Techniques of Recording Photoplethysmographic Signals

Abstract The photoplethysmography optically measures blood volume changes within micro vascular tissue. Furthermore, photoplethysmographic signals are used within pulse oximeters in order to calculate the oxygen saturation of the blood. This standard measurement technique is performed as a non-invasive spot check method for human health conditions in hospitals or other health care facilities. Usually at least two light sources are used alternating in order to measure photoplethysmograms at different wavelengths. In this paper we will investigate different methods of optically recording photoplethysmographic signals.

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City and Health: An Exploratory Overview of Research Issues

Quality Innovation Prosperity ◽

10.12776/qip.v21i1.789 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 81 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Peter Nijkamp ◽

Karima Kourtit

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Human Health ◽

Environmental Quality ◽

Health Care Facilities ◽

Health Conditions ◽

Health And Wellness ◽

Bottom Line ◽

Care Facilities

The bottom line of welfare on our planet and its people is not only dependent on traditional economic measures, but also on knowledge and education and – last but not least – on human health. Human health is a critical factor for the welfare and prosperity of society. Many parameters appear to play a role in a health equation, even though the empirical measurement of health is fraught with many conceptual and empirical problems. As a consequence, we observe many disparities in empirical health conditions in a heterogeneous society; an appropriate definition and measurement of 'good health' are far from easy. Next to health disparities caused by a heterogeneity among the population, there is also an important geographical component in the spread of health patterns of the population as a result of differences in environmental quality-of-life, spatial density, quality of and access to health care facilities, and social stress conditions. From this perspective, geography matters in the field of human health. Although geographic differences in health conditions are not the only reason for people to reside or stay in a certain place, they are certainly an important decision parameter, often in combination with wellness conditions and environmental quality conditions. The aim of the present paper is to provide an overview of the literature on the geography of health and wellness, while the study is concluded with some lessons for research and policy.Purpose: The aim of the present paper is to provide an overview of the literature on the geography of health and wellness.Methodology/Approach: Literature review. We will outline the geography of human health, through a concise literature survey of the geographical patterns in human health outcomes to address the general research findings on spatial differences in health in relation to urban-rural patterns of life.Findings: The measurement of human health is fraught with many difficulties, as it is often not clear whether a correction is made for supply factors (such as health care facilities) or for individual characteristics of the people concerned (such as age or gender). In the social-medical research literature this has led to an increasing popularity of meta-analytic methods.Research Limitation/implication: Meta-analysis may be seen as a collection of quantitative research techniques that aim at providing a synthesis of previously undertaken impact studies in a given field. Clearly, and ideally, both the response and the moderator variables would have to be identical, but in reality this is not the case. Besides, the quality of the research may be difficult (often reflected in the quality of the journal in which the results are published), while also the contextual conditions may be completely different (such as physical-geographical conditions or socio-economic or poverty conditions). This makes the results of meta-analytic studies somewhat ambiguous, but nevertheless it is a valuable method that may shed more light on the determinants of health outcomes.There is clearly a case for more detailed spatial data on individual health situations. There may be a self-selection (or sorting) mechanism in the locational decisions of households so that there is a need for a more systematic data collection and analysis in this area.Originality/Value of paper: The paper aims to unravel the various forces that determine human health, in particular from the spatial perspective of places of residence.

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Measuring Spatial Patterns of Health Care Facilities and Their Relationships with Hypertension Inpatients in a Network-Constrained Urban System

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16173204 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (17) ◽

pp. 3204

Author(s):

Wang ◽

Nie

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Road Network ◽

Care Service ◽

Health Care Service ◽

Health Care Facilities ◽

Chronic Health Conditions ◽

Health Conditions ◽

Important Indicator ◽

Chronic Health ◽

Care Facilities

There is evidence of a strong correlation between inequality in health care access and disparities in chronic health conditions. Equal access to health care is an important indicator for overall population health, and the urban road network has a significant influence on the spatial distribution of urban service facilities. In this study, the network kernel density estimation was applied to detect the hot spots of health care service along the road network of Shenzhen, and we further explored the influences of population and road density on the aggregate intensity distributions at the community level, using spatial stratified heterogeneity analyses. Then, we measured the spatial clustering patterns of health care facilities in each of the ten districts of Shenzhen using the network K-function, and the interrelationships between health care facilities and hypertension patients. The results can be used to examine the reasonability of the existing health care system, which would be valuable for developing more effective prevention, control, and treatment of chronic health conditions. Further research should consider the influence of nonspatial factors on health care service access.

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Real-Time Surveillance of Infectious Diseases and Other Health Conditions During Iraq’s Arbaeenia Mass Gathering: Cross-Sectional Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.14510 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Faris Lami ◽

Inam Hameed ◽

Abdul Wahhab Jewad ◽

Yousef Khader ◽

Mirwais Amiri

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Data Collection ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Health Care Facilities ◽

Health Conditions ◽

Surveillance Systems ◽

Mass Gathering ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Mass Gatherings ◽

Care Facilities

BACKGROUND The most common religious mass gatherings in the Middle East are the Hajj at Mecca in Saudi Arabia, which occurs annually, and the Arbaeenia in Karbala. The importance of developing public health surveillance systems for mass gatherings has been previously emphasized in other reports. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to describe the common illnesses and health conditions affecting people during the Arbaeenia mass gathering in Iraq in 2016. METHODS A total of 60 data collectors took part in the field data collection over a period of 11 days, from November 12, 2016 to November 22, 2016. Data were collected from 20 health outlets along the major route from Najaf to Karbala (10 health facilities in each governorate). Two digital forms, the Health Facility Survey and the Case Survey, were used for data collection. RESULTS A total of 41,689 patients (33.3% female and 66.7% male) visited the 20 health care facilities over a period of 11 days from November 12, 2016 to November 22, 2016. More than three quarters of patients (77.5%; n=32,309) were between 20-59 years of age, more than half of patients were mainly from Iraq (56.5%; n=23,554), and about 38.9% (n=16,217) were from Iran. Patients in this study visited these health care facilities and presented with one or more conditions. Of a total 41,689 patients, 58.5% (n=24,398) had acute or infectious conditions and symptoms, 33.1% (n=13,799) had chronic conditions, 23.9% (n=9974) had traumas or injuries, 28.2% (n=11,762) had joint pain related to walking long distances, and 0.3% (n=133) had chronic dermatologic conditions. CONCLUSIONS The Arbaeenia mass gathering in 2016 exerted a high burden on the Iraqi health care system. Therefore, efforts must be made both before and during the event to ensure preparedness, proper management, and control of different conditions.

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Real-Time Surveillance of Infectious Diseases and Other Health Conditions During Iraq’s Arbaeenia Mass Gathering: Cross-Sectional Study

JMIR Public Health and Surveillance ◽

10.2196/14510 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. e14510 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Faris Lami ◽

Inam Hameed ◽

Abdul Wahhab Jewad ◽

Yousef Khader ◽

Mirwais Amiri

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Data Collection ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Health Care Facilities ◽

Health Conditions ◽

Surveillance Systems ◽

Mass Gathering ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Mass Gatherings ◽

Care Facilities

Background The most common religious mass gatherings in the Middle East are the Hajj at Mecca in Saudi Arabia, which occurs annually, and the Arbaeenia in Karbala. The importance of developing public health surveillance systems for mass gatherings has been previously emphasized in other reports. Objective This study aimed to describe the common illnesses and health conditions affecting people during the Arbaeenia mass gathering in Iraq in 2016. Methods A total of 60 data collectors took part in the field data collection over a period of 11 days, from November 12, 2016 to November 22, 2016. Data were collected from 20 health outlets along the major route from Najaf to Karbala (10 health facilities in each governorate). Two digital forms, the Health Facility Survey and the Case Survey, were used for data collection. Results A total of 41,689 patients (33.3% female and 66.7% male) visited the 20 health care facilities over a period of 11 days from November 12, 2016 to November 22, 2016. More than three quarters of patients (77.5%; n=32,309) were between 20-59 years of age, more than half of patients were mainly from Iraq (56.5%; n=23,554), and about 38.9% (n=16,217) were from Iran. Patients in this study visited these health care facilities and presented with one or more conditions. Of a total 41,689 patients, 58.5% (n=24,398) had acute or infectious conditions and symptoms, 33.1% (n=13,799) had chronic conditions, 23.9% (n=9974) had traumas or injuries, 28.2% (n=11,762) had joint pain related to walking long distances, and 0.3% (n=133) had chronic dermatologic conditions. Conclusions The Arbaeenia mass gathering in 2016 exerted a high burden on the Iraqi health care system. Therefore, efforts must be made both before and during the event to ensure preparedness, proper management, and control of different conditions.

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Suicidal Behavior in Black South Africans

Crisis ◽

10.1027//0227-5910.24.1.24 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 24-28 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Lourens Schlebusch ◽

Naseema B.M. Vawda ◽

Brenda A. Bosch

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Suicidal Behavior ◽

Health Care Facilities ◽

South African Society ◽

South Africans ◽

The Past ◽

The People ◽

Care Facilities ◽

Black South Africans ◽

To Come

Summary: In the past suicidal behavior among Black South Africans has been largely underresearched. Earlier studies among the other main ethnic groups in the country showed suicidal behavior in those groups to be a serious problem. This article briefly reviews some of the more recent research on suicidal behavior in Black South Africans. The results indicate an apparent increase in suicidal behavior in this group. Several explanations are offered for the change in suicidal behavior in the reported clinical populations. This includes past difficulties for all South Africans to access health care facilities in the Apartheid (legal racial separation) era, and present difficulties of post-Apartheid transformation the South African society is undergoing, as the people struggle to come to terms with the deleterious effects of the former South African racial policies, related socio-cultural, socio-economic, and other pressures.

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19. Control of Airborne Contaminants During Construction Activities in Health Care Facilities

10.3320/1.2758555 ◽

2005 ◽

Author(s):

D. Regelbrugge ◽

R. Rottersman ◽

G. Crawford

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Facilities ◽

Airborne Contaminants ◽

Care Facilities

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ETHNOVETERINARY MEDICINAL USES OF SOME MEDICINAL PLANTS ON PNEUMONIA BY THE GUJJAR AND PAHARI TRIBES OF POONCH DISTRICT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR

FLORA AND FAUNA ◽

10.33451/florafauna.v23i2pp263-266 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 23 (2) ◽

Author(s):

JAMIL AHMED KHAN ◽

RAJINDER PAUL

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Medicinal Plants ◽

Medicinal Plant ◽

Natural Resources ◽

Indigenous People ◽

Health Care Facilities ◽

Jammu And Kashmir ◽

Medicinal Uses ◽

Modern Health Care ◽

Care Facilities

Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir is a reservoir of enormous natural resources including the wealth of medicinal plants. The present paper deals with 12 medicinal plant species belonging to 8 genera of angiosperms used on pneumonia in cattle such as cows, sheep, goats and buffaloes in different areas of Poonch district. Due to poverty and nonavailability of modern health care facilities, the indigenous people of the area partially or fully depend on surrounding medicinal plants to cure the different ailments of their cattles. Further research on modern scientific line is necessary to improve their efficacy, safety and validation of the traditional knowledge.

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