scholarly journals Observe and be mindful

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-96
Author(s):  
Jorge M Mizusaki

The members of ABTPé deserve recognition for the effective and prolific work they produce when the goal is scientific, with emphasis on our professional improvement. The concern about technical and scientific development and improvement of the association’s members is clearly highlighted by the high quality of our presentations. In our country of continental dimensions, we see many different approaches that we can apply to patients in a search for the best solutions for individuals affected by ankle and foot conditions. When evaluating our results, the interest and rights of patients should be considered, and therefore, we must keep in mind the need to accurately plan our routine practices. The care for these individuals should include a wide range of services that promote their psychological and social wellbeing and their working conditions. This is how we view a broader perspective that involves questions reflecting on how our actions affect individuals’ lives. This concern should also address the needs regarding our own quality of life. It thus becomes necessary to identify and focus on the factors that are worth the expenditure of our energy and to act mindfully in the pursuit of rewards for our actions. The diversity of our practice has demonstrated that we will be able to keep pace with technological development and apply it in a way that preserves the greater interest of patients. The format of this care will be very important in light of the enormous variety of disorders that affect the feet, as shown by the number of subjects addressed in this edition. Have a great reading. Act ethically, be mindful.   Jorge Mitsuo MizusakiEditor-in-Chief

2020 ◽  
pp. 36-48
Author(s):  
I. M. Loskutova ◽  
N. G. Romanova

This article is devoted to the application of an integrated approach in the study of the quality of life of the population of the North Ossetia. Aspects of the specifity of objective and subjective approaches are substantiated. The increasing importance of the concept of “quality of life” in the XXI century is indicated. A review of sociological studies of the level and quality of life in Russia, as well as a range of monographic works on the analyzed issues. The results of empirical sociological studies in 2014 and 2018 (a study of the quality and standard of living of the population of North Ossetia and a study of the social wellbeing of the population of North Ossetia using the methodology developed by Lapin N. I. and Belyaeva L. A.) are presented.


Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 582
Author(s):  
Abbas Jessani ◽  
Jonghm Choi ◽  
Abdul El-Rabbany ◽  
Pulane Lefoka ◽  
Mir Faeq Ali Quadri ◽  
...  

Background: Adolescents’ quality of life is reported to be significantly associated with physical and social wellbeing. Although adolescents are 30% of the Southern African population, no previous studies have focused on this group in relation to oral health and quality of life. Methods: A 40-item survey and clinical oral examinations were conducted in public schools in Maseru from 10 to 25 August 2016. Simple, bivariate, and multivariate regressions were used to evaluate the associations of oral health and psychosocial factors with self-reported general health status and quality of life. Results: A total of 526 participants, aged 12–19 years old, responded to the survey and participated in the clinical examinations. The majority reported a good (good/very good/excellent) quality of life (84%) and general health (81%). Bivariate results showed that self-reported general health in this population was significantly influenced by age. The presence of toothache and sensitivity in the adolescents were significantly associated with poor (fair/poor) self-reported general health and were found to be the best predictors for self-general health and quality of life. Conclusions: The absence of dental conditions such as toothache and tooth sensitivity can lead to a better perception of general health and Quality of Life in adolescents.


Author(s):  
Jiyoung Song ◽  
Eunwon Lee

This study aimed to describe the health-related quality of life of elderly women with experience in fall treatment as well as to prepare basic data for the development of interventions to improve the quality of life for this group. The study was based on raw data from the 2019 Korea Community Health Survey. Using the SPSS program, the characteristics of the subjects were tested by frequency, percentage, and chi-square test. To establish the impact of fall experience on the health-related quality of life of elderly women, the OR and 95% CI were calculated using multiple logistic regression analysis. Of the 4260 people surveyed, 44.7% of the elderly women said they had a high quality of life, whereas 55.3% of the elderly women said they had a low quality of life. A younger age was associated with a better-rated health-related quality of life. Those who lived in a city and had a high level of education tended to describe a high quality of life. The quality of life was considered high by those who exercised, but low by those who were obese or diabetic. The results of this study can lead to a better understanding of the experiences of elderly women who have experienced falls, and they can be used as basic data for the development of related health programs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daren K. Heyland ◽  
J. Paige Pope ◽  
Xuran Jiang ◽  
Andrew G. Day

Abstract Background People are living longer than ever before. However, with living longer comes increased problems that negatively impact on quality of life and the quality of death. Tools are needed to help individuals assess whether they are practicing the best attitudes and behaviors that are associated with a future long life, high quality of life, high quality of death and a satisfying post-death legacy. The purpose of paper is to describe the process we used to develop a novel questionnaire (“Preparedness for the Future Questionnaire™ or Prep FQ”) and to define its psychometric properties. Methods Using a multi-step development procedure, items were generated, for the new questionnaire after which the psychometric properties were tested with a heterogeneous sample of 502 Canadians. Using an online polling panel, respondents were asked to complete demographic questions as well as the Prep-FQ, Global Rating of Life Satisfaction, the Keyes Psychological Well-Being scale and the Short-Form 12. Results The final version of the questionnaire contains 34 items in 8 distinct domains (“Medico-legal”, “Social”, “Psychological Well-being”, “Planning”, “Enrichment”, “Positive Health Behaviors”, “Negative Health Behaviors”, and “Late-life Planning”). We observed minimum missing data and good usage of all response options. The average overall Prep FQ score is 51.2 (SD = 13.3). The Cronbach alphas assessing internal reliability for the Prep FQ domains ranged from 0.33 to 0.88. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) used to assess the test–retest reliability had an overall score of 0.87. For the purposes of establishing construct validity, all the pre-specified relationships between Prep FQ and the other questionnaires were met. Conclusion Analyses of this novel measure offered support for its face validity, construct validity, test–retest reliability, and internal consistency. With the development of this useful and valid scale, future research can utilize this measure to engage people in the process of comprehensively assessing and improving their state of preparedness for the future, tracking their progress along the way. Ultimately, this program of research aims to improve the quality and quantity of peoples live by helping them ‘think ahead’ and ‘plan ahead’ on the aspects of their daily life that matter to their future.


Medicina ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 122
Author(s):  
Marta Pérez-Rodríguez ◽  
Saleky García-Gómez ◽  
Javier Coterón ◽  
Juan José García-Hernández ◽  
Javier Pérez-Tejero

Background and objectives: Acquired brain injury (ABI) is the first cause of disability and physical activity (PA) is a key element in functional recovery and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) during the subacute and chronic phases. However, it is necessary to develop PA programs that respond to the heterogeneity and needs of this population. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a PA program on the HRQoL in this population. Materials and Methods: With regard to recruitment, after baseline evaluations, participants were assigned to either the intervention group (IG, n = 38) or the control group (CG, n = 35). Functional capacity, mood, quality of life and depression were measured pre- and post-intervention. The IG underwent the “Physical Activity and Sport for Acquired Brain Injury” (PASABI) program, which was designed to improve HRQoL (1-h sessions, two to four sessions/week for 18 weeks). The CG underwent a standard rehabilitation program without PA. Results: Results for the IG indicated significant differences and large effect sizes for the physical and mental dimensions of quality of life, as well as mood and functional capacity, indicating an increase in HRQoL. No significant differences were found for the CG across any variables. Conclusions: The PASABI program was feasible and beneficial for improving physiological and functionality variables in the IG. The wide range of the activities of the PASABI program allow its application to a large number of people with ABI, promoting health through PA, especially in the chronic phase.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Hunter ◽  
Mark Thyer ◽  
Dmitri Kavetski ◽  
David McInerney

<p>Probabilistic predictions provide crucial information regarding the uncertainty of hydrological predictions, which are a key input for risk-based decision-making. However, they are often excluded from hydrological modelling applications because suitable probabilistic error models can be both challenging to construct and interpret, and the quality of results are often reliant on the objective function used to calibrate the hydrological model.</p><p>We present an open-source R-package and an online web application that achieves the following two aims. Firstly, these resources are easy-to-use and accessible, so that users need not have specialised knowledge in probabilistic modelling to apply them. Secondly, the probabilistic error model that we describe provides high-quality probabilistic predictions for a wide range of commonly-used hydrological objective functions, which it is only able to do by including a new innovation that resolves a long-standing issue relating to model assumptions that previously prevented this broad application.  </p><p>We demonstrate our methods by comparing our new probabilistic error model with an existing reference error model in an empirical case study that uses 54 perennial Australian catchments, the hydrological model GR4J, 8 common objective functions and 4 performance metrics (reliability, precision, volumetric bias and errors in the flow duration curve). The existing reference error model introduces additional flow dependencies into the residual error structure when it is used with most of the study objective functions, which in turn leads to poor-quality probabilistic predictions. In contrast, the new probabilistic error model achieves high-quality probabilistic predictions for all objective functions used in this case study.</p><p>The new probabilistic error model and the open-source software and web application aims to facilitate the adoption of probabilistic predictions in the hydrological modelling community, and to improve the quality of predictions and decisions that are made using those predictions. In particular, our methods can be used to achieve high-quality probabilistic predictions from hydrological models that are calibrated with a wide range of common objective functions.</p>


Author(s):  
Afanasyeva T.G. ◽  
Lavrova N.N. ◽  
Tumentseva V.R.

Rhinitis is an inflammation of the nasal mucosa; today, according to the World Health Organization, the prevalence of the disease is 40% of the world's population. Allergic rhinitis is the most common type of chronic rhinitis, affecting 10–20% of the world's population, and the severity of the disease is associated with a significant deterioration in the quality of life, sleep and performance. Allergic rhinitis is an inflammatory disease of the nasal mucosa caused by exposure to an allergen, causing IgE-mediated inflammation. Clinically, the disease is characterized by the following main symptoms: rhinorrhea, sneezing, itching and nasal congestion. Despite the general symptoms of allergic rhinitis, its impact on the quality of life of patients and the significant cost of treatment, including pharmacotherapy, many patients do not adhere to drug treatment regimens due to their insufficient effectiveness in eliminating the emerging symptoms. Pharmacoeconomic research identifies, measures and compares the costs and effects of drug use. This framework includes research methods related to cost minimization, cost-effectiveness, decision analysis, cost of illness, and patient quality of life. This article will consider one of the four main methods for assessing pharmacoeconomics - cost minimization analysis. A cost-minimization analysis is a pharmacoeconomic assessment by comparing the costs of two or more drug alternatives regardless of outcome. Since the pharmaceutical market is represented by a wide range of original, reference and generic drugs for the treatment of allergic rhinitis, an important aspect of our research is the selection of effective and economically acceptable therapy for outpatients.


Author(s):  
EI Shubochkina ◽  
EG Blinova

Introduction: Current vocational secondary education (VSE) in Russia is characterized by a focus on practical training (as part of dual training) aimed at improving professional competencies of graduates. It also demonstrates negative trends in adolescent health, which requires optimization and development of specific algorithms of medical support for students aged 14–22 years and older appropriate to their academic and practical workload. Objective: To assess adaptation of college students to learning conditions, depending on their health status, and to substantiate ways of improving their health care. Material and methods: We retrieved and analyzed information from the database of multicenter studies conducted within the unified program of the National Medical Research Center for Children’s Health of the Russian Ministry of Health. Our sample included 197 first- and second-year college boys from the cities of Omsk and Moscow studying to become welders and auto mechanics. The quality of life, health and well-being indicators were evaluated according to the International Medical Outcomes Study 36-item short-form (MOS SF-36). The students were divided into subgroups based on their health status. The statistical processing complied with modern requirements and criteria of evidence-based medicine. Results: We established that vocational schools admitted a significant number of applicants with the above specialty preferences suffering from chronic diseases (21.1–26 %). Results of the questionnaire-based survey of future welders and car mechanics revealed difficulties in adaptation to the educational process of the students with chronic disorders expressed by lower quality of life indicators, frequent health complaints and feelings of fatigue, especially in second-year students who experience an increasing academic and practical workload. Conclusions: Students with chronic diseases mastering professions with hazardous working conditions represent population at risk, require health monitoring, determination of professional suitability, and control over the working conditions in industrial practice. The importance of protecting health of future professionals is determined by implementation of practice-based training in 42 % of vocational schools. Models of school medicine proposed to optimize health care in comprehensive schools can be adapted to conditions of secondary vocational facilities. Foreign studies have proved feasibility of an early onset of work-related diseases in certain occupations, even before completion of training, thus necessitating vocational guidance, professional medical advice, and development of an effective system of medical support for adolescents and students.


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