system and sociocultural factors. Conclusions Contraceptive prevalence rate was low in this study compared to the national average. Age, religion, education, marital status, family size, ideal children, knowledge and attitude were significantly associated with contraceptive use. From the qualitative aspect, individual, health care system and sociocultural factors were identified as barriers to contraceptive use. Therefore, the emerging regions of Ethiopia need special focus in increasing contraceptive use through behavioral influence/change.

scholarly journals A Roadmap to Inform Development, Validation and Approval of Digital Mobility Outcomes: The Mobilise-D Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn Rochester ◽  
Claudia Mazzà ◽  
Arne Mueller ◽  
Brian Caulfield ◽  
Marie McCarthy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Disease Status ◽  
Proximal Femoral Fracture ◽  
Chronic Obstructive ◽  
Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ◽  
Physical Mobility ◽  
High Level

Health care has had to adapt rapidly to COVID-19, and this in turn has highlighted a pressing need for tools to facilitate remote visits and monitoring. Digital health technology, including body-worn devices, offers a solution using digital outcomes to measure and monitor disease status and provide outcomes meaningful to both patients and health care professionals. Remote monitoring of physical mobility is a prime example, because mobility is among the most advanced modalities that can be assessed digitally and remotely. Loss of mobility is also an important feature of many health conditions, providing a read-out of health as well as a target for intervention. Real-world, continuous digital measures of mobility (digital mobility outcomes or DMOs) provide an opportunity for novel insights into health care conditions complementing existing mobility measures. Accepted and approved DMOs are not yet widely available. The need for large collaborative efforts to tackle the critical steps to adoption is widely recognised. Mobilise-D is an example. It is a multidisciplinary consortium of 34 institutions from academia and industry funded through the European Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking. Members of Mobilise-D are collaborating to address the critical steps for DMOs to be adopted in clinical trials and ultimately health care. To achieve this, the consortium has developed a roadmap to inform the development, validation and approval of DMOs in Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and recovery from proximal femoral fracture. Here we aim to describe the proposed approach and provide a high-level view of the ongoing and planned work of the Mobilise-D consortium. Ultimately, Mobilise-D aims to stimulate widespread adoption of DMOs through the provision of device agnostic software, standards and robust validation in order to bring digital outcomes from concept to use in clinical trials and health care.

scholarly journals Knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards vaccination: a survey of university students in Europe

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Callegaro ◽  
L Chinenye Ilogu ◽  
O Lugovska ◽  
S Mazzilli ◽  
A Prugnola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Educational Interventions ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
High Level ◽  
Coverage Rates ◽  
The University ◽  
Vaccination Knowledge

Abstract Background Immunisation programs are still facing substantial challenges in achieving target coverage rates. This has been attributed to the growing negative individual vaccination attitudes and behaviours. Most of the current studies assessing vaccination knowledge, attitude and beliefs targets adults. However, young people represent future parents and health care professionals. The objective of this study was to investigate vaccination knowledge attitudes and behaviours among university medical and non-medical students in Europe. Methods We performed a cross-sectional online survey between April and July 2018. The study participants were students attending different faculties at the University of Antwerp, Belgium and the University of Pisa, Italy. We described sample characteristics. The effect of risk factors was tested with univariate and multivariate logistic regressions. Results A total of 2079 participants completed the survey including 873 medical students and 1206 from other faculties. The average of vaccination knowledge, attitudes, and confidence was respectively 5.51 (SD: 1.41), 4.66 (SD: 0.14) and 5.28 (SD: 0.57) on the 6-points scale. Our respondents demonstrated a high level of awareness with respect to their vaccination history. In total, 67.7% (n = 1407) reported to have received at least one vaccine in the previous five years; only 6.0% (n = 35) did not receive any vaccine in the previous 10 years. According to logistic regression analysis Italian students had significantly higher knowledge, attitude and confidence scores than Belgium respondents. Students of medicine scored significantly higher compared to non-medical students. Conclusions In order to reduce the gaps in vaccinations knowledge between non-medical and medical students we should plan educational interventions. In this way the number of future sceptical parents could be decreased. Further studies are required to explain the differences between countries. Key messages Young adults are the parents and the health care professionals of the future, for this reason their vaccination knowledge attitudes and behaviours should be carefully monitored. European non-medical students have lower vaccinations knowledge, attitudes and confidence compared with medical student. In order to fill these gaps, we should plan educational interventions.

scholarly journals Critical health response in the time of COVID-19: lessons from the past

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 336-345
Author(s):  
Rabia Ruby Patel ◽  
Tanya Monique Graham
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Behaviour Change ◽  
Health Behaviour ◽  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Personal Responsibility ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Community Empowerment ◽  
The South ◽  
Change Models ◽  
Health Behaviour Change

This article examines the South African government’s response to COVID-19 by exploring the strong emphasis that has been placed on South Africans taking personal responsibility for good health outcomes. This emphasis is based on the principles of the traditional Health Belief Model which is a commonly used model in global health systems. More recently, there has been a drive towards other health behaviour change models, like the COM-B model and Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW); nonetheless, these remain entrenched within the principles of individual health responsibility. However, the South African experience with the HIV epidemic serves as a backdrop to demonstrate that holding people personally accountable for health behaviour changes has major pitfalls; health risk is never objective and does not take place outside of subjective experience. This article makes the argument that risk-taking health behaviour change in the South African context has to consider community empowerment and capacity building.

A Dutchman in London: reflections of a hospital chief executive from the Netherlands in the NHS

BMJ Leader ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. leader-2021-000509
Author(s):  
Marcel Levi
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
British Society ◽  
The Public ◽  
Interesting Insight ◽  
Clinical Point ◽  
High Level

BackgroundThe NHS is a fascinating health care system and is enjoying a lot of support from all layers of British society. However, it is clear that the system has excellent features but also areas that can be improved.Story of selfA number of years as a chief executive in one of London’s largest hospital has brought me a wealth of impressions, experiences, and understanding about working in the NHS. Contrasting those to my previous experience as chief executive in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) provides an interesting insight.ObservationsVery strong features of the NHS are the high level of health care professionals, the focus on quality and safety, and involvement of patients and the public. However, the NHS can significantly improve by addressing the lack of clinical professionals in the lead, curtailing ever increasing bureaucracy, and reducing its peculiar preference for outsourcing even the most crucial activities to private parties. The frequent inability to swiftly and successfully complete goal-directed negotiations as well as the large but from a clinical point of view irrelevant private sector are areas of sustained bewilderment. Lastly, the drive for innovation and transformation as well as the level of biomedical research in the NHS and supported by the British universities is fascinating and outstanding.

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