scholarly journals Congenital toxoplasmosis: perception of knowledge and primary prevention measures among healthcare professionals and pregnant women treated in public healthcare facilities

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 25389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernanda Loureiro De Moura ◽  
Patricia Riddell Millar ◽  
Ana Beatriz Monteiro Fonseca ◽  
Maria Regina Reis Amendoeira
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Primary Prevention ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Congenital Toxoplasmosis ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
Prevention Measures ◽  
Community Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Before And After

Aims: To evaluate knowledge about toxoplasmosis among pregnant women and healthcare professionals and to evaluate the knowledge acquired by pregnant women after health education actions.  Methods: Five hundred pregnant women and 141 healthcare professionals from health units in Niterói, state of Rio de Janeiro, answered a questionnaire, received information about toxoplasmosis and had access to an interactive educational model and to folders between 2013 and 2016. After 3 months, 145 pregnant women answered the questionnaire once again.  Results: Of 500 pregnant women, 226 (45.2%) reported having heard about toxoplasmosis. Among these, 23.5% had obtained information from friends and 19.0% from their doctors. About their exposure to risk factors, 6.8% had had contact with cat feces; 14.0% had had contact with soil without gloves; 23.4% had ingested undercooked meat; and 24.0% had drunk unfiltered water from the public supply system. The questionnaires of 145 pregnant women before and after the educational activities were compared and showed that contact with soil without gloves dropped significantly from 11.0% to 4.8% (p = 0.022) while consumption of unfiltered water fell from 26.9% to 20.0% (p < 0.001). Washing foods (62.1%), washing hands (62.1%) and consumption of well-cooked meat (61.4%) were the most widely cited preventive measures. Many mistakes were reported among healthcare professionals, and one nursing technician and 13 community healthcare agents (9.9%) had not heard about toxoplasmosis.  Conclusions: Lack of knowledge about toxoplasmosis by most of the interviewed pregnant women, in addition to the misconceptions observed among healthcare professionals, leads to the conclusion that little importance has been given so far to primary prevention of toxoplasmosis during the prenatal period. Also, health professionals’ inadequate knowledge could be detrimental to secondary prevention, which consists of early detection and treatment of toxoplasmosis during pregnancy. In this study, educational intervention contributed to improving knowledge about the transmission and prevention of toxoplasmosis by pregnant women and, to a lesser extent, to reducing exposure to some risk factors.  

Significant risk factors associated with facilities management (FM) outsourcing

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 771-796 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dubem I. Ikediashi ◽  
Stephen O. Ogunlana
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
The Body ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
Facilities Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Body Of Knowledge

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend the body of knowledge on healthcare facilities management (FM) by investigating the risks associated with outsourcing of FM services in hospitals. Design/methodology/approach – The paper relied on two strands of methodology common with pragmatic research. Questionnaire survey (QS) used data from 208 respondents representing ten hospitals while three out of the ten hospitals involved in the QS were selected based on their willingness to enter the case study (CS) interview. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics for QS and using narrative techniques by discussing themes, sub-themes for the CS. Findings – Findings established 24 out of the 35 risk factors as critical, four factors as somehow critical, and five factors as not critical. Besides, nine risk factors were found to be significantly loaded on the five risk categories. The rank analysis also revealed that the top five critical risk factors are: inexperience and lack of requisite skills; possibility of fraud by vendor; financial failure of chosen vendor; vendor opportunism; and fall in morale of employees. Originality/value – The study provides an unambiguous contribution to exiting body of knowledge on outsourcing risks as it relates to healthcare FM. It reinforces the theory that risks exist in any form of relationship but developed a distinct body of factors associated with outsourcing of FM services particularly from the context of Nigeria’s public healthcare sector.

Occurrence of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies and associated risk factors in women in selected districts of Punjab province, Pakistan

Parasitology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 147 (10) ◽  
pp. 1133-1139
Author(s):  
Shahzad Ali ◽  
Zona Amjad ◽  
Tahir Mahmood Khan ◽  
Abdul Maalik ◽  
Anam Iftikhar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Congenital Toxoplasmosis ◽  
Sampling Location ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Binomial Logistic Regression ◽  
Punjab Province

AbstractToxoplasmosis is a parasitic zoonotic disease caused by Toxoplasma (T.) gondii. Limited data are available on the occurrence of T. gondii in women especially pregnant women in Pakistan. The present study aimed to determine the occurrence and risk factors associated with T. gondii in pregnant and non-pregnant women in Punjab Province, Pakistan. A cross-sectional study was conducted and 593 samples were collected from pregnant (n = 293) and non-pregnant (n = 300) women of District Headquarter Hospitals of Chiniot, Faisalabad, Jhang and Okara, Pakistan. Data related to demographic parameters and risk factors were collected using a pretested questionnaire on blood sampling day. Serum samples were screened for antibodies (IgG) against T. gondii using ELISA. A univariant and binomial logistic regression was applied to estimate the association between seropositive and explanatory variables considering the 95% confidence interval. P value ⩽0.05 was considered statistically significant for all analysis. Out of 593, 44 (7.42%) women were seropositive for T. gondii IgG antibodies. Occupation, age, sampling location, socioeconomic status, contact with cat, pregnancy status and trimester of pregnancy were significantly associated with seropositivity for T. gondii antibodies. Location and trimester of pregnancy were identified as potential risk factors for T. gondii seropositivity based on binomial logistic regression. Toxoplasma gondii is prevalent in pregnant and non-pregnant women. Therefore, now a necessitated awareness is required to instruct the individuals about these infectious diseases (toxoplasmosis) and their control strategies to maintain the health of human population. Moreover, health awareness among public can help the minimization of T. gondii infection during pregnancy and subsequent risk of congenital toxoplasmosis.

A new model to implement a structured enhanced education and follow-up program in primary prevention for coronary artery disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
O Soran ◽  
P.G Karadeniz ◽  
I.G Aktas ◽  
C.C Genc ◽  
M.H Ilkaya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Coronary Artery Disease ◽  
Coronary Artery ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Primary Prevention ◽  
Behavioral Outcomes ◽  
Prevention Measures ◽  
Artery Disease ◽  
Cad Risk

Abstract Background Primary prevention programs for coronary artery disease (CAD) may be effective in improving health-related behavioral outcomes. However, the implementation and especially the maintanance of these programs can be very challenging mainly due to staffing cost. Thus, the present study was designed to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of a longitudinally structured, enhanced education and follow-up program for CAD prevention in an area where the diverse population and economy are major problems. Methods SANKO Coronary Artery Disesae Prevention Project (SCAD-PPI) was designed as a longitudinal study and utilized medical school students to conduct the entire project under the supervision of professors. It started in 2014 and had 2 different education and training phases. In the first phase; every school year, 2nd year Medical students underwent a one-year, specially designed training program on primary prevention for CAD. In the second phase, which took place in the 2nd year of the study, a series of conferences on primary prevention for CAD were organized by the University and local municipalities for underserved populations. Participants were prospectively assigned to an intervention where pre and post conference knowledge were collected and assessed. Every intervention was conducted by specially trained 3rd year Medical students and an education booklet which was specifically designed for this study was given to the participants. Every other month thereafter, for 6 months, each participant was followed by phone. At the 6 month follow -up, data was collected to assess the impact of enhanced education and follow-up program on behavioral outcomes. Results A total of 135 participant were enrolled; 79% were women, mean age was 41±13 years, only 29% had a graduate school degree; 56% were not working. Mean BMI was 28.3±5.1kg/m2. Overall knowledge on CAD risk factors, primary prevention measures, diet and daily exercise habits were very poor. After the enhanced education and follow-up program there was a significant improvement on the knowledge of CAD risk factors and primary prevention measures (p&lt;0.001). More importantly, the follow-up program led participants to implement those positive changes into their lives and maintain a healthy life style. A separate cost analysis showed significant savings. Conclusion This is the first study which showed that a longitudinally structured training program of medical students could be utilized to implement an enhanced education and follow–up program for primary prevention of CAD in an economically challenged, underserved population with successful outcomes. This model program is not only cost-effective and beneficial for public interest but also enhances active interaction of medical students with patients at a very early stage of their career. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None

Toxoplasma gondiiinfection in pregnant women in China

Parasitology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 139 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
X.-J. GAO ◽  
Z.-J. ZHAO ◽  
Z.-H. HE ◽  
T. WANG ◽  
T.-B. YANG ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Chinese Literature ◽  
Global Analysis ◽  
Acute Infection ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Clinical Manifestations ◽  
Congenital Toxoplasmosis ◽  
Parasitic Infections ◽  
Case Control Studies

SUMMARYToxoplasmosis, caused by the protozoan parasiteToxoplasma gondii, is one of the most common parasitic infections in humans. Primary infection in pregnant women can be transmitted to the fetus leading to miscarriage or congenital toxoplasmosis. Carefully designed nationwide seroprevalence surveys and case-control studies of risk factors conducted primarily in Europe and America, have shaped our view of the global status of maternal and congenital infection, directing approaches to disease prevention. However, despite encompassing 1 in 5 of the world's population, information is limited on the status of toxoplasmosis in China, partly due to the linguistic inaccessibility of the Chinese literature to the global scientific community. By selection and analysis of studies and data, reported within the last 2 decades in China, this review summarizes and renders accessible a large body of Chinese and other literature and aims to estimate the seroprevalence in Chinese pregnant women. It also reviews the prevalence trends, risk factors, and clinical manifestations. The key findings are (1) the majority of studies show that the overall seroprevalence in Chinese pregnant women is less than 10%, considerably lower than a recently published global analysis; and (2) the few available appropriate studies on maternal acute infection suggested an incidence of 0·3% which is broadly comparable to studies from other countries.

scholarly journals Risk factors for recent toxoplasma infection in pregnant women in Naples

1996 ◽  
Vol 116 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Buffolano ◽  
R. E. Gilbert ◽  
F. J. Holland ◽  
D. Fratta ◽  
F. Palumbo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Risk Factor ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Congenital Toxoplasmosis ◽  
Toxoplasma Infection ◽  
Recent Infection ◽  
Raw Meat ◽  
Pork Products ◽  
Cyst Viability

SUMMARYEffective primary prevention of congenital toxoplasmosis requires up to date information on locally relevant risk factors for infection in pregnant women. In Naples, risk factors for toxoplasma infection were compared in recently infected women (as assessed by detection of specific IgM in serum) and susceptible, IgG negative women. Recent infection was strongly associated with frequency of consumption of cured pork and raw meat. Eating cured pork or raw meat at least once a month increased the risk of toxoplasma infection threefold.This simple study design for determining locally relevant sources of toxoplasma infection is the first report of cured pork as a risk factor for infection. Further research is required to determine cyst viability in cured pork products. Our findings suggest that in southern Italy, cured pork and raw meat should be avoided by susceptible pregnant women.

scholarly journals Serological prevalence of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women in Luanda (Angola): Geospatial distribution and its association with socio-demographic and clinical-obstetric determinants

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. e0241908
Author(s):  
Amélia Nkutxi Vueba ◽  
Clarissa Perez Faria ◽  
Ricardo Almendra ◽  
Paula Santana ◽  
Maria do Céu Sousa
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Multivariate Analysis ◽  
Hepatitis B ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Congenital Toxoplasmosis ◽  
Maternity Hospital ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Potential Risk Factors

We report a study on toxoplasmosis in pregnant women in Luanda, Angola, determining the seroprevalence, geospatial distribution and its association with socio-economic features, dietary habits and hygiene and health conditions. Anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG and IgM were quantified in serum samples of women attended at the Lucrecia Paim Maternity Hospital between May 2016 and August 2017. The IgG avidity test and qPCR assay were used for dating the primary infection. Data were collected by questionnaire after written consent, and spatial distribution was assessed through a Kernel Density Function. The potential risk factors associated with Toxoplasma infection were evaluated using bivariate and multivariate binomial logistic regression analysis. Anti-T. gondii antibodies were quantified in 878 pregnant women, and 346 (39.4%) samples were IgG positive, 2 (0.2%) positive for IgM and IgG, and 530 (60.4%) negative for both immunoglobulins. The longitudinal study showed that none of the seronegative women seroconverted during the survey. Regarding other infections, 226 (25.7%) were positive for hepatitis B, while 118 (13.4%) were HIV-positive. The seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis was similar in most municipalities: 43.8% in Cazenga (28 of 64); 42.5% in Viana (88 of 207); 42.3% in Cacuaco (22 of 52); and 41.1% in Luanda ((179 of 435). In contrast, the seroprevalence in municipality of Belas was lower (25.8%; 31 of 120) and bivariate and multivariate analysis has shown a lower risk for toxoplasmosis in this area (OR 0.479, CI: 0.305–0.737; OR 0.471, CI: 0.299–0.728). The multivariate analysis has shown a significant increased risk for toxoplasmosis in women in the last trimester of pregnancy (OR 1.457, CI: 1.011–2.102), suffering spontaneous abortion (OR 1.863, CI: 1.014–3.465) and having pets at home (OR 1.658, CI: 1.212–2.269). Also, women who tested positive for hepatitis B (OR 1.375, CI: 1.008–1.874) and HIV (OR 1.833, CI: 1.233–2.730) had a significant increased risk for T. gondii infection. In conclusion, our study showed that a large number of pregnant women are not immunized for toxoplasmosis and identified the risk factors for this infection in Luanda. It is crucial to establish the diagnosis of primary maternal infection as well as the diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis. Our results underlined the need for diagnostic and clinical follow-up of toxoplasmosis, HIV and hepatitis B during pregnancy.

scholarly journals Toxoplasma gondii In Morocco And Palestine: General Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zuhair Dardona ◽  
Safa Ben Alla ◽  
Mohamed Hafidi ◽  
Ali Boumezzough ◽  
Samia Boussaa
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Toxoplasma Gondii ◽  
General Population ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Congenital Toxoplasmosis ◽  
Intracellular Parasite ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Underlying Risk

Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous intracellular parasite, which is commonly known to infect all warm-blooded animals. Almost 30 % of the world’s human population is infected with this parasite, though the infection varies depending on the region and ethnic group. Also, almost half of pregnant women in Morocco and one-third in Palestine have been infected with toxoplasmosis. Several studies have been conducted in order to estimate the prevalence of this parasite among pregnant women in Morocco and Palestine. However, studies revolving around the occurrence of this parasite among livestock and the environment in Palestine and Morocco are inadequate. This review will shed light on the underlying risk factors associated with the prevalence of this parasite by drawing on a comparison between the occurrence of toxoplasmosis in two different countries. It also intends on increasing the awareness and knowledge regarding this parasite among the general population. Nonetheless, Congenital toxoplasmosis as well as the seroprevalence of Toxoplasmosis among women who have undergone abortion still need to be studied further, particularly in Morocco.

scholarly journals SP1-8 Anaemia in pregnant women assisted by public healthcare services of the five Brazilian regions before and after the policy of fortification of flours with iron

2011 ◽  
Vol 65 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. A376-A376 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. P. S. Sato ◽  
E. Fujimori ◽  
S. C. Szarfarc ◽  
C. R. M. A. Araujo ◽  
V. A. de Oliveira Queiroz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
Before And After

scholarly journals Prevalence and Risk Factors of Toxoplasma gondii Infection among Pregnant Women in Hormozgan Province, South of Iran

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyedeh Zahra KHADEMI ◽  
Fatemeh GHAFFARIFAR ◽  
ABDOLHOSSEIN Dalimi ◽  
Parivash DAVOODIAN ◽  
Amir ABDOLI
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Congenital Toxoplasmosis ◽  
Elisa Test ◽  
Childbearing Age ◽  
Number Of Children ◽  
The People ◽  
Fetal Infection ◽  
History Of ◽  
Toxoplasma Gondii Infection

Background: Toxoplasmosis can cause miscarriage or complications in the fetus. Diagnosis and treatment of this disease by anti-parasitic drugs especially in early pregnancy can help to prevent fetal infection and its complications. This study aimed to determine T. gondii infection in pregnant women, evaluate risk factors in the transmission of the disease and congenital toxoplasmosis. Methods: Overall, 360 sera of pregnant women from 5 cities in the Hormozgan Province in southern Iran with different climate were evaluated from 2015-2016 for T. gondii infection by using ELISA method and positive cases of IgM and IgG were tested again using Avidity IgG ELISA. All cases were evaluated according to climate, acute and chronic of toxoplasmosis, number of pregnancy and abortion, epidemiological factors and food habits. Results: Among 360 specimens T. gondii IgG + IgM antibodies were found positive in 0. 8% subjects and also 27% of samples had IgG seropositivity. A significant relationship was observed between age, sampling place, consumption of raw and half cooked meat, history of contact with cats, abortion history, number of children, and parity with IgG positive. In Avidity IgG ELISA test, 13 people with low avidity, 3 people with borderline avidity were reported. Conclusion: 72. 2% of the population had no antibody against the disease that this could be a warning to the people and requires education of preventive and prenatal care and routine screening of women at childbearing age.

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