scholarly journals Barriers and Facilitators to Nut Consumption: A Narrative Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (23) ◽  
pp. 9127
Author(s):  
Elizabeth P. Neale ◽  
Georgie Tran ◽  
Rachel C. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Small Body ◽  
Health Professions ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
Barriers And Facilitators ◽  
Weight Perceptions ◽  
Consumption Data ◽  
Common Barriers ◽  
Nut Intake

Habitual nut intake is associated with a range of health benefits; however, population consumption data suggests that most individuals do not meet current recommendations for nut intake. The literature has highlighted a range of barriers and facilitators to nut consumption, which should be considered when designing strategies to promote nut intake. Common barriers include confusion regarding the effects of nut consumption on body weight, perceptions that nuts are high in fat, or too expensive, and challenges due to dentition issues or nut allergies. Conversely, demographic characteristics such as higher education and income level, and a healthier lifestyle overall, are associated with higher nut intakes. Health professionals appear to play an important role in promoting nut intake; however, research suggests that knowledge of the benefits of nut consumption could be improved in many health professions. Future strategies to increase nut intake to meet public health recommendations must clarify misconceptions of the specific benefits of nut consumption, specifically targeting sectors of the population known to have lower nut consumption, and educate health professionals to promote nut intake. In addition, given the relatively small body of evidence exploring barriers and facilitators to nut consumption, further research exploring these factors is justified.

scholarly journals Interprofessional Education: Reaching Health Professionals With an Interactive Professional Virtual/Online Event on Advocacy and Policy

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen D. Liller ◽  
Zachary Pruitt ◽  
Somer Goad Burke
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Interprofessional Education ◽  
Health Professions ◽  
South Florida ◽  
Online Curriculum ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Interprofessional Teams ◽  
Synchronous Online

Competencies in health policy and advocacy should be developed by all health professionals to effectively advance their professions but also effectively collaborate in interprofessional teams to improve public health. However, the COVID-19 epidemic presents a challenge to reaching students of health professions through face-to-face offerings. To meet this need, the University of South Florida College of Public Health developed asynchronous and synchronous online health policy and advocacy modules delivered to an interprofessional group of students pursuing health careers. After learning policy and advocacy material individually through a self-paced online curriculum, faculty gathered the students for a synchronous online event where they formed collaborative groups. In interprofessional teams, students prepared and presented advocacy briefs that were critiqued by the faculty. Post-event evaluation results showed that most students strongly agreed that the interprofessional event was very effective, and they all would recommend the program to other students. Universities and colleges educating students of health professions can take advantage of the technologies employed to keep students safe in the COVID-19 pandemic and still reach students effectively with interprofessional health policy and advocacy content.

Interprofessional Education Collaborative Competencies and the Public Health Professional

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 274-280
Author(s):  
Darson Rhodes ◽  
Joseph D. Visker ◽  
Elizabeth A. Whitney ◽  
Carol Cox
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Population Health ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Interprofessional Education ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Health Professions ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Patient Health

Interprofessional education involves programs that foster the partnerships of two or more individuals studying different health professions, thus allowing students to learn with and about the other professions. The Interprofessional Education Collaborative Competencies were updated in 2016 with a threefold purpose that included a greater emphasis on population health, thereby encouraging the health professions who typically work on an individual level to broaden their understanding of the field of public health. In the professional preparation of public health professionals and health education specialists, both foundational competencies and areas of responsibility imply and/or explicitly state that public health professionals and health education specialists must be able to work with interprofessional teams. Interprofessional collaborative learning activities have been recommended to be offered early and often during health professions training. Not only do public health and health education students benefit from inclusion in these interprofessional education activities but other health professions students also benefit from exposure to public health students and population health concepts. Public health and health education have contributed to leadership in interprofessional education initiatives and are well-situated to lend population health expertise to improve health care delivery as well as population and patient health outcomes.

Oral health diseases among the older people: a general health perspective

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Older People ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
General Health ◽  
Oral Health Care ◽  
Oral Diseases ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
The Relationship

Background: The relationship between oral health and general health is gaining interest in geriatric research; however, a lack of studies dealing with this issue from a general perspective makes it somewhat inaccessible to non-clinical public health professionals. Purpose: The purpose of this review is to describe the relationship between oral health and general health of the elderly on the basis of literature review, and to give non-clinical medical professionals and public health professionals an overview of this discipline. Methods: This study was based on an in-depth review of the literature pertaining to the relationship between oral health and general health among the older people. The tools commonly used to evaluate dental health and the academic researches of male elderly people were also reviewed. And future research directions were summarized. Results: Dental caries, periodontal disease, edentulism, and xerostomia are common oral diseases among the older people. Dental caries and periodontal diseases are the leading causes of missing teeth and edentulism. Xerostomia, similar to dry mouth, is another common oral health disease in the older people. No clear correlation exists between the subjective feeling of dryness and an objective decrease of saliva. Rather, both conditions can be explained by changes in saliva. The General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) and the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) are the main assessment tools used to examine oral health and quality of life in the older people. The GOHAI tends to be more sensitive to objective values pertaining to oral function. In addition, oral health studies in male elderly people are population-based cohort or cross-sectional studies, involving masticatory function, oral prevention, frailty problems, cardiovascular disease risk, and cognitive status. Conclusion: It is possible to reduce the incidence of certain oral diseases, even among individuals who take oral health care seriously. Oral health care should be based on the viewpoint of comprehensive treatment, including adequate nutrition, good life and psychology, and correct oral health care methods. In the future, researchers could combine the results of meta-analysis with the clinical experience of doctors to provide a more in-depth and broader discussion on oral health research topics concerning the older people.

Instagramming our way through public health communication: why and who is using it?

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
R Vareda ◽  
T Garcia ◽  
J Rachadell
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Communicable Diseases ◽  
Healthy Lifestyles ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Non Communicable Diseases

Abstract Background From disease prevention to health promotion, communication is key for Public Health (PH) practice and, according to the 9th Essential Public Health Operation its goal is to improve populations health literacy and capacity to access, understand and use information. Though social media is frequently presented as a potentially useful tool for PH communication, there is a lack of evidence about its effectiveness and impact on PH outcomes. This study researches Instagram® as a PH tool and aims to know who is using it, what content is shared on the platform and how much engagement there is. Methods This cross-sectional study regards information on 1000 Instagram® posts with the hashtags publichealth, publichealthpromotion, healthpromotion, publichealthmatters and publichealtheducation. Authors categorized post content and creators, and reviewed the number of likes and comments per post to determine engagement. Data analysis was performed on IBM SPSS® Statistics. Results The most common content categories were communicable diseases (n = 383), non-communicable diseases (n = 258) and healthy lifestyles (n = 143). Health professionals post more about communicable diseases (43,6%) and non-professionals about healthy lifestyles (36,1%). Non-professionals (n = 191) post about PH issues almost as much as health professionals (n = 220) and PH associations (n = 201). Most don't reference their sources (n = 821). Posts on communicable diseases have the most likes and comments per post (mean of 172 likes and 3,1 comments). Conclusions Half the Instagram® posts analysed in this study were made by health professionals or organizations. Communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases and healthy lifestyles were the most frequent content categories and had the most engagement. The majority of posts didn't reference their sources. Though Instagram® seems to be a potential PH communication tool, further research is needed to confirm its benefits for PH. Key messages Social media platforms like Instagram® are potentially powerful tools for PH communication. There is a need to understand the efficacy of social media as health promotion tools.

Men's perception and understanding of male-factor infertility in the UK

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (9) ◽  
pp. S8-S16
Author(s):  
Eleanor L Stevenson ◽  
Cheng Ching-Yu ◽  
Chang Chia-Hao ◽  
Kevin R McEleny
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Male Fertility ◽  
Public Knowledge ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Male Factor Infertility ◽  
Male Factor ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Uk

Male-factor infertility is a common but stigmatised issue, and men often do not receive the emotional support and the information they need. This study sought to understand awareness of male fertility issues compared to female fertility among the UK general male public, and also what were perceived as being the optimum methods for providing support for affected men, emotionally and through information. Men feel that male infertility is not discussed by the public as much as female infertility. Lifestyle issues that affect male fertility are not well understood, and men affected by infertility desire more support, including online, from health professionals and through peer support. Health professionals, including those in public health, could offer evidence-based programmes to reduce stigma and increase public knowledge about infertility, as well as offer emotional support to men with infertility problems.

scholarly journals Interprofessional collaboration among health professionals in cleft lip and palate treatment and care in the public health sector of South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Phumzile Hlongwa ◽  
Laetitia C. Rispel
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Cleft Lip ◽  
Cleft Lip And Palate ◽  
Interprofessional Collaboration ◽  
Collaborative Leadership ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Group Function ◽  
Public Health Sector ◽  
Effective Group

Abstract Background Collaboration among different categories of health professionals is essential for quality patient care, especially for individuals with cleft lip and palate (CLP). This study examined interprofessional collaboration (IPC) among health professionals in all CLP specialised centres in South Africa’s public health sector. Methods During 2017, a survey was conducted among health professionals at all the specialised CLP centres in South Africa’s public health sector. Following informed consent, each member of the CLP team completed a self-administered questionnaire on IPC, using the Interprofessional Competency Framework Self-Assessment Tool. The IPC questionnaire consists of seven domains with 51 items: care expertise (8 items); shared power (4 items); collaborative leadership (10 items); shared decision-making (2 items); optimising professional role and scope (10 items); effective group function (9 items); and competent communication (8 items). STATA®13 was used to analyse the data. Descriptive analysis of participants and overall mean scores were computed for each domain and analysed using ANOVA. All statistical tests were conducted at 5% significance level. Results We obtained an 87% response rate, and 52 participants completed the questionnaire. The majority of participants were female 52% (n = 27); with a mean age of 41.9 years (range 22–72). Plastic surgeons accounted for 38.5% of all study participants, followed by speech therapists (23.1%), and professional nurses (9.6%). The lowest mean score of 2.55 was obtained for effective group function (SD + -0.50), and the highest mean score of 2.92 for care expertise (SD + -0.37). Explanatory factor analysis showed that gender did not influence IPC, but category of health professional predicted scores on the five categories of shared power (p = 0.01), collaborative leadership (p = 0.04), optimising professional role and scope (p = 0.03), effective group function (p = 0.01) and effective communication (p = 0.04). Conclusion The seven IPC categories could be used as a guide to develop specific strategies to enhance IPC among CLP teams. Institutional support and leadership combined with patient-centred, continuing professional development in multi-disciplinary meetings will also enrich IPC.

scholarly journals Climate Change and Health Preparedness in Africa: Analysing Trends in Six African Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 4672
Author(s):  
Samuel Kwasi Opoku ◽  
Walter Leal Filho ◽  
Fudjumdjum Hubert ◽  
Oluwabunmi Adejumo
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
African Countries

Climate change is a global problem, which affects the various geographical regions at different levels. It is also associated with a wide range of human health problems, which pose a burden to health systems, especially in regions such as Africa. Indeed, across the African continent public health systems are under severe pressure, partly due to their fragile socioeconomic conditions. This paper reports on a cross-sectional study in six African countries (Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Namibia, Ethiopia, and Kenya) aimed at assessing their vulnerabilities to climate change, focusing on its impacts on human health. The study evaluated the levels of information, knowledge, and perceptions of public health professionals. It also examined the health systems’ preparedness to cope with these health hazards, the available resources, and those needed to build resilience to the country’s vulnerable population, as perceived by health professionals. The results revealed that 63.1% of the total respondents reported that climate change had been extensively experienced in the past years, while 32% claimed that the sampled countries had experienced them to some extent. Nigerian respondents recorded the highest levels (67.7%), followed by Kenya with 66.6%. South Africa had the lowest level of impact as perceived by the respondents (50.0%) when compared with the other sampled countries. All respondents from Ghana and Namibia reported that health problems caused by climate change are common in the two countries. As perceived by the health professionals, the inadequate resources reiterate the need for infrastructural resources, medical equipment, emergency response resources, and technical support. The study’s recommendations include the need to improve current policies at all levels (i.e., national, regional, and local) on climate change and public health and to strengthen health professionals’ skills. Improving the basic knowledge of health institutions to better respond to a changing climate is also recommended. The study provides valuable insights which may be helpful to other nations in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document