scholarly journals Impact of COVID-19 on cancer diagnosis and management in Slovenia – preliminary results

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vesna Zadnik ◽  
Ana Mihor ◽  
Sonja Tomsic ◽  
Tina Zagar ◽  
Nika Bric ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Diagnosis ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Cancer Control ◽  
Routine Data ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Diagnosis And Management ◽  
Outpatient Visits ◽  
And Control

AbstractBackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the provision and use of healthcare services throughout the world. In Slovenia, an epidemic was officially declared between mid-March and mid-May 2020. Although all non-essential health care services were put on hold by government decree, oncological services were listed as an exception. Nevertheless, as cancer control depends also on other health services and additionally major changes in people’s behaviour likely occurred, we aimed to analyse whether cancer diagnosis and management were affected during the COVID-19 epidemic in Slovenia.MethodsWe analysed routine data for the period November 2019 through May 2020 from three sources: (1) from the Slovenian Cancer Registry we analysed data on pathohistological and clinical practice cancer notifications from two major cancer centres in Ljubljana and Maribor; (2) from the e-referral system we analysed data on all referrals in Slovenia issued for oncological services, stratified by type of referral; and (3) from the administrative data of the Institute of Oncology Ljubljana we analysed data on outpatient visits by type as well as on diagnostic imaging performed.ResultsCompared to the November 2019 – February 2020 average, the decrease in April 2020 was about 43% and 29% for pathohistological and clinical cancer notifications; 33%, 46% and 85% for first, control and genetic counselling referrals; 19% (53%), 43% (72%) and 20% (21%) for first (and control) outpatient visits at the radiotherapy, surgery and medical oncology sectors at the Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, and 48%, 76%, and 42% for X-rays, mammograms and ultrasounds performed at the Institute, respectively. The number of CT and MRI scans performed was not affected.ConclusionsSignificant drops in first referrals for oncological services, first visits and imaging studies performed at the Institute, as well as cancer notifications in April 2020 point to a possibility of a delayed cancer diagnosis for some patients during the first surge of SARS-CoV-2 cases in Slovenia. The reasons for the delay cannot be ascertained with certainty and could be linked to health-seeking behaviour of the patients, the beliefs and practices of doctors and/ or the health system management during the epidemic. Drops in control referrals and control visits were expected and are most likely due to the Institute of Oncology Ljubljana postponing non-essential follow-ups through May 2020.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SYMPTOMS AND HEALTH FACILITY CHOICE IN THE CENTRAL REGION VIETNAM

2016 ◽  
pp. 52-58
Author(s):  
Minh Tam Nguyen ◽  
Shimamura Yasuharu
Keyword(s):  
Health Care Services ◽  
Contact Point ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Healthcare Facility ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Double Burden ◽  
Quality Healthcare ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
The Relationship

Background: Patients often have their focus on looking for the high-quality healthcare services while minimizing costs in order to choose the healthcare facilities appropriate to their needs. Moreover, a double burden disease has led to changes in healthcare delivery model and health seeking behavior of patients. However, the relationship between such illness and the utilization of health care services has rarely been empirically assessed. Objective: To clarify how health status and symptoms associated with the healthcare facility choice. Methods: We conducted this survey in 3 provinces (Thua Thien Hue, Quang Tri, and Khanh Hoa), with 6,898 residents in 1,478 households. The International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC-2) was used to classify the symptoms. Results: There were 1,816 people having illness/injury during the last 3 months (26.3) and the majority of them went to CHCs when they got sick. Patients with digestive, neurological and respiratory symptoms were more likely to use CHCs as the first contact point. In contrast, people with musculoskeletal, female genital, and urological diseases were more likely to visit the higher level facilities such as provincial and central hospitals than CHCs. Key words: Healthcare sevices

scholarly journals Improving Access to Treatment of Gynecologic Cancers/Cervix Cancers

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement 2) ◽  
pp. 150s-150s
Author(s):  
M. Abdel-Wahab ◽  
D. Paez ◽  
E. Zubizarreta ◽  
A. Polo
Keyword(s):  
Cervical Cancer ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Cancer Control ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Cervical Cancer Prevention ◽  
Cervix Cancer ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Gynecologic Cancers ◽  
Access To Treatment ◽  
Care Services

Aim and purpose: The session aims at outlining actions that the healthcare community can take to improve the current situation and inform cervix cancer control plans. Highlighting the need to address opportunities in the prevention and management of cervix cancer, the session will provide guidance on primary, secondary and tertiary prevention and management of cervix cancer and will discuss the role of radiotherapy, while showcasing examples of collaboration. Audiences: Healthcare professionals with a special interest in women's cancers/cervix cancer and healthcare services planning. Cancer care advocates and patients advocates Decision makers involved in the planning of health care services Stakeholders in LMICs Suggested panel participants: Cherian Varghese, WHO Topic “The UN Joint Global Programme on Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control” The speaker will present this important initiative that builds on the world's collective endeavors so that in a generation, death from cervical cancer ceases to be a public health issue. Kennedy Lishimpi Topic, “Case study: Zambia” Illustrate how Zambia went from having no radiotherapy facilities to being able to offer up-to-date treatment to cancer patients Lusaka, Zambia Ted Trimble, NCI Topic, “NCI Activities in Support of Cervical Cancer” To present the important initiatives of the NCI/NHI to tackle the burden of gynecologic cancers Bethesda, Maryland May Abdel-Wahab, IAEA Topic, “International Program Results on the Ground in Support of Cervical Cancer” The speaker will present available support cooperation, education and training, and the need for enhanced safety and quality and use an example of interventions in Africa.

scholarly journals Disruptive Technology Enabled Healthcare 4.0 Model for Lesion Identification with Reduced Latency

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 329-343
Keyword(s):  
Early Detection ◽  
Ct Scan ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Biomedical Application ◽  
Learning Algorithms ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Images ◽  
Lesion Detection ◽  
Disruptive Technology ◽  
X Rays

Advancement and innovations in technology have resulted in ease of accessibility and availability of resources, resulting in an increased liability on health-care services. However, the application of healthcare services in rural and undeveloped areas remains a foremost challenge, despite the investments made, largely due to unreliable communication infrastructures. Machine learning (ML) has witnessed a terrific amount of attention over the last few years in the field of medical imaging research for the lesion detection through a biomedical application such as Magnetic Resonance Images (MRI), CT scan, X-rays and Ultrasound etc. Normally, an MRI or CT scan are used by the experts to produce images of the soft tissue of the human body. Early detection of the lesion is a crucial part of follow-up care after completion of primary treatment. The goal is to reduce the mortality rate by early detection and treating the disease while it is still curable assuming a more effective salvage surgery and treatment. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the automated classification learning algorithms to identify lesion; indicates how learning algorithms have been applied to biomedical applications from data acquisition to image retrieval and from segmentation to disease prediction. This paper provides a brief overview of recent innovations and challenges associated with learning algorithms applied to medical image processing and analysis. Lastly, the paper concludes with a concise discussion and tries to predict direction for upcoming trends on more advanced research studies on lesion detection.

scholarly journals Maternal health care services in Nepal: A qualitative perspective based on the socio-ecological model

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (01) ◽  
pp. 42-54
Author(s):  
Mohan Kumar Sharma ◽  
Shanti Prasad Khanal ◽  
Ramesh Adhikari ◽  
Jib Acharya
Keyword(s):  
Health Care Services ◽  
Ecological Model ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Safe Motherhood ◽  
Health Seeking ◽  
Healthcare Seeking ◽  
Health Seeking Behaviors ◽  
Child Healthcare

Nepal has a high Maternal Mortality Rates (MMR) in the South Asian region, partly due to the poor utilization of maternal and child healthcare services. The study aims to explore the influencing factors of maternal and child healthcare services among Nepalese women. Eighteen women, who had seven-days-old-children and those recently accessed maternal and child healthcare practices, were purposively selected. The face-to-face, In-depth-Interview (IDI) was applied to collect the information. The data were thematically analyzed, where Socio-Ecological Model (SEM) was applied as a theoretical framework. The study showed that the factors such as the knowledge of women, perception, and decision-making-autonomy at individual levels influenced maternal and child healthcare-seeking behaviors. Likewise, mothers-in-law and the role of husbands at intrapersonal levels, employment at institutional levels, peers and role of neighbors at community levels, and safe motherhood program at policy levels were significant factors for the utilization of maternal and child healthcare-seeking-behaviors. The negligence of women concerning pregnancy, inadequate health facilities, lack of specialist health workers with advanced equipment, and cultural taboos and beliefs were observed as score barriers for utilization of maternal and child health-seeking behaviors. The research strongly recommends that all women be aware of maternal and child healthcare and health-seeking behaviors at their initial ages.

COVID-19: The Importance of Adequate Personal Protective Equipment in Healthcare Medical Staff

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Weissenstein
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Infection Prevention And Control ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Emotional Resilience ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Healthcare Settings ◽  
And Control

We present an update on infection prevention and control for COVID-19 in healthcare settings. This update focuses on measures to be applied in settings with increasing community transmission, growing demand for concern about COVID-19 patients, and subsequent staffing issues in the event of shortages of personal protective equipment for healthcare facilities worldwide. The comfort and emotional resilience of health care workers are key components in maintaining essential health care services during the COVID-19 virus (coronavirus) outbreak.

Toward establishing telepsychology guideline: Turning the challenges of COVID-19 into opportunity (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed M. J. Alqahtani
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Psychological Services ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Governance Model ◽  
Provision Of Services ◽  
Temporary Response

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has obstructed the classical practices of psychological assessment and intervention via face-to-face interaction. Patients and all health professionals have been forced to isolate and become innovative to continue receiving and providing exceptional healthcare services while minimizing the risk of exposure to, or transmission of, COVID-19. OBJECTIVE This document is proposed initially as a guide to the extraordinary implementation of telepsychology in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and to extend its implementation to use fundamentally as the main guideline for telepsychology services in Saudi Arabia and other Arabic communities. METHODS A professional task force representing different areas of professional psychology reviewed, summarized, and documented methods, policies, procedures, and other resources to ensure that the recommendations and evidence reviews were valid and consistent with best practices. RESULTS The practice of telepsychology involves the consideration of legal and professional requirements. This paper provides a guideline and recommendations for procedural changes that are necessary to address psychological services as we transition to telepsychology, as well as elucidates and demonstrates practical telepsychology frameworks, procedures, and proper recommendations for the provision of services during COVID-19. It adds a focused examination and discussion related to factors that could influence the telemedicine guideline, such as culture, religion, legal matters, and how clinical psychologists could expand their telepsychology practice during COVID-19 and after, seeking to produce broadly applicable guidelines for the practice of telepsychology. Professional steps in practical telemedicine were illustrated in tables and examples. CONCLUSIONS Telepsychology is not a luxury or a temporary response. Rather, it should be considered part of a proactive governance model to secure a continuity of mental health care services. Arabic communities could benefit from this guideline to telepsychology as an essential protocol for providing mental health services during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Protecting Disaster Rescue and Recovery Workers

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dori B. Reissman ◽  
Maryann M. D’Alessandro ◽  
Lisa Delaney ◽  
John Piacentino
Keyword(s):  
Safety Management ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Medical Evaluation ◽  
Worker Education ◽  
Protection Strategies ◽  
Training Worker ◽  
Protective Strategies ◽  
Disaster Event ◽  
And Control ◽  
Diverse Groups

This chapter describes disaster worker protection strategies and health surveillance activities in terms of temporal phases to address disaster safety management before, during, and after a disaster event. The protective strategies discussed in the chapter integrate assessments of on-scene hazards and health or safety impacts and require pre-event planning and coordination across multiple entities. The chapter also addresses the integration of physical, psychological and behavioral health approaches. The chapter addresses the complexities of hazard assessment and control, worker education and training, worker illness and injury surveillance, and access to healthcare services, along with a box on community preparedness. These activities are performed by diverse groups of occupational and environmental health professionals. Various illustrative examples are presented to describe how basic concepts of protection and medical evaluation are applied in specific situations. The U.S. federal system for protecting disaster rescue and recovery workers is described in detail.

Health Care Services and EU Competition Law

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Okeoghene Odudu
Keyword(s):  
Market Power ◽  
Healthcare Service ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
System Matrix ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Care Services

This chapter investigates how, within a number of European Union (EU) Member States, competition law has been used to address problems of market power in the healthcare services sector. It summarizes the relevant EU and national competition laws and considers the experience of applying those laws to providers of healthcare services. The chapter is chiefly concerned with healthcare services in England, although examples are drawn for other EU Member States. Examination of the English experience provides a view of the use of competition law to address market power problems in most elements of the health system matrix. The chapter then considers three challenges that emerge from that experience of using competition law to address problems of market power in healthcare service markets. The first challenges the applicability of competition law to healthcare service providers operating in each or every element of the healthcare system matrix. The second, accepting applicability, questions the appropriateness of the substantive rules to healthcare services. The third, a battle of authority and autonomy, considers whether decisions made by healthcare service providers should be subject to external review and the type of review that competition law offers.

Novel approaches to improve prostate cancer diagnosis and management in early-stage disease

2012 ◽  
Vol 109 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Marberger ◽  
Jelle Barentsz ◽  
Mark Emberton ◽  
Jonas Hugosson ◽  
Stacy Loeb ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
Cancer Diagnosis ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Early Stage Disease ◽  
Prostate Cancer Diagnosis ◽  
Diagnosis And Management ◽  
Stage Disease ◽  
Novel Approaches ◽  
Improve Prostate Cancer

scholarly journals Joint Action on cancer iPAAC - building on experience and streamlining recommendations for the future

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Jelenc ◽  
T Albreht
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Care ◽  
National Level ◽  
Cancer Control ◽  
Professional Community ◽  
The Other ◽  
Consensus Building ◽  
Good Practices ◽  
Policy Initiatives ◽  
European Code ◽  
And Control

Abstract Background Policy initiatives, proposals and projects often end up proposing solutions and/or measures that are eventually either not or only partially implemented or they are lacking a system, which would consistently evaluate their implementation and/or impact. Good solutions are often not visible enough to the broader professional community and it is important to identify certain outstanding challenges in cancer control and policy. Driven by the need to better use the outputs from projects on cancer policy, European Commission was trying to address two challenges - one was in solving the problems with the implementation and use of the solutions that have already been proposed and the other one in identifying the outstanding challenges in cancer policy. Results We have decided to follow the structure to develop a series of recommendations and examples of good practices at the national level by selected areas. These would be streamlined into a roadmap to support policymakers at the national and EU level in formulating their cancer policies. Three pairs of targeted recommendations have been identified: Cancer prevention, including health promotion, implementation of the European Code Against Cancer and the reshaping and extension of cancer registriesGenomics and immunotherapy in cancerChallenges in cancer care and governance of cancer control Conclusions Multinational collaboration can bring about important consensual solutions, which build on the existing good practices in the countries. This can be combined well with the existing work on specific areas, carried out both internationally and nationally. Consensus building on jointly defined challenges represents a task that appears to be resolved rather pragmatically. Key message It is important that advance in cancer care and control are quickly analysed and that policymakers receive up-to-date recommendations to improve their policies on cancer control.

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