scholarly journals Antibiotics on the rise: Google trends as a monitoring tool in India

Author(s):  
Manoj Reddy Somagutta ◽  
Maria K. L. Pormento ◽  
Namrata Hange ◽  
Obumneme J. Iloeje ◽  
Molly S. Jain ◽  
...  

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has put enormous strains on health care and public sector resources globally, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The extensive and often inept use of antibiotics during the pandemic is suspected. Data from Google trends (GT) enables the assessment of Google users' interest in a specific topic. A strong correlation between active COVID-19 cases and GT search terms of antibiotics (r=0.90) azithromycin (r=0.96) and doxycycline (r=0.93) were noticed with p<0.05. However, hydroxychloroquine (r=0.21) was not significant. Further investigation is needed to determine GT as a possible adjunctive monitoring tool for antibiotic use and formulate drug resistance patterns in India. 

2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arafat Tfayli ◽  
Sally Temraz ◽  
Rachel Abou Mrad ◽  
Ali Shamseddine

Breast cancer is a major health care problem that affects more than one million women yearly. While it is traditionally thought of as a disease of the industrialized world, around 45% of breast cancer cases and 55% of breast cancer deaths occur in low and middle income countries. Managing breast cancer in low income countries poses a different set of challenges including access to screening, stage at presentation, adequacy of management and availability of therapeutic interventions. In this paper, we will review the challenges faced in the management of breast cancer in low and middle income countries.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arjan van der Tol ◽  
Norbert Lameire ◽  
Rachael L. Morton ◽  
Wim Van Biesen ◽  
Raymond Vanholder

Background and objectivesThe prevalence of patients with ESKD who receive extracorporeal kidney replacement therapy is rising worldwide. We compared government reimbursement for hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis worldwide, assessed the effect on the government health care budget, and discussed strategies to reduce the cost of kidney replacement therapy.Design, setting, participants, & measurementsCross-sectional global survey of nephrologists in 90 countries to assess reimbursement for dialysis, number of patients receiving hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, and measures to prevent development or progression of CKD, conducted online July to December of 2016.ResultsOf the 90 survey respondents, governments from 81 countries (90%) provided reimbursement for maintenance dialysis. The prevalence of patients per million population being treated with long-term dialysis in low- and middle-income countries increased linearly with Gross Domestic Product per capita (GDP per capita), but was substantially lower in these countries compared with high-income countries where we did not observe an higher prevalence with higher GDP per capita. The absolute expenditure for dialysis by national governments showed a positive association with GDP per capita, but the percent of total health care budget spent on dialysis showed a negative association. The percentage of patients on peritoneal dialysis was low, even in countries where peritoneal dialysis is better reimbursed than hemodialysis. The so-called peritoneal dialysis–first policy without financial incentive seems to be effective in increasing the utilization of peritoneal dialysis. Few countries actively provide CKD prevention.ConclusionsIn low- and middle-income countries, reimbursement of dialysis is insufficient to treat all patients with ESKD and has a disproportionately high effect on public health expenditure. Current reimbursement policies favor conventional in-center hemodialysis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
pp. e588-e596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raph L Hamers ◽  
Tobias F Rinke de Wit ◽  
Charles B Holmes

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Babar S. Hasan ◽  
Muneera A. Rasheed ◽  
Asra Wahid ◽  
Raman Krishna Kumar ◽  
Liesl Zuhlke

Along with inadequate access to high-quality care, competing health priorities, fragile health systems, and conflicts, there is an associated delay in evidence generation and research from LMICs. Lack of basic epidemiologic understanding of the disease burden in these regions poses a significant knowledge gap as solutions can only be developed and sustained if the scope of the problem is accurately defined. Congenital heart disease (CHD), for example, is the most common birth defect in children. The prevalence of CHD from 1990 to 2017 has progressively increased by 18.7% and more than 90% of children with CHD are born in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). If diagnosed and managed in a timely manner, as in high-income countries (HICs), most children lead a healthy life and achieve adulthood. However, children with CHD in LMICs have limited care available with subsequent impact on survival. The large disparity in global health research focus on this complex disease makes it a solid paradigm to shape the debate. Despite many challenges, an essential aspect of improving research in LMICs is the realization and ownership of the problem around paucity of local evidence by patients, health care providers, academic centers, and governments in these countries. We have created a theory of change model to address these challenges at a micro- (individual patient or physician or institutions delivering health care) and a macro- (government and health ministries) level, presenting suggested solutions for these complex problems. All stakeholders in the society, from government bodies, health ministries, and systems, to frontline healthcare workers and patients, need to be invested in addressing the local health problems and significantly increase data to define and improve the gaps in care in LMICs. Moreover, interventions can be designed for a more collaborative and effective HIC-LMIC and LMIC-LMIC partnership to increase resources, capacity building, and representation for long-term productivity.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minerva Rivas Velarde ◽  
Caroline Jagoe ◽  
Jess Cuculick

UNSTRUCTURED Abstract Objectives To identify existing evidence regarding the use of Video Remote Interpretation (VRI) in healthcare settings. To assess if VRI technology can enable deaf-users to overcome interpretation barriers and improve communication outcomes between them and health care personnel. Design Scoping review. Data sources Seven medical research databases (Medline, Web of Science, Embase, Google Scholar) from 2006 and bibliographies and citations of relevant papers. Searches included articles in English, Spanish and French. Eligibility criteria for study selection Original articles about the use of VRI for Deaf or Hard of Hearing sign language users (DHH) for, or within, healthcare. Results From the original 176 articles identified, 120 were eliminated after reading the article title and abstract, and 41 articles were excluded after they were fully read. Fifteen articles were selected for inclusion. Four were literature reviews; four were surveys, three qualitative studies; and one mixed-methods study that combined qualitative and quantitative data, one brief communication, one quality improvement report and one secondary analysis. This scoping review identified a knowledge gap regarding the quality of interpretation and training of sign language interpretation for healthcare. It also shows that this area is under researched and evidence is scant. All evidence was from high-income countries which is particularly problematic given that the majority of DHH persons live in low- and middle-income countries. Conclusions Furthering our understanding on the use of VRI technology is pertinent and relevant. Available literature shows that VRI may enable deaf-users to overcome interpretation barriers and can potentially improve communication outcomes between them and health personnel within healthcare services. For VRI to be acceptable, sign language users require a VRI system supported by devices with large screen and a reliable internet connection, as well as qualified interpreters trained on medical interpretation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (Suppl 8) ◽  
pp. e001487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Dodd ◽  
Anna Palagyi ◽  
Stephen Jan ◽  
Marwa Abdel-All ◽  
Devaki Nambiar ◽  
...  

IntroductionThis paper synthesises evidence on the organisation of primary health care (PHC) service delivery in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) in the Asia Pacific and identifies evidence of effective approaches and pathways of impact in this region.MethodsWe developed a conceptual framework describing key inputs and outcomes of PHC as the basis of a systematic review. We searched exclusively for intervention studies from LMICs of the Asia-Pacific region in an effort to identify ‘what works’ to improve the coverage, quality, efficiency, equity and responsiveness of PHC. We conducted a narrative synthesis to identify key characteristics of successful interventions.ResultsFrom an initial list of 3001 articles, we selected 153 for full-text review and included 111. We found evidence on the impact of non-physician health workers (NPHWs) on coverage and quality of care, though better integration with other PHC services is needed. Community-based services are most effective when well integrated through functional referral systems and supportive supervision arrangements, and have a reliable supply of medicines. Many studies point to the importance of community engagement in improving service demand. Few studies adopted a ‘systems’ lens or adequately considered long-term costs or implementation challenges.ConclusionBased on our findings, we suggest five areas where more practical knowledge and guidance is needed to support PHC systems strengthening: (1) NPHW workforce development; (2) integrating non-communicable disease prevention and control into the basic package of care; (3) building managerial capacity; (4) institutionalising community engagement; (5) modernising PHC information systems.


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