Digital health services during COVID-19: A cross-sectional study among Chinese men who have sex with men (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Xiong ◽  
Yewei Xie ◽  
Hongbo Jiang ◽  
Guangquan Shen ◽  
Yi Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Medical Services ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Medical Needs

BACKGROUND In early 2020, many HIV and sexual health clinics shut down or only provided limited services because of COVID-19. How to ensure high-quality HIV and sexual health services for MSM during emergency responses is a critical challenge. This study evaluates Chinese MSM medical seeking behaviors before and during COVID-19 measures and explores the use of digital health (e.g., health information, online consultation, WeChat-based virtual hospitals) during the COVID-19 measures. OBJECTIVE MSM have sub-optimal healthcare seeking for health problems due to fear of unintentional disclosure of sexual orientation, fear of discrimination by healthcare workers. Digital health provides a comfortable alternative and is gaining popularity among MSM for both general and sexual health problems. This paper examines how MSM use digital health for common health issues and whether COVID-19 have any effects on their use of digital health. METHODS Data were collected from a nationwide online survey between 18 May to 2 June of 2020, a period when lockdown in China was easing. Men who ever had sex with another man, were 18 years or older, and assigned as male at birth were eligible. Survey collected information on health seeking behavior and use of digital health in three months before and during COVID-19 measures (23 January 2020). Variables that may associate with digital health use were evaluated. RESULTS Among 731 men (age: 29.2±7.3) recruited, most were never married (86.5%, 632/731), and identified as gay (81.7%, 597/731). The proportion of men who sought offline medical services at hospitals decreased from 49.1% (359 /731) before COVID-19 measures to 30.2% (221/731) during COVID-19 measures (P<0.001). Half (50.8%, 371/731) of the participants ever used digital health before COVID-19 and 35.6% (260/731) used it during the pandemic. Only 27% (197/731) reported that digital health services met their medical needs in general during the pandemic. Men living with HIV (AOR=1.92, 95%CI: 1.08-3.45) were more likely to use digital health during COVID-19 measures. CONCLUSIONS COVID-19 affected access to facility-based medical services. MSM were able to use some digital health services when facility-based services were not available. Further research is needed to optimize digital health services.

scholarly journals Health-Seeking Behaviors and its Determinants: A Facility-Based Cross-Sectional Study in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gulifeiya Abuduxike ◽  
Özen Aşut ◽  
Songül Acar Vaizoğlu ◽  
Sanda Cali
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Health Seeking Behaviors ◽  
Northern Cyprus

Background: Understanding health-seeking behaviors and determining factors help governments to adequately allocate and manage existing health resources. The aim of the study was to examine the health-seeking behaviors of people in using public and private health facilities and to assess the factors that influence healthcare utilization in Northern Cyprus. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2 polyclinics among 507 people using a structured intervieweradministered questionnaire. Health-seeking behaviors were measured using four indicators including routine medical check-ups, preferences of healthcare facilities, admission while having health problems, and refusal of health services while ill. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression analyses were done to explore factors influencing the use of health services. Results: About 77.3% of the participants reported to have visited health centers while they had any health problems. More than half (51.7%) of them had a routine medical check-up during the previous year, while 12.2% of them had refused to seek healthcare when they felt ill during the last five years. Of all, 39.1% of them reported preferring private health services. Current smokers (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=1.92, 95% CI: 1.17-3.14), having chronic diseases (AOR=2.05, 95% CI: 1.95-2.16), having poor perceptions on health (AOR=2.33; 95% CI: 1.563.48), and spending less on health during the last three months (AOR=2.08, 95% CI: 1.43- 3.01) had about twice the odds of having routine checkups. Higher education (AOR=1.87, 95% CI: 1.38-2.55) was shown to be a positive predictor for the health-seeking behaviors, whereas having self-care problems (AOR=0.18, 95% CI: 0.08-0.40) and having a moderate-income (AOR=0.68, 95% CI: 0.57-0.81) were inversely associated with seeking healthcare. Conclusion: The utilization of public and private health sectors revealed evident disparities in the socio-economic characteristics of participants. The health-seeking behaviors were determined by need factors including chronic disease status and having poor health perception and also by enabling factors such as education, income, insurance status and ability to pay by oneself. These findings highlight the need for further nationwide studies and provide evidence for specific strategies to reduce the socioeconomic inequalities in the use of healthcare services.

scholarly journals Dissociation, Cognitive Reflection and Health Literacy Have a Modest Effect on Belief in Conspiracy Theories about COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 5065
Author(s):  
Vojtech Pisl ◽  
Jan Volavka ◽  
Edita Chvojkova ◽  
Katerina Cechova ◽  
Gabriela Kavalirova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Cognitive Reflection ◽  
Variance Explained ◽  
Modest Effect

Understanding the predictors of belief in COVID-related conspiracy theories and willingness to get vaccinated against COVID-19 may aid the resolution of current and future pandemics. We investigate how psychological and cognitive characteristics influence general conspiracy mentality and COVID-related conspiracy theories. A cross-sectional study was conducted based on data from an online survey of a sample of Czech university students (n = 866) collected in January 2021, using multivariate linear regression and mediation analysis. Sixteen percent of respondents believed that COVID-19 is a hoax, and 17% believed that COVID-19 was intentionally created by humans. Seven percent of the variance of the hoax theory and 10% of the variance of the creation theory was explained by (in descending order of relevance) low cognitive reflection, low digital health literacy, high experience with dissociation and, to some extent, high bullshit receptivity. Belief in COVID-related conspiracy theories depended less on psychological and cognitive variables compared to conspiracy mentality (16% of the variance explained). The effect of digital health literacy on belief in COVID-related theories was moderated by cognitive reflection. Belief in conspiracy theories related to COVID-19 was influenced by experience with dissociation, cognitive reflection, digital health literacy and bullshit receptivity.

scholarly journals A cross-sectional study to assess the health profile of street sweepers and sanitary workers in a zone of Greater Chennai Corporation, Tamil Nadu, India

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
pp. 4357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joy Patricia Pushparani ◽  
Chitra A. ◽  
Kalpana J.
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Health Profile ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Respiratory Problems ◽  
Utilization Of Health Services ◽  
Musculoskeletal Problems

Background: Sweepers and sanitary workers are getting exposed to hazardous dust during their work. The health profile of the sanitary workers and utilization of health services are not clearly known. This study aimed to assess the health profile and associated risk factors among street sweepers and sanitary workers.Methods: A community based cross sectional study was conducted among 73 street sweepers and sanitary workers in a zone of Greater Chennai Corporation by multistage sampling method, during November 2016 to December 2016 using a semi structured questionnaire.Results: Among the respondents 67.1% were females, 2/3rd of them belonged to the age group of 30-40 years. Majority of them (82.2%) had reported to have musculoskeletal problems followed by respiratory problems (61.6%), ophthalmic problems (53.4%), skin problems (38.4%), mental health problems (39.7%). Most of the respondents had multiple problems. Musculoskeletal problems were more common among the female workers (p=0.002). Health problems like headache, fatigue, giddiness were more common among the workers who worked for >5 years (p=0.006). The utilization of health services was better among those workers who had formal school education (p=0.042).Conclusions: This study concludes majority of them have musculoskeletal problems followed by respiratory problems and ophthalmic problems. Usage of personal protective equipments and utilization of health services by the sweepers and sanitary workers were poor. Hence steps have to be taken to improve the health status by subjecting them to periodic screening and sensitization programs on usage of PPE.

scholarly journals Pharmacists’ Perspectives on the Use of My Health Record

Pharmacy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 190
Author(s):  
Sam Kosari ◽  
Kwang Choon Yee ◽  
Stephanie Mulhall ◽  
Jackson Thomas ◽  
Shane L. Jackson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Professional Relationships ◽  
Health Record ◽  
Security Measures ◽  
Record System ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Potential Benefits

(1) Background: My Health Record (MHR) is a relatively new nationwide Australian digital health record system accessible by patients and a range of healthcare professionals. Pharmacists will be key contributors and users of the MHR system, yet little is known about the perceived barriers and benefits of use. (2) Objective: To explore pharmacists’ perspectives related to potential benefits and barriers associated with use of MHR. (3) Methods: An online survey was developed and face-validated. The survey was advertised to Australian pharmacists on pharmacy professional bodies’ websites. This was a cross-sectional study using an anonymous questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the distribution of the data. Chi-square, Kendall’s tau coefficient (tau-c) and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to examine the relationships where appropriate. (4) Results: A total of 63 pharmacists completed the survey. The majority of respondents worked in a metropolitan area (74%), and the most common workplace setting was community pharmacy (65%). Perceived benefits identified by responders include that the use of MHR would help with continuity of care (90%), and that it would improve the safety (71%) and quality (75%) of care they provided. Importantly, more than half of pharmacists surveyed agreed that MHR could reduce medication errors during dispensing (57%) and could improve professional relationships with patients (57%) and general practitioners (59%). Potential barriers identified by pharmacists included patients’ concerns about privacy (81%), pharmacists’ own concern about privacy (46%), lack of training, access to and confidence in using the system. Sixty six percent of respondents had concerns about the accuracy of information contained within MHR, particularly among hospital and general practice pharmacists (p = 0.016) and almost half (44%) had concerns about the security of information in the system, mainly pharmacists working at general practice and providing medication review services (p = 0.007). Overall satisfaction with MHR varied, with 48% satisfied, 33% neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, and 19% dissatisfied, with a higher satisfaction rate among younger pharmacists (p = 0.032). (5) Conclusions: Pharmacists considered that the MHR offered key potential benefits, notably improving the safety and quality of care provided. To optimize the use of MHR, there is a need to improve privacy and data security measures, and to ensure adequate provision of user support and education surrounding the ability to integrate use of MHR with existing workflows and software.

scholarly journals Digital health literacy and online information queries in Portuguese university students

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (Supplement_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
R Rosário ◽  
C Augusto ◽  
MJ Silva ◽  
S Martins ◽  
A Duarte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
University Students ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Logistic Regression Models

Abstract Background Worldwide there is an overwhelming amount of information about COVID-19 circulating online, also named infodemic. Misinformation (the unintentional) and disinformation (the intentional) spreading of false information have proven to be very dangerous to public health. Hence, more than ever, people need skills for searching, evaluating and integrating information related to health in daily life, i.e., health literacy. Until now, little is known about the digital health literacy of university students and their information-seeking behaviour. Hence, this study aimed to analyse the associations between university students' digital health literacy and online information queries during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic (and infodemic) in Portugal. Methods A cross-sectional study of 3.084 Portuguese university students (75.7% females), with an average age of 24.2 (SD = 7.5), was conducted using an online survey. We used sociodemographic data (sex, age, subjective social status) and the digital health literacy questionnaire adapted to the specific COVID-19 context. Online information queries included the topics related to SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 searched by students. Logistic regression models were performed. Results Online information queries (e.g., individual measures to protect against infection, current spread of the virus, current situation assessments and recommendations) were associated with an increased odds of achieving sufficient digital health literacy. Conclusions Online information queries related to epidemiological and public health topics are significantly associated with digital health literacy in times of COVID-19. Further studies are needed, including programs that improve digital health literacy among university students and increase the availability of high-quality content information.

scholarly journals Internet Hospital in China during COVID-19: National Cross-Sectional Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xingyan Xu ◽  
Yingying Cai ◽  
Jianhui Guo ◽  
Le Yang ◽  
Yi Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Virus Disease ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Outpatient Service ◽  
Median Number ◽  
Smartphone App ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Medical Needs ◽  
Mobile Medicine

BACKGROUND The Internet hospital is rapidly developing in China as an innovative approach to providing health services. The corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has boost the process because Internet hospital has the ability to provide widespread accessible outpatient service delivery via Internet technologies for the public during the epidemic. To date, China's Internet hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic have not been systematically investigated. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to understand the characteristics of China's Internet hospitals, and to assess their health service capacity. METHODS Using “Internet hospitals”, “Internet health”, “Internet medicine”, “mobile medicine”, “mobile health”, “Telehealth”, “digital medicine”, “digital health”, “Web hospitals”, and “Cloud hospitals” in Chinese as the search terms, the data of Internet hospitals were collected via official website, the WeChat platform, smartphone app and the Baidu search engine until July, 2020. RESULTS By July 2020, the number of Internet hospitals had expanded to 714 in 31 provinces. Of the 714 Internet hospitals, the half of Internet hospitals were established in 2019 (206, 28.85%) and 2020 (215, 30.11%). Especially, Internet hospitals set up in the beginning of 2020, as an emergency response to the COVID-19 epidemic, has a one-third weight in the final total. There are three different dominators—government-oriented, hospital-oriented, and enterprise-oriented internet hospitals—for which sponsors have different characters of supporting content and responsibilities. In the vast majority of Internet hospitals, traditional hospitals have dominant position (73.67%, 526/714). In addition, patients accessed outpatient service delivery via WeChat (224, 35.05%) most widely. 221 (46.14%) of Internet hospitals asked doctors to give health services at a specific Web clinic, while 258(53.86%) by smartphone app. The consulting methods included graphic message (96.84%), video (43.51%) and telephone (41.75%). Besides, 106(18.60%) Internet hospitals offered 3 ways to consult for patients at the same time. The median number of doctors available online was 43. The median consultation fee of fever clinic and other outpatient clinics except fever clinic per time were separately ¥0 and ¥6. Four-fifths(80.94%) of doctors were from local hospitals and medical union. Internet hospitals played various roles during COVID-19, such as medical prescription, drug delivery service, medical insurance, epidemic prevention and control information, fever clinic consultation, psychological counseling, myth busters of COVID-19, epidemic situation dynamic and donation. CONCLUSIONS Internet hospitals are booming in China. Internet hospital play an important role on preventing and controlling COVID-19, providing different and convenient types of medical services for people seeking medical needs.

scholarly journals Assessment of Knowledge of Antenatal Mothers Regarding Selected Health Problems of Complicated Pregnancy- A Cross Sectional Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 561-566
Author(s):  
R. Johncyrani ◽  
Judie Arulappan
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Educational Status ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Deficiency Anemia ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Adequate Knowledge ◽  
Instructional Manual

Pregnancy and child birth are common and highly important aspects of women’s life. The focus of midwifery is on the care of essentially healthy women, and the care extends to women with social, medical or obstetric risk factors. A descriptive study to assess the knowledge of antenatal mothers on selected health problems complicating pregnancy was conducted. 100 antenatal mothers were selected through simple random sampling method. Among 100 antenatal mothers, 83% had inadequate knowledge and 17% had moderately adequate knowledge. There was highly significant association between the knowledge of antenatal mothers and their demographic variables such as educational status, occupation, and monthly income. It is reported that many of the antenatal mothers were having poor knowledge of selected health problems complicating pregnancy and its clinical manifestation and risk factors. Hence, it is necessary to create awareness among antenatal mothers which might improve their health seeking behaviors. This can be achieved by giving health education to the antenatal mothers. So the researcher had given instructional manual to improve knowledge regarding selected health problems complicating pregnancy which included iron deficiency anemia, gestational diabetes mellitus and pregnancy induced hypertension.

scholarly journals Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice on Malaria Prevention Among Students of Hamelmalo Agricultural College

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minassie Mengisteab Araia ◽  
Amanuel Hadgu Mebrahtu ◽  
Ghenet Weldegerghish
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Malaria Prevention ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Attitude And Practice ◽  
Agricultural College ◽  
Seeking Behavior

Abstract Background: Malaria is one of the most severe public health problems worldwide with 300 to 500 million cases and about one million deaths reported annually. In Eritrea, malaria is one of the major public health problems, particularly in Gash Barka zone which bears more than 60% of the burden. Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude, practice and misconceptions as well as association among knowledge of most vulnerable population and practice of the respondents on utilization of ITN with their demographic characteristics. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess KAP of Hamelmalo Agriculture College students in November 2016. Data was analyzed by SPSS version 20 and Stata version 13. Results: (99.3%) of respondents were aware of the existence of malaria as a disease. With regard to the malaria symptoms, fever was the most frequently reported by participant accounts 99.7%. 70.1% of respondents said they went to health facility if they get sick. Majority (85.1%) of the respondents owned ITN but only 69.2% slept last night in ITN. 228 (77.55%) perceive malaria as serious diseases only if it remains untreated however, 13 (4.42%) as an ordinary disease. Some misconceptions were found on the assessment of the students on factors associated with malaria infection and health seeking behavior. The predictors of ITN utilization was found to be age 20 (OR18.49, (CI 1.227-278.87) (P=0.035) and being resident of Zoba Debub (OR 0.094, (CI, 0.014-0.607)) (0.013) or Zoba Gash Barka (OR 0.027(CI, 0.02-0.258) (P=0.002). The association between age of respondent and level of knowledge was found to be statistically significant with OR ranging from 3.9 up to 37.5 for the differ age groups.Conclusion: The student of Hamelmalo Agricultural College has a fair knowledge, which is above 60% of the mean score and 50% on attitude and practice which is hard to accept, because we were proposing to get more than 50%. So there are still areas that need to be addressed, since the students are likely to influence the behavior of their parents addressing the existing misconception is important.

Awareness, views, perceptions, and beliefs of Pharmacy Interns regarding digital health: a cross-sectional study from Saudi Arabia (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
SAUD Alsahali
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Mean ◽  
And Training ◽  
Very High ◽  
Health Applications

BACKGROUND : Digital health technologies and applications are rapidly advancing and have gained attention in recent years. It is expected to have more roles and functions to transform the healthcare system in this era of digital consumers and services. However, limited research is available regarding delivering digital health education and training in pharmacy education and the pharmacy students’ perspectives on digital health. OBJECTIVE To assess pharmacy interns’ awareness of digital health applications in Saudi Arabia and their views regarding the coverage of digital health in the education of pharmacists. We will also assess the interns’ perceptions and beliefs about the concepts, benefits, and implementation of digital health in the practice settings METHODS A cross-sectional study using an online survey was conducted among pharmacy interns at Unaizah College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia. An invitation with the link to the online survey was sent to all interns registered at the College during the period of January to March 2021 RESULTS A total of 68 out of 77 interns registered in the internship year participated in the study, giving a response rate of 88.31%. The mean total score for pharmacy interns’ awareness of digital health applications in Saudi Arabia was 5.66 ± 1.74 (the maximum attainable score = 7). The awareness with different applications ranged from 97% for the Tawakkalna app to 64.7% for the Ministry of Health 937 call center. The mean total score for attitude and beliefs toward concepts and benefits of telehealth and telemedicine applications was 58.25 ± 10.44 (Maximum attainable score = 75). In this regard, 83.8% of the interns believed that telehealth could enhance the quality of care, 72% believed that it could enable pharmacists to accomplish tasks more quickly, and 70.6% believed that it could help effectively provide patient counseling, and 69.1% believed it could improve patients’ adherence to therapy. In this study, 40.6% believed that the current coverage of telehealth and telemedicine in the curriculum was average, while only 17.6% believed it was high/very high coverage. Moreover, only 38.2% attended additional educational activities related to digital health. Consequently, the majority (63.2%) were of the opinion that there is a high/very high need to educate and train pharmacists in the field of digital health CONCLUSIONS Overall, the interns showed good awareness of the common digital health applications in Saudi Arabia. In addition, majority of the interns had positive perceptions and beliefs towards the concepts, benefits, and implementation of digital health. However, the findings showed there is still further scope for improvement in some areas. Moreover, most interns indicated that there is a need for more education and training in the field of digital health and pharmacy informatics. Consequently, early exposure to content related to digital health and pharmacy informatics is an important step to help in the wide use and application of these technologies in the graduates’ future careers and practice CLINICALTRIAL Ethical approval was obtained from Health Research Ethics Committee at Qassim University, Saudi Arabia (reference number 20-06-12).

scholarly journals Associations among Solo Dining, Self-Determined Solitude, and Depression in South Korean University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 7392
Author(s):  
Sunjoo Jang ◽  
Haeyoung Lee ◽  
Seunghye Choi
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
University Students ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
South Korean

Although solo dining motivated by self-determined solitude can be a positive and healthy experience for individuals, solo dining that is not motivated by self-determined solitude can trigger physical and mental health problems. This study examined the associations among solo dining, self-determined solitude, and depression in university students. Accordingly, an online survey was conducted on 372 university students. The results show that students who live alone, those in poor health, and those with more frequent solo dining experiences had higher depression scores than others. Whereas satisfaction with solo dining was high when voluntary solitude was high, female students displayed higher depression scores when they had low self-determined solitude or high non-self-determined solitude, and when they had a higher frequency of eating lunch alone, compared to their male counterparts. University undergraduates who live and dine alone, owing to non-self-determined solitude, are highly vulnerable to mental health problems, including depression. Hence, interventions that foster social connectedness and entail the identification of factors accounting for students’ non-self-determined solitude should be developed.

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