scholarly journals Scabies in Spain? A comprehensive epidemiological picture

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e0258780
Author(s):  
Lidia Redondo-Bravo ◽  
Beatriz Fernandez-Martinez ◽  
Diana Gómez-Barroso ◽  
Alin Gherasim ◽  
Montserrat García-Gómez ◽  
...  

Introduction Scabies is a neglected disease stablished worldwide with a fairy well determined incidence. In high-income countries, it often causes outbreaks affecting the residents and staff of institutions and long-term facilities, usually hard to detect and control due to the difficult diagnosis and notification delay. This study aim at characterizing the affected population, geographical distribution, and evolution of scabies in Spain from 1997–2019 as well as to describe the main environments of transmission using different data sources. Methods We carried out a nationwide retrospective study using four databases, which record data from different perspectives: hospital admissions, patients attended at primary healthcare services, outbreaks, and occupational diseases. We described the main characteristics from each database and calculated annual incidences in order to evaluate temporal and geographical patterns. We also analyzed outbreaks and occupational settings to characterize the main transmission foci and applied Joinpoint regression models to detect trend changes. Results The elderly was the most frequent collective among the hospital admitted patients and notified cases in outbreaks, while children and young adults were the most affected according to primary care databases. The majority of the outbreaks occurred in homes and nursing homes; however, the facilities with more cases per outbreak were military barracks, healthcare settings and nursing homes. Most occupational cases occurred also in healthcare and social services settings, being healthcare workers the most common affected professional group. We detected a decreasing trend in scabies admissions from 1997 to 2014 (annual percentage change -APC- = -11.2%) and an increasing trend from 2014 to 2017 (APC = 23.6%). Wide geographical differences were observed depending on the database explored. Discussion An increasing trend in scabies admissions was observed in Spain since 2014, probably due to cutbacks in social services and healthcare in addition to worsen of living conditions as a result of the 2008 economic crisis, among other reasons. The main transmission foci were healthcare and social settings. Measures including enhancing epidemic studies and national registries, reinforcing clinical diagnosis and early detection of cases, hygiene improvements and training of the staff and wide implementation of scabies treatment (considering mass drug administration in institutions outbreaks) should be considered to reduce the impact of scabies among most vulnerable groups in Spain.

2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-148
Author(s):  
K.Е. Tauenov ◽  

The article is devoted to studying the issue of social services in nursing homes as a factor of successful adaptation of elderly people in new conditions. The main legal acts in the field of protection of the rights of the elderly and disabled people are considered today. The subject of the research is the living conditions of elderly people living in nursing homes, and the impact of social services provided to them on their socio-economic and psychological adaptation. In order to improve the quality of social services in the future, to facilitate the social adaptation of the elderly, to develop proposals to Supplement the legislation on social protection of the elderly in General. Thereby increasing the ability of older people to adapt to social homes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-87
Author(s):  
MARIANUS MANTOVANNY TAPUNG ◽  
MAX REGUS ◽  
MARSEL R. PAYONG ◽  
MARIANUS S. JELAHUT

Abstract. The elderly, people with disabilities, people with HIV/AIDS, and people with mental disorders in vulnerable groups during the Covid-19 pandemic. This group must be given special attention because they are susceptible to Corona virus. The church as a social humanitarian institution is very concerned to pay attention to this group by doing charitable social services. This charitable social service aims to restore the physical and psychological state of this vulnerable group from the bad situation caused by the emergence of this Corona outbreak. These charitable social service activities are carried out using a combination of social work and social analysis methods. The impact of this activity is the recovery of physiological and psychological conditions of vulnerable groups. They were finally allowed to undergo this pandemic and new normal without any worries. Charitable social services have helped to make this group aware of their hygiene awareness in maintaining the condition of their bodies during this pandemic and in the future. The presence of the OiC Command Post in charitable social service activities in the form of providing social assistance in the form of food, vitamins and masks is enough to help vulnerable groups in meeting their nutritional needs during this pandemic. Adequate nutritional intake will greatly help maintain immunity and physical stamina, sustain economic needs, and maintain a healthy body. This charitable social service activity also had an impact on recognizing the existence of the Catholic Church as a religious social institution that not only offered heavenly (eschatological) salvation, but was also able to proclaim the real worldly salvation, now and here. Abstrak. Kaum lanjut usia/jompo, difabel, penderita HIV/AIDS, dan kaum yang mengalami gangguan mental termasuk kelompok rentan pada masa pandemi Covid-19. Kelompok ini mesti diperhatikan secara khusus karena rentan terpapar virus Corona. Gereja sebagai lembaga sosial kemanusiaan sangat berkepentingan untuk memperhatikan kelompok ini dengan melakukan pelayanan sosial karitatif. Pelayanan sosial karitatif ini bertujuan untuk memulihkan keadaan fisik dan psikis kelompok rentan ini dari situasi buruk akibat munculnya wabah Corona ini. Kegiatan pelayanan sosial karitatif ini dijalankan dengan menggunakan metode gabungan antara pekerjaan sosial dan analisis sosial. Dampak dari kegiatan ini adalah pulihnya keadaan fisiologis dan dan psikologis kelompok rentan. Mereka akhirnya boleh menjalani masa pandemi dan new normal ini tanpa rasa khawatir dan cemas. Pelayanan sosial karitatif telah turut menyadarkan kelompok ini agar tetap memiliki kesadaran higienik dalam memelihara dan menjaga kondisi tubuhnya selama masa pandemi ini dan masa-masa yang akan datang. Kehadiran tim posko OiC dalam kegiatan pelayanan sosial karitatif dalam bentuk pemberian bantuan sosial berupa sembako, vitamin dan masker cukup membantu kelompok rentan dalam memenuhi kebutuhan asupan gizi selama masa pandemi ini. Asupan gizi yang cukup akan sangat membantu mempertahankan imunitas dan stamina fisik, kelangsungan kebutuhan ekonomi, serta menjaga kesehatan tubuh. Kegiatan pelayanan sosial karitatif ini juga berdampak pada pengakuan terhadap eksistensi Gereja Katolik sebagai lembaga sosial religius yang tidak saja menawarkan keselamatan surgawi (eskatologis), tetapi juga mampu mewartakan secara nyata keselamatan duniawi, sekarang dan di sini.


1997 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas G. Castle

Long-term care institutions have emerged as dominant sites of death for the elderly. However, studies of this trend have primarily examined nursing homes. The purpose of this research is to determine demographic, functional, disease, and facility predictors and/or correlates of death for the elderly residing in board and care facilities. Twelve factors are found to be significant: proportion of residents older than sixty-five years of age, proportion of residents who are chair- or bed-fast, proportion of residents with HIV, bed size, ownership, chain membership, affiliation with a nursing home, number of health services provided other than by the facility, the number of social services provided other than by the facility, the number of social services provided by the facility, and visits by Ombudsmen. These are discussed and comparisons with similar studies in nursing homes are made.


Trauma ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 146040862094972
Author(s):  
Ahmed Fadulelmola ◽  
Rob Gregory ◽  
Gavin Gordon ◽  
Fiona Smith ◽  
Andrew Jennings

Introduction: A novel virus, SARS-CoV-2, has caused a fatal global pandemic which particularly affects the elderly and those with comorbidities. Hip fractures affect elderly populations, necessitate hospital admissions and place this group at particular risk from COVID-19 infection. This study investigates the effect of COVID-19 infection on 30-day hip fracture mortality. Method: Data related to 75 adult hip fractures admitted to two units during March and April 2020 were reviewed. The mean age was 83.5 years (range 65–98 years), and most (53, 70.7%) were women. The primary outcome measure was 30-day mortality associated with COVID-19 infection. Results: The COVID-19 infection rate was 26.7% (20 patients), with a significant difference in the 30-day mortality rate in the COVID-19-positive group (10/20, 50%) compared to the COVID-19-negative group (4/55, 7.3%), with mean time to death of 19.8 days (95% confidence interval: 17.0–22.5). The mean time from admission to surgery was 43.1 h and 38.3 h, in COVID-19-positive and COVID-19-negative groups, respectively. All COVID-19-positive patients had shown symptoms of fever and cough, and all 10 cases who died were hypoxic. Seven (35%) cases had radiological lung findings consistent of viral pneumonitis which resulted in mortality (70% of mortality). 30% ( n = 6) contracted the COVID-19 infection in the community, and 70% ( n = 14) developed symptoms after hospital admission. Conclusion: Hip fractures associated with COVID-19 infection have a high 30-day mortality. COVID-19 testing and chest X-ray for patients presenting with hip fractures help in early planning of high-risk surgeries and allow counselling of the patients and family using realistic prognosis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ka Chun Chong ◽  
Hong Fung ◽  
Carrie Ho Kwan Yam ◽  
Patsy Yuen Kwan Chau ◽  
Tsz Yu Chow ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The elderly healthcare voucher (EHCV) scheme is expected to lead to an increase in the number of elderly people selecting private primary healthcare services and reduce reliance on the public sector in Hong Kong. However, studies thus far have reported that this scheme has not received satisfactory responses. In this study, we examined changes in the ratio of visits between public and private doctors in primary care (to measure reliance on the public sector) for different strategic scenarios in the EHCV scheme. Methods Based on comments from an expert panel, a system dynamics model was formulated to simulate the impact of various enhanced strategies in the scheme: increasing voucher amounts, lowering the age eligibility, and designating vouchers for chronic conditions follow-up. Data and statistics for the model calibration were collected from various sources. Results The simulation results show that the current EHCV scheme is unable to reduce the utilization of public healthcare services, as well as the ratio of visits between public and private primary care among the local aging population. When comparing three different tested scenarios, even if the increase in the annual voucher amount could be maintained at the current pace or the age eligibility can be lowered to include those aged 60 years, the impact on shifts from public-to-private utilization were insignificant. The public-to-private ratio could only be marginally reduced from 0.74 to 0.64 in the first several years. Nevertheless, introducing a chronic disease-oriented voucher could result in a significant drop of 0.50 in the public-to-private ratio during the early implementation phase. However, the effect could not be maintained for an extended period. Conclusions Our findings will assist officials in improving the design of the EHCV scheme, within the wider context of promoting primary care among the elderly. We suggest that an additional chronic disease-oriented voucher can serve as an alternative strategy. The scheme must be redesigned to address more specific objectives or provide a separate voucher that promotes under-utilized healthcare services (e.g., preventive care), instead of services designed for unspecified reasons, which may lead to concerns regarding exploitation.


1989 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aidan Kelly

ABSTRACTThe theory of incrementalism is a long-standing and influential perspective on policy making and resource allocation in the public sector. Previous research on social services budgeting suggests that resources are allocated incrementally, although there has been some debate as to whether this would persist in an era of prolonged expenditure restraint. Incremental budgetary outcomes are operationalised as percentage changes in budgets pro-rata with percentage changes in the total budget, and as stable shares of total expenditure for each activity. Data for 99 English social service departments supports incrementalism in that budget shares change by only 1.8 per cent, but percentage allocations depart from pro-rata incrementalism by a mean of 74 per cent. The comparison of the two summary indices over time supports those who have argued that prolonged restraint would encourage non-incremental budgeting, but change in the agency's total budget does not consistently predict budgetary outcomes. The effect of restraint on incrementalism varies with the measure used and across the component activities of the measures, but there is enough evidence to suggest a significant decline in the level of incrementalism in social service departments. In particular, non-incremental budgeting is strongly associated with the growth of day centre expenditure on the mentally ill and the elderly before 1982–3, and after that with the pursuit of the ‘community care’ strategy within state provided services for the elderly and children. Incrementalism as a general theory of agency budgeting is limited in its ability to explain variations in the degree of incrementalism between agencies, between component budgets and over time. The conclusion suggests that further research should seek explanations for these variations in the varying balance of the competing forces which shape outcomes in welfare bureaucracies and in the relationship between these forces and the organisation's environment.


2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (suppl 4) ◽  
pp. S529-S536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Izabel Marcilio ◽  
Nelson Gouveia

This study aimed to quantify air pollution impact on morbidity and mortality in the Brazilian urban population using locally generated impact factors. Concentration-response coefficients were used to estimate the number of hospitalizations and deaths attributable to air pollution in seven Brazilian cities. Poisson regression coefficients (beta) were obtained from time-series studies conducted in Brazil. The study included individuals 65 years old and over and children under five. More than 600 deaths a year from respiratory causes in the elderly and 47 in children were attributable to mean air pollution levels, corresponding to 4.9% and 5.5% of all deaths from respiratory causes in these age groups. More than 4,000 hospital admissions for respiratory conditions were also attributable to air pollution. These results quantitatively demonstrate the currently observed contribution of air pollution to mortality and hospitalizations in Brazilian cities. Such assessment is thought to help support the planning of surveillance and control activities for air pollution in these and similar areas.


2000 ◽  
Vol 125 (2) ◽  
pp. 393-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. DEGUCHI ◽  
Y. TAKASUGI ◽  
K. NISHIMURA

Influenza vaccine effect on the occurrence and severity of influenza virus infection in a population residing in nursing homes for the elderly was studied as a cohort study during an influenza A (H3N2) epidemic in Japan. Of 22462 individuals living in 301 welfare nursing homes, 10739 voluntarily received inactivated, sub-unit trivalent influenza vaccine in a programme supported by the Osaka Prefectural Government. There were statistically significantly fewer cases of influenza, hospital admissions due to severe infection, and deaths due to influenza in the vaccinated cohort compared to the unvaccinated controls. No serious adverse reactions to vaccination were recorded. Thus influenza vaccination is effective for preventing influenza disease in persons aged 65 years and over, and should be an integral part of the care of this population residing in nursing homes.


2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Geisa dos Santos Luz ◽  
Mara Regina Santos da Silva ◽  
Francine DeMontigny

ABSTRACT Rare diseases cause strong impact in families and generate needs beyond those associated with the most frequent diseases. Some of these needs are the inclusion of new responsibilities and the relationship with the healthcare and social services. This study is aimed at identifying the priority needs of families of rare disease patients as perceived from the time of diagnosis. This is a qualitative study conducted with 16 relatives of rare disease patients who live in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Data were collected from November 2012 to March 2013, through semi-structured interviews and submitted to content analysis, based on the bioecological system of human development. The results indicated the following priority needs: access to social and healthcare services; knowledge about rare diseases; social support structures; acceptance and social integration; preservation of personal and family life. It was concluded that (re)organizing services and meeting the specific needs are preconditions to qualify nursing care and soften the impact the rare disease has on the family.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Yin ◽  
Fredrik A. Dahl ◽  
Terje P. Hagen ◽  
Hilde Lurås

Activity-based financing of Norwegian hospitals was implemented in 1997. An earlier study shows that when the activity-based component increases, the average length of stay for the elderly is reduced. If this reduction entails premature discharge, an increased activity-based component may have the undesirable side effect of increasing readmission rates. Yearly the Norwegian government decides the size of the activity-based component, and all hospitals face the same size. In this paper, we investigate whether the level of activity-based financing is associated with the readmission rates for acute-care patients above 70 years of age. The sample consisted of 468 010 hospital admissions among elderly patients in the period from 2000 to 2007. Using repeated cross-sectional data extracted from the Norwegian Patient Registry, a Cox regression model was used to estimate factors that may influence the hazard rate of a readmission within 30 days. The overall 30-day readmission rate was 6.6%. The results demonstrate that the activity-based component had no significant effect on the readmission rate. Patient-specific factors such as age, gender, diagnoses, comorbidities, as well as the time trend, were important predictors of readmission rates. We also found a statistically significant random effect of hospitals, although this effect was less substantial than the impact of patient characteristics. Our results show that the effect of the activity-based component on the readmission rate was negligible when it varied between 40% and 60%.Published: Online May 2016. In print August 2016.


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