scholarly journals Developing a digital health strategy for people who use drugs: Lessons from COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 205520762110284
Author(s):  
Melissa Perri ◽  
Adrian Guta ◽  
Marilou Gagnon ◽  
Matt Bonn ◽  
Pamela Leece ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Digital Health ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
People Who Use Drugs ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Health Strategy ◽  
Human Service Delivery ◽  
Barriers To Employment ◽  
Future Program ◽  
The Continuum

COVID-19 has significantly exacerbated negative health and social outcomes for people who use drugs (PWUD) around the world. The closure of harm reduction services, ongoing barriers to employment and housing, and pre-existing physical and mental health conditions have increased harms for diverse communities of PWUD. Adapting current models of health and human service delivery to better meet the needs of PWUD is essential in minimizing not only COVID-19 but also drug-related morbidity and mortality. This article draws on research, practice, and advocacy experiences, and discusses the potential for digital health tools such as remote monitoring and telecare to improve the continuum of care for PWUD. We call for a digital health strategy for PWUD and provide recommendations for future program development and implementation.

scholarly journals Impact of World Trade Center-Related Health Research: An Application of the NIEHS Translational Framework

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 2659
Author(s):  
Jaime Madrigano ◽  
Thomas W. Concannon ◽  
Sean Mann ◽  
Sameer M. Siddiqi ◽  
Ramya Chari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
World Trade ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
World Trade Center ◽  
Diagnostic Procedures ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Related Research ◽  
Trade Center

The World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) has a research mission to identify physical and mental health conditions that may be related to the 9/11 terrorist attacks as well as effective diagnostic procedures and treatments for WTC-related health conditions. The ability of the WTCHP to serve its members and realize positive impacts on all of its stakeholders depends on effective translation of research findings. As part of an ongoing assessment of the translational impact of World Trade Center (WTC)-related research, we applied the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) translational framework to two case studies: WTC-related research on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and cancer. We conducted a review of 9/11 health-related research in the peer-reviewed literature through October 2017, grey literature, and WTCHP program documentation. We mapped peer-reviewed studies in the literature to the NIEHS framework and used WTCHP program documentation and grey literature to find evidence of translation of research into clinical practice and policy. Using the NIEHS framework, we identified numerous translational milestones and bridges, as well as areas of opportunity, within each case study. This application demonstrates the utility of the NIEHS framework for documenting progress toward public health impact and for setting future research goals.

scholarly journals Health of mothers of children with a life-limiting condition: a comparative cohort study

2021 ◽  
pp. archdischild-2020-320655
Author(s):  
Lorna K Fraser ◽  
Fliss EM Murtagh ◽  
Jan Aldridge ◽  
Trevor Sheldon ◽  
Simon Gilbody ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Secondary Care ◽  
Incidence Rates ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Clinical Practice Research Datalink ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Term Condition ◽  
Limiting Condition

ObjectiveThis study aimed to quantify the incidence rates of common mental and physical health conditions in mothers of children with a life-limiting condition.MethodsComparative national longitudinal cohort study using linked primary and secondary care data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink in England. Maternal–child dyads were identified in these data. Maternal physical and mental health outcomes were identified in the primary and secondary care datasets using previously developed diagnostic coding frameworks. Incidence rates of the outcomes were modelled using Poisson regression, adjusting for deprivation, ethnicity and age and accounting for time at risk.ResultsA total of 35 683 mothers; 8950 had a child with a life-limiting condition, 8868 had a child with a chronic condition and 17 865 had a child with no long-term condition.The adjusted incidence rates of all of the physical and mental health conditions were significantly higher in the mothers of children with a life-limiting condition when compared with those mothers with a child with no long-term condition (eg, depression: incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.21, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.30; cardiovascular disease: IRR 1.73, 95% CI 1.27 to 2.36; death in mothers: IRR 1.59, 95% CI 1.16 to 2.18).ConclusionThis study clearly demonstrates the higher incidence rates of common and serious physical and mental health problems and death in mothers of children with a life-limiting condition. Further research is required to understand how best to support these mothers, but healthcare providers should consider how they can target this population to provide preventative and treatment services.

Feasibility of telemedicine in the management strategy of patients with lymphoma amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain, a prospective study (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raul Cordoba ◽  
Alberto Lopez-Garcia ◽  
Daniel Morillo ◽  
Maria-Angeles Perez-Saenz ◽  
Elham Askari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prospective Observational Study ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Hematologic Malignancies ◽  
Patient Portal ◽  
Health Strategy ◽  
Potential Risk Factors ◽  
Hospital Visits ◽  
A Prospective Study ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND Recurrent hospital visits were potential risk factors for COVID-19 contagion. OBJECTIVE The aims of this prospective observational study was to analyze the consequences of COVID-19 pandemic in the health care of patients with lymphoma and the impact of telemedicine strategies such as the patient portal in their management. METHODS All data were obtained from the electronic medical record (EMR). Variables such as age, sex, matter of the visit, use of patient’s portal, changes in management, impact in clinical trials and suffering from COVID-19 contagion were recorded. RESULTS 290 patients were attended in the lymphoma clinic accomplishing 437 appointments. The median age was 66 years (range 18-94), and 157 (54.13%) were male. Of them, 109 out of 290 (37.58%) were aged older then 70 years. Regarding number of visits, 214 patients (73.79%) had only 1 visit to the hospital. Only 23 patients (7.93%) didn’t have access to patient’s portal. During the follow-up, only 7 patients (2.41%) suffered from COVID-19, with a median age of 66 years (51-80). CONCLUSIONS Telemedicine such as patient’s portal are feasible strategies in the management of patients with lymphoma during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a reduction of in-person visits to hospital and a very low contagion rate. This experience allowed us to continue with a new digital health strategy in the follow up of patients with hematologic malignancies. CLINICALTRIAL Not registered.

scholarly journals Family risk as adjunct for organizing the demand for oral health service in the Family Health Strategy

2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henri Menezes Kobayashi ◽  
Antonio Carlos Pereira ◽  
Marcelo de Castro Meneghim ◽  
Rívea Inês Ferreira ◽  
Glaucia Maria Bovi Ambrosano
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽  
Family Health ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Family Risk ◽  
Treatment Needs ◽  
Health Strategy ◽  
The Family ◽  
Family Health Strategy

Introduction One of the main problems of the public health services, in which the family oral health team is included, is access by users to dental treatment in primary care, with particular reference to caries disease. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between family risk, for prioritization of home visits and oral health conditions, with a view to providing evidence about the first indicator for organizing the demand for oral health in the Family Health Strategy (FHS). Method The application of family health is based on Form A of the primary care information database SIAB ("Sistema de Informação de Atenção Básica"), used for registering families with the FHS. Eleven dentists examined the oral health conditions of 1165 persons (608 from 12 to 19 years; and 557 from 35 to 44 years of age), classifying them into six codes from A to F. Multinomial logistic regression was used (α=0.05) to analyze the association between family risk variables and oral health situation. Result There was significant association between family risk and presence of caries disease with treatment needs (OR: 2.08, p<0.0001). Conclusion Persons who have family risk would have twice as much chance of presenting caries disease in comparison with those without risk, corroborating the relevance of this element in organizing the demand for oral health.

scholarly journals The Acceptability and Usability of Digital Health Interventions for Adults With Depression, Anxiety, and Somatoform Disorders: Qualitative Systematic Review and Meta-Synthesis

10.2196/16228 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. e16228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shireen Patel ◽  
Athfah Akhtar ◽  
Sam Malins ◽  
Nicola Wright ◽  
Emma Rowley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Somatoform Disorders ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
World Population ◽  
Personal Support ◽  
The Individual

Background The prevalence of mental health disorders continues to rise, with almost 4% of the world population having an anxiety disorder and almost 3.5% having depression in 2017. Despite the high prevalence, only one-third of people with depression or anxiety receive treatment. Over the last decade, the use of digital health interventions (DHIs) has risen rapidly as a means of accessing mental health care and continues to increase. Although there is evidence supporting the effectiveness of DHIs for the treatment of mental health conditions, little is known about what aspects are valued by users and how they might be improved. Objective This systematic review aimed to identify, appraise, and synthesize the qualitative literature available on service users’ views and experiences regarding the acceptability and usability of DHIs for depression, anxiety, and somatoform disorders. Methods A systematic search strategy was developed, and searches were run in 7 electronic databases. Qualitative and mixed methods studies published in English were included. A meta-synthesis was used to interpret and synthesize the findings from the included studies. Results A total of 24 studies were included in the meta-synthesis, and 3 key themes emerged with descriptive subthemes. The 3 key themes were initial motivations and approaches to DHIs, personalization of treatment, and the value of receiving personal support in DHIs. The meta-synthesis suggests that participants’ initial beliefs about DHIs can have an important effect on their engagement with these types of interventions. Personal support was valued very highly as a major component of the success of DHIs. The main reason for this was the way it enabled individual personalization of care. Conclusions Findings from the systematic review have implications for the design of future DHIs to improve uptake, retention, and outcomes in DHIs for depression, anxiety, and somatoform disorders. DHIs need to be personalized to the specific needs of the individual. Future research should explore whether the findings could be generalized to other health conditions.

The role of restricting access to potentially lethal medication in suicide prevention

2021 ◽  
pp. 709-712
Author(s):  
Cyril Höschl ◽  
Pavla Čermáková
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Suicide Methods ◽  
Suicide Rates ◽  
Life Saving ◽  
Health Strategy ◽  
Treatment Of Depression ◽  
Restrictive Measures ◽  
Lethal Means

Overdose with medications is a common method of suicide. Reviews of suicide prevention strategies confirmed that restricting access to lethal means is effective in preventing suicides. Nevertheless, there have not been any randomized controlled trials, proving that restriction of the access to toxic medications decreases suicide rates. Existing evidence is based mainly on observational, ecological, and cohort studies. Factors such as better mental health conditions, effective treatment of depression, and improvement in socioeconomic status, may also contribute to decreasing suicide rates. Restrictive measures will have a large effect if the respective method is frequent and lethal. Although there are some concerns about substitution of suicide methods if access to a specific drug is restricted, many studies suggest a life-saving potential. Restrictive measures represent an effective and feasible public health strategy for suicide prevention, particularly in individuals that carry out briefly planned impulsive acts, and in combination with other interventions.

Learning to Fly

2019 ◽  
pp. 52-72
Author(s):  
Chia Youyee Vang
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Training Program ◽  
External Factors ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Pilot Training ◽  
Water Pump ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Academic Background ◽  
Mental Health Conditions ◽  
Internal And External Factors

Once selected for pilot training, most participants entered the CIA’s covert Project Water Pump with much excitement, but chapter 3 reveals that they subsequently went through a tumultuous process. Surviving pilots identified internal and external factors that influenced how well they progressed through the aviation program. Academic background helped some to perform well in ground school, especially in learning English. Their narratives, however, suggest that academic abilities alone did not determine who would succeed in learning to fly. Physical and mental health conditions often impacted their training experiences. Surviving pilots describe the obstacles they confronted when interacting with instructors and recall that trainees and instructors generally did not socialize together because of language barriers, as well as a culture of Americans and Lao regarding Hmong as inferior. Instructor pilot narratives unveiled an unorthodox training program that required flexibility from all involved.

Using Technology to Empower People With Multiple Sclerosis (MS) to Make Shared Decisions About Managing Their Own Healthcare

2020 ◽  
pp. 177-198
Author(s):  
Helen King ◽  
Darina M. Slattery
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
National Health Service ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
Uk National Health Service ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Information Providers

In 2014, the UK National Health Service (NHS) ‘Five Year Forward View' plan set out key objectives to reform the NHS, which included empowering the population as a whole (particularly those with long-term health conditions) to take more responsibility for managing their own healthcare and introducing initiatives to use technology to improve services and reduce costs. The “Long Term Plan” explains how the 2014 initiatives will be further developed. This chapter presents a review of literature on digital health information and information usability. It presents the key findings from a mixed methods study that explored how people with MS (PwMS) access and use health digital information when trying to manage their MS. While the study found that there is much good quality digital health information available for PwMS, and that this facilitates shared decisions, some necessary information is still missing. The chapter concludes with recommendations for digital health information providers.

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