scholarly journals Attitude toward dementia and preferences for diagnosis in Japanese health service consumers

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hikaru Oba ◽  
Teruyuki Matsuoka ◽  
Yuka Kato ◽  
Rochelle Watson ◽  
Elise Mansfield ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Being diagnosed with dementia is a confronting experience for any individual and their caregiver. However, a diagnosis provides opportunity for future preparation for management of the condition. This study investigated attitudes toward dementia and preferences for diagnosis among a sample of health service consumers in Japan. Methods Participants were patients or accompanying support persons (n = 217) who visited the specialty outpatient clinic of four hospital departments. The survey was conducted using an iPad with answers sent automatically to a secure server. The survey included items about the participants’ most feared diseases and the reasons behind those fears, estimates of dementia prevalence in Japan, and preferences regarding a diagnosis of dementia and the reasons for their preference. Results The most feared disease was cancer (43.8 %), followed by dementia (18 %). Those selecting dementia most commonly reported practical, emotional and social impacts as the reasons why they most feared this condition. Almost all participants preferred to know the diagnosis of dementia as soon as possible for themselves, with significantly fewer preferring their spouse to know as soon as possible if they had dementia (95.9 % for self vs. 67.5 % for partner/spouse, p < 0.001). On average, participants estimated that 18.1 % of Japanese people are diagnosed with dementia by age 65, while they thought that 43.7 % of Japanese people are diagnosed with dementia by age 85. Conclusions The findings highlight a need for community education about the significant impacts of dementia on the lives of individuals and their caregivers. People were more reluctant for their spouse to receive a diagnosis as soon as possible if they had dementia. Physicians should sensitively disclose diagnosis and ensure they involve both the patient and their relatives in discussions about diagnosis disclosure.

2021 ◽  
Vol 64 (10) ◽  
pp. 85-93
Author(s):  
Jihoon Lee ◽  
Gyuhong Lee ◽  
Jinsung Lee ◽  
Youngbin Im ◽  
Max Hollingsworth ◽  
...  

Modern cell phones are required to receive and display alerts via the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) program, under the mandate of the Warning, Alert, and Response Act of 2006. These alerts include AMBER alerts, severe weather alerts, and (unblockable) Presidential Alerts, intended to inform the public of imminent threats. Recently, a test Presidential Alert was sent to all capable phones in the U.S., prompting concerns about how the underlying WEA protocol could be misused or attacked. In this paper, we investigate the details of this system and develop and demonstrate the first practical spoofing attack on Presidential Alerts, using commercially available hardware and modified open source software. Our attack can be performed using a commercially available software-defined radio, and our modifications to the open source software libraries. We find that with only four malicious portable base stations of a single Watt of transmit power each, almost all of a 50,000-seat stadium can be attacked with a 90% success rate. The real impact of such an attack would, of course, depend on the density of cellphones in range; fake alerts in crowded cities or stadiums could potentially result in cascades of panic. Fixing this problem will require a large collaborative effort between carriers, government stakeholders, and cellphone manufacturers. To seed this effort, we also propose three mitigation solutions to address this threat.


2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 171-176
Author(s):  
Sibelnur Avcil ◽  
Nevzat Yılmaz ◽  
Mücahit Avcil ◽  
Pınar Uysal ◽  
Mücahit Kapcı

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Dr. Mangesh M. Ghonge ◽  
Mr. Deepak Pathratkar

Viral pandemics are a serious threat. COVID-19 is not the first, and it won't be the last. As the whole world is going through the black phase of COVID-19 virus, the scientists are trying to invent a fighting vaccine against the same. Each and every sector in every part of the world is infected by the outburst of the fatal virus. Right from business and trade to sports and entertainment, every aspect of life is suffering a lot. To combat the outbreak of the pandemic, most of the countries have used partial to complete lockdown as the only weapon to stop the spread of the virus. In the current scenario, almost all the private sector companies as well as the government offices have suggested all the employees to work from home to stop the community spread of the disease that may occur if people come in mutual contact. While we think of governing authorities around the world, each and every government provides some e-facilities to their citizens to some what extent. Generally E-Governance can be stated as the facility to receive each and everything electronically i.e. you don’t need to go to outside home to receive any document or order. In this paper, we briefly described the different aspects of e-governance.


BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S211-S211
Author(s):  
Irangani Mudiyanselage ◽  
Madhvi Belgamwar

AimsIn many countries (including the UK and Australia) it is still common practice for hospital doctors to write letters to patients’ general practitioners (GPs) following outpatient consultations, and for patients to receive copies of these letters. However, experience suggests that hospital doctors who have changed their practice to include writing letters directly to patients have more patient centred consultations and experience smoother handovers with other members of their multidisciplinary teams. (Rayner et al, BMJ 2020)The aim of the study was to obtain patient's views to improve the quality of clinical letters sent to them, hence the level of communication and standards of care.MethodAn anonymous questionnaire was designed and posted to collect information from patients attending one of the South County Mental Health outpatient clinic in Derbyshire. 50 random patients were selected between March to November 2020. Patients were asked to provide suggestions to improve the quality of their clinic letters written directly to them and copies sent to their GPs.ResultOut of 50 patients 48% (n = 24) responded. Majority of patients (92%) expressed their wish to receive their clinic letters written directly to them and 79% preferred to be addressed as a second person in the letters. More than half (54%, N = 13) of them would like to have letter by post. Majority of them (92%, N = 22) wished to have their letter within a week of their consultations.Patients attending clinics felt that the communication could be better improved through writing clearly: a) reflection of what was discussed during the consultation b) updated diagnosis c) a clear follow-up plan d) current level of support e) medication change f) emergency contact numbers g) actions to be carried out by their GP and further referrals should there be any.ConclusionPatients in community prefer to have their clinic letters directly addressing them in second person. It was noted that the letters needed to reflect accurately on what was discussed during the consultation in order to have patient centered consultations. This in turn would improve communication and thus rapport, trust and overall therapeutic relationship.


2020 ◽  
pp. bmjspcare-2020-002468
Author(s):  
Deniz Can Guven ◽  
Burak Yasin Aktas ◽  
Melek Seren Aksun ◽  
Enes Ucgul ◽  
Taha Koray Sahin ◽  
...  

BackgroundCOVID-19 pandemic could create a collateral damage to cancer care denoting disruptions in care due to a significant burden on healthcare and resource allocations. Herein, we evaluate the early changes in the inpatient and outpatient oncology clinics to take a snapshot of this collateral damage at Hacettepe University Cancer Institute.MethodsPatients applying the outpatient clinic and outpatient palliative care (OPC) clinic for the first time and patients admitted to inpatient wards in the first 30 days after the first case of COVID-19 in Turkey were evaluated. These data were compared with data from the same time frame in the previous 3 years.ResultsThe mean number of daily new patient applications to the outpatient clinic (9.87±3.87 vs 6.43±4.03, p<0.001) and OPC clinic (3.87±1.49 vs 1.13±1.46, p<0.001) was significantly reduced compared with the previous years. While the number of inpatient admissions was similar for a month frame, the median duration of hospitalisation was significantly reduced. The frequency of hospitalisations for chemotherapy was higher than in previous years (p<0.001). By comparison, the rate of hospitalisations for palliative care (p=0.028) or elective interventional procedures (p=0.001) was significantly reduced.ConclusionIn our experience, almost all domains of care were affected during the pandemic other than patients’ systemic treatments. There were significant drops in the numbers of newly diagnosed patients, patients having interventional procedures and palliative care services, and these problems should be the focus points for the risk mitigation efforts for prevention of care disruptions.


Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Crawford ◽  
Calver ◽  
Fleming

Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs, in which stray cats are captured, neutered and returned to the environment are advocated as a humane, ethical alternative to euthanasia. We review the TNR literature in light of current debate over whether or not there should be further TNR trials in Australia. We revisit the problems arising from stray cats living in association with human habitation and estimate how many stray cats would have to be processed through a scientifically-guided TNR program to avoid high euthanasia rates. We also identify 10 ethical and welfare challenges that have to be addressed: we consider the quality of life for stray cats, where they would live, whether the TNR process itself is stressful, whether TNR cats are vulnerable to injury, parasites and disease, can be medically treated, stray cats’ body condition and diet, and their impacts on people, pet cats, and urban wildlife, especially endemic fauna. We conclude that TNR is unsuitable for Australia in almost all situations because it is unlikely to resolve problems caused by stray cats or meet ethical and welfare challenges. Targeted adoption, early-age desexing, community education initiatives and responsible pet ownership have greater promise to minimize euthanasia, reduce numbers rapidly, and address the identified issues.


2003 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 143-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Byrom ◽  
P D J Dunn ◽  
G M Hughes ◽  
J Lockett ◽  
A Johnson ◽  
...  

Objectives: To evoluate whether the information leoflets produced by UK colposcopy clinics provide women with the information they desire and to determine when they would like to receive this information. Design: Questionnaire study and structured evaluation. Setting: The colposcopy clinic of a UK cancer centre. Participants: Forty-two women attending a pre-colposcopy counselling session and 100 consecutive women attending the colposcopy clinic. Methods: Thirty-eight standards derived from the concerns/questions asked by women attending a pre-colposcopy counselling session were used to assess locally produced colposcopy clinic leaflets from UK colposcopy clinics, the leaflets produced by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the National Health Service Cervical Screening Programme (NHSCSP), and two “leaflets” obtained from internet sites. The Gunning fog test was used to assess the leaflets' readability. A questionnaire survey of 100 women attending the colposcopy clinic was used to determine when women wanted to receive information about colposcopy. Main outcome measures: Percentage of questions answered by a given leaflet and Gunning fog scores for readability. Results: The information leaflets of 128 colposcopy clinics were received and assessed. Thirty-two clinics only sent women the NHSCSP leaflet. No leaflet answered all 38 questions. Less than half (36/100) of the leaflets answered more than 50% of the questions. In addition to the lack of advice given, different leaflets frequently gave conflicting advice. The average Gunning fog score was 9.7 (range 5.5–15.5). The majority of women (70%) wanted to receive information about colposcopy at or prior to the time of receiving their abnormal smear test result, although only 42% of women actually received information at this time. Conclusions: Many UK colposcopy clinics do not appear to be providing women with the information they require to understand their condition and the procedure that they are about to undergo. Furthermore, this information is often not provided at the appropriate time in the screening process.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S623-S624
Author(s):  
M Charro Calvillo ◽  
M Charro-Calvillo ◽  
E Peña-Gonzalez ◽  
Y Ber-Nieto ◽  
M T Botella Esteban ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Breastfeeding is one of the most important environmental factors in early childhood for later development of an Inflammatory Bowel Disease. The duration of lactation is essential for it to have a protective effect. In addition to IBD patients, breastfeeding can have a beneficial effect for preventing disease relapse. For these reasons, we plan to know how lactation develops in our group of patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Methods A retrospective analysis of patients followed by gastroenterology consultations, with established diagnosis of IBD and with at least one gestation, in a period from January 2011 to January 2016. The data were collected a posteriori through two simple questionnaires, one completed by the patient, collecting the type of childbirth and breastfeeding she experienced and factors that influenced it. Another form is filled out by the gastroenterologist recording the characteristics of his inflammatory bowel disease. The data is collected in a structured database in Microsoft Excel and analysed with the SPSS statistic package for Windows. Results Data from 78 patients diagnosed with IBD are analysed from eight public hospitals in our autonomous community. 61.1% of patients have ulcerative colitis and 38.9% Crohn’s disease. The deliveries were mainly vaginal (82%), compared with 18% of caesarean-sections, four of them directly motivated by digestive disease. More than half of patients (57.7%) started breastfeeding after childbirth, 10.25% breastfeeding and 32.05% mixed breastfeeding But only 34.6% reach six months of breastfeeding, reaching 39.7% if we include mixed breastfeeding. In 17 patients (21.8%) their base-based inflammatory bowel disease directly influenced the development of lactation. Pharmacological treatment is the main cause for breastfeeding, followed by disease outbreaks, hospitalisations and surgery. Only 47.4% of the patients stated that in the IBD consultation they were given some information about breastfeeding, although almost all replied that they would have liked to receive it. Conclusion The majority of patients with inflammatory bowel disease in our consultations, do not reach six months of breastfeeding currently recommended by the World Health Organisation, so we have a great opportunity for improvement in this field and as gastroenterologists, we can contribute by providing more information to our patients about breastfeeding and its relationship with IBD.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry E Smallbone ◽  
Thomas FE Drake-Brockman ◽  
Britta S von Ungern-Sternberg

Follow-up for ongoing management and monitoring of patients is important in clinical practice and research. While common, telephone follow-up is resource intensive and, in our experience, yields low success rates. Electronic communication using mobile devices including smartphones and tablets can provide efficient alternatives — including SMS (text), online forms and mobile apps. To assess attitudes towards electronic follow-up, we surveyed 642 parents and carers at Perth Children’s Hospital, targeting demographics, device ownership and attitudes towards electronic follow-up. Mobile phone ownership was effectively universal. Almost all respondents were happy to communicate electronically with the hospital. Promisingly, 93.2% of respondents were happy to receive follow-up SMSs from the hospital and 80.3% were happy to reply to SMS questions. There was less enthusiasm regarding other modalities, with 59.9% happy to use a website and 69.0% happy to use a mobile app. The results support the introduction of electronic communication for follow-up in our paediatric population.


Blood ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 128 (22) ◽  
pp. 661-661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asad Bashey ◽  
Xu Zhang ◽  
Stacey Brown ◽  
Katelin Jackson ◽  
Melhem Solh ◽  
...  

Abstract Patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplants (Allo-HCT) using myeloablative preparative regimens are usually admitted to an inpatient transplant unit from the start of the conditioning regimen until hematopoietic recovery (on average 25-35 days). Historically, the rationale for routine inpatient care during this period has been the facilitation of administration of parenteral medications, prevention of mold infections and the monitoring and management of acute toxicities. However, advances in supportive care and other technologies may allow outpatient management during this period. We analyzed outcomes of all consecutive patients who underwent myeloablative allo-HCT as defined by the CIBMTR (Giralt 2009, BBMT) with planned total outpatient management at our center. Patient characteristics and outcome data were prospectively entered into our institutional database from which they were extracted for this analysis. Patients were scheduled to receive their conditioning regimen and post-transplant care in our purpose-built outpatient clinic. Patients received their stem cell infusion on the inpatient unit and were planned to be discharged home the same day except patients receiving haploidentical transplants who were planned to be discharged on day +5 to accommodate the early cytokine release syndrome commonly seen in such patients (Solomon BBMT 2012). Subsequent admissions were for significant complications necessitating inpatient management only. Our technical approach to total outpatient management of myeloablative allo-HCT was as previously described (Solomon BMT 2010, 45: 468-475). Patients (n=462) were transplanted consecutively between 4/08 and 12/15. Patient characteristics were: median age 46; male (53%); race - white 79%, black 18%, Asian 2%; diagnosis- AML 42%, ALL 21%, MDS/MPS 21%, NHL/HL/CLL 13%, other 3%; donor type - MRD 48%, MUD 35%, Haplo 17%, CBT <1%; graft source- PBSC 87%, BM 12%, BM+PBSC 1%; regimen-busulfan based 60%, TBI based 39%, other 1%; DRI -low 16%, intermediate 48%, high 26%, v. high 10%; HCT-CI- 0-2 (64%), ≥3(36%). The conditioning regimen was entirely delivered in the outpatient clinic as planned in 377 patients (82%). Of 85 (18%) patients who received some of their conditioning regimen in the inpatient setting, in 42(49%) this was to receive drugs not administrable or reimbursed in the outpatient setting, and in 43(51%) it was for management of toxicity. The majority of patients were discharged within 24 hours of stem cell infusion (311 -67%) with the median day of discharge for the remaining patients being d+13 (range d+2 to d+75). Following discharge after stem cell infusion, 82 patients (18%) were never readmitted, days to readmission for the remainder were 0-5 (40%), 6-9 (24%), > 10 (18%). For readmitted patients, most frequent reasons were - febrile neutropenia 33%, mucositis 29%, and lower GI toxicity 4.5%. Median total length of inpatient stay through d+100 was 16 d (range 1-98). Fungal infections were documented in only 3 patients (1%) through d +100. With a median follow-up for surviving patients of 52 months (6-218 months), K-M estimates of survival and DFS at 1 yr are 70% and 61% and at 4 years are 52% and 47% respectively. Cumulative incidences (CI) of non-relapse mortality (NRM) and relapse at 1 yr are 17% and 21% and at 4 yrs are 24% and 29% (Fig.1). CI of acute GVHD grade 2-4 and 3-4 at 6 months were 28% and 10%. CI of moderate to severe, and severe chronic GVHD at 4 years were 30% and 12%. On multivariate analysis, receipt of any part of the conditioning regimen as inpatient was a significant negative factor for survival (HR 1.99, p<0.001), DFS (HR 1.74, p =0.001) and NRM (HR 2.06, p=0.004). These data show that myeloablative allo-HCT performed without routine inpatient admission from conditioning through neutrophil recovery is feasible with low rates of NRM and fungal infection. Median total inpatient stay through d +100 can be reduced to 16 days and nearly 20% of patients can avoid any inpatient stay through d +100. With mature follow-up outcomes appear similar or superior to those commonly reported using a traditional inpatient approach. Figure 1. Figure 1. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


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