The Association between Wearing a Mask and COVID-19

With the widespread and increasing number of cases of Coronavirus Disease (2019) globally, countries have been taking preventive measures against this pandemic. However, there is no universal agreement across cultures on whether wearing face masks are an effective physical intervention against disease transmission. We investigated the relationship between mask wearing and COVID-19 among close contacts of COVID-19 patients in the Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. In the Hiroshima Prefecture, a COVID-19 form adapted from the reporting form, “Japanese Surveillance in Post-Extreme Emergencies and Disasters”, was developed to collect data from COVID-19 patients’ close contacts under active epidemiological surveillance at Public Health Centers. The relative risk of COVID-19 for mask users versus non-mask users was calculated. A total of 820 interviewees were included in the analysis and 53.3% of them responded that they wore masks. Non-mask users were infected at a rate of 16.4%, while mask users were infected at a rate of 7.1%. Those who wore masks were infected at a rate of 0.4 times that of those who did not wear masks. (RR = 0.4, 95%CI = 0.3–0.6; Adjusted RR = 0.6, 95%CI = 0.3–0.9). These findings implied that COVID-19 could be avoided to a certain degree by wearing a mask.

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The relationship between the new-building of rural public health centers and outpatient medical utilization - review of confounding effect by IMF economic recession

Health Policy and Management ◽

10.4332/kjhpa.2011.21.3.349 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 349-364

Author(s):

Sun-Hee Park ◽

Su-Jin Lee ◽

Un-Ki Soh ◽

Baeg-Ju Na ◽

Jin-Yong Lee

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Economic Recession ◽

Health Centers ◽

Medical Utilization ◽

Utilization Review ◽

Confounding Effect ◽

Rural Public Health ◽

The Relationship

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Determinants for hospitalisations, intensive care unit admission and death among 20,293 reported COVID-19 cases in Portugal, March to April 2020

Eurosurveillance ◽

10.2807/1560-7917.es.2021.26.33.2001059 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (33) ◽

Author(s):

Vasco Ricoca Peixoto ◽

André Vieira ◽

Pedro Aguiar ◽

Paulo Sousa ◽

Carlos Carvalho ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Intensive Care Unit ◽

Intensive Care ◽

Relative Risk ◽

Absolute Risk ◽

Epidemiological Surveillance ◽

Adjusted Relative Risk ◽

Icu Admission ◽

Health Measures ◽

Routine Surveillance

Background Determinants of hospitalisation, intensive care unit (ICU) admission and death are still unclear for COVID-19. Few studies have adjusted for confounding for different clinical outcomes including all reported cases within a country. Aim We used routine surveillance data from Portugal to identify risk factors for severe COVID-19 outcomes, and to support risk stratification, public health interventions, and planning of healthcare resources. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study including 20,293 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported between 1 March and 28 April 2020 through the national epidemiological surveillance system. We calculated absolute risk, relative risk (RR) and adjusted relative risk (aRR) to identify demographic and clinical factors associated with hospitalisation, ICU admission and death using Poisson regressions. Results Increasing age (≥ 60 years) was the major determinant for all outcomes. Age ≥ 90 years was the strongest determinant of hospital admission (aRR: 6.1), and 70–79 years for ICU (aRR: 10.4). Comorbidities of cardiovascular, immunodeficiency, kidney and lung disease (aRR: 4.3, 2.8, 2.4, 2.0, respectively) had stronger associations with ICU admission, while for death they were kidney, cardiovascular and chronic neurological disease (aRR: 2.9, 2.6, 2.0). Conclusions Older age was the strongest risk factor for all severe outcomes. These findings from the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic support risk-stratified public health measures that should prioritise protecting older people. Epidemiological scenarios and clinical guidelines should consider this, even though under-ascertainment should also be considered.

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Intrinsic and realized generation intervals in infectious-disease transmission

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2015.2026 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 282 (1821) ◽

pp. 20152026 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

David Champredon ◽

Jonathan Dushoff

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Mathematical Models ◽

Disease Transmission ◽

Interval Data ◽

Contact Tracing ◽

Reproductive Number ◽

Infectious Disease Transmission ◽

Generation Interval ◽

Public Health Strategies ◽

The Relationship

The generation interval is the interval between the time when an individual is infected by an infector and the time when this infector was infected. Its distribution underpins estimates of the reproductive number and hence informs public health strategies. Empirical generation-interval distributions are often derived from contact-tracing data. But linking observed generation intervals to the underlying generation interval required for modelling purposes is surprisingly not straightforward, and misspecifications can lead to incorrect estimates of the reproductive number, with the potential to misguide interventions to stop or slow an epidemic. Here, we clarify the theoretical framework for three conceptually different generation-interval distributions: the ‘intrinsic’ one typically used in mathematical models and the ‘forward’ and ‘backward’ ones typically observed from contact-tracing data, looking, respectively, forward or backward in time. We explain how the relationship between these distributions changes as an epidemic progresses and discuss how empirical generation-interval data can be used to correctly inform mathematical models.

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Dutch public health policy during the COVID-19 pandemic of the first half of 2020. Answers to questions on public health activities January–June 2020

Zdrowie Publiczne i Zarządzanie ◽

10.4467/20842627oz.20.003.12657 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 36-45

Author(s):

Jacques Scheres ◽

Leopold Curfs

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Preventive Measures ◽

The Elderly ◽

Epidemiological Surveillance ◽

Primary Concern ◽

Public Health Services ◽

Outbreak Management ◽

National Public Health Institute ◽

Bed Capacity ◽

The Government

The authorities’ first responses were the classification of COVID-19 as Group A-disease in the sense of the Law on Public Health, scaling up of regular crisis control structures, installation of an Outbreak Management Team OMT and a “National Operational Team-Corona”. COVID-surveillance is done by the RIVM (National Public Health Institute), and is based on data from Municipal Public Health Services (GGDs) supplemented with additional (inter)national sources. The OMT is the main advisory body regarding preventive measures and includes experts from relevant medical specialisms. Organisations of medical professionals gave separate advices. Sanctions to preventive measures can be fines and closure of accommodations. Initially, 80% of the population trusted the government’s messages and “intelligent lockdown” strategy. The Prime Minister’s addresses to the people were highly appreciated. However, at slow-down of the outbreak (May-June) society’s trust crumbled (“quarantine-fatigue”). The initial testing policy was very restricted and contrary to WHO’s adagium “Test, test, test!”. In June the Minister of Health announced that a capacity of 30.000 tests per day was achieved, to be scaled up to 70.000. The crises management’s primary concern was to increase the (ICU-)bed capacity and was achieved by transforming regular wards into COVID-care, setting-up external “Corona-wards” in hotels, and regional, interregional and crossborder spreading of COVID-patients. This focus on ICU-bed capacity was criticized, as half of the death cases and extreme equipment shortages occurred in other sectors (nursing homes, homecare, homes for the elderly, psychiatry, mental handicaps). Transformation of hospital wards also led to waiting lists for non-COVID care. End of June the government presented a step-by-step easing of the lockdown in which a fine-tuned epidemiological surveillance dashboard and the continuation of economical support for the economic sector are the backbones.

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Relationship Between Nurses’ Readiness and Institutional Readiness in Developing Nursing Career Paths in Public Health Centers

Jurnal Keperawatan Indonesia ◽

10.7454/jki.v0i0.1021 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Tuti Afriani ◽

Rr. Tutik Sri Hariyati ◽

Dyah Fitri Wulandari

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Career Paths ◽

Career Path ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Health Centers ◽

Paired Data ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Nursing Career ◽

The Relationship

Nursing career paths in public health centers have not been well established compared with nurses in hospitals. It is because the nursing career path has a different organizing system, which then becomes an obstacle in implementing the career path for nurses in primary health care. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the relationship between institutional and nurses’ readiness in implementing nursing career paths within public health centers. A cross-sectional study design with questionnaire as instrument was used in this research. A consecutive sampling technique was used to select 93 nurses from 13 public health centers. Furthermore, to identify the objective of this research, the Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used to determine the relationship between paired data. The results found that institutional readiness was 64 or 71.9% of maximum values, yet nurses’ readiness was 112 or 74.5% of maximum values. Thus, it can be concluded that there was a meaningful relationship between institutional and nurses’ readiness with career path implementation (p < 0.001), indicating a strong positive relationship (r = 0.521). The results of this study are expected to become a baseline data for public health centers and public health offices to establish a professional nursing career path in public health centers. Abstrak Kesiapan Individu Berhubungan dengan Kesiapan Institusi dalam Penerapan Jenjang Karir Perawat di Puskesmas. Implementasi jenjang karir perawat di puskesmas belum established seperti pelaksanaan jenjang karir perawat di rumah sakit. Pengorganisasi jenjang karir yang berbeda pada pelayanan primer menjadi kendala dalam implementasi jenjang karir perawat di puskesmas. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengidentifikasi hubungan kesiapan institusi dan kesiapan perawat dalam penerapan jenjang karir perawat di puskesmas. Desain penelitian menggunakan cross sectional menggunakan kuesioner kepada 93 perawat pada 13 puskesmas. Teknik pengambilan sampel adalah convenience sampling. Data dianalisis menggunakan uji korelasi Spearman yang melihat hubungan kesiapan perawat dengan kesiapan intitusi dalam pengembangan jenjang karir perawat di puskesmas. Hasil didapatkan rerata kesiapan insitusi 64 (71,9% dari nilai maksimal), sedangkan kesiapan perawat didapatkan hasil lebih tinggi yaitu 112 (74,5%). Terdapat hubungan secara bermakna kesiapan institusi dengan kesiapan perawat dalam penerapan jenjang karir di puskesmas dengan p< 0,001, arah hubungan positif, dan kekuatan hubungan cukup kuat yaitu r= 0,521. Penelitian ini menjadi based line data agar puskesmas dan dinas kesehatan dapat menerapkan jenjang karir perawat profesional di puskesmas.Kata Kunci: implementasi, jenjang karir, kesiapan, perawat, puskesma

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Community Health and Public Health Nurses: Case Study in Times of COVID-19

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su132011149 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (20) ◽

pp. 11149

Author(s):

Carmen Cunha ◽

Adriana Henriques ◽

Andreia Costa

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Community Health ◽

Flow Model ◽

Health Indicators ◽

Good Health ◽

Health Centers ◽

Epidemiological Surveillance ◽

The Common ◽

Group Empowerment

The COVID-19 pandemic has given more relevance to identifying the common and specific competencies of specialized nurses in community health and public health, presenting and characterizing their interventions, relations with health indicators in the population, identifying factors that facilitate their performance, and their respective regulations. A qualitative case study was undertaken with 31 nurses from a group of health centers and data collection by interviews, direct observation, and documents analysis. The flow model and an interpretive matrix, with two strategies and two techniques, was used for the analysis and discussion. The majority of participants were female, who were aware of and familiar with the specific and defined competencies, which they put into practice. They recognize their activities as important and feel happy where they are and doing what they do. They have good a knowledge of the regulations that concern them. They consider themselves well prepared and available to intervene in many dimensions, such as epidemiological surveillance, management, and group empowerment, contributing to good health indexes and health sustainability. Expected changes are related to their potential contributions to advance the nursing profession, which this pandemic has highlighted.

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Relationship Between Nurses’ Readiness and Institutional Readiness in Developing Nursing Career Paths in Public Health Centers

Jurnal Keperawatan Indonesia ◽

10.7454/jki.v24i1.1021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 49-57

Author(s):

Tuti Afriani ◽

Rr. Tutik Sri Hariyati ◽

Dyah Fitri Wulandari

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Career Paths ◽

Career Path ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Health Centers ◽

Paired Data ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Nursing Career ◽

The Relationship

Nursing career paths in public health centers have not been well established compared with nurses in hospitals. It is because the nursing career path has a different organizing system, which then becomes an obstacle in implementing the career path for nurses in primary health care. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the relationship between institutional and nurses’ readiness in implementing nursing career paths within public health centers. A cross-sectional study design with questionnaire as instrument was used in this research. A consecutive sampling technique was used to select 93 nurses from 13 public health centers. Furthermore, to identify the objective of this research, the Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used to determine the relationship between paired data. The results found that institutional readiness was 64 or 71.9% of maximum values, yet nurses’ readiness was 112 or 74.5% of maximum values. Thus, it can be concluded that there was a meaningful relationship between institutional and nurses’ readiness with career path implementation (p< 0.001), indicating a strong positive relationship (r= 0.521). The results of this study are expected to become a baseline data for public health centers and public health offices to establish a professional nursing career path in public health centers. Abstrak Kesiapan Individu Berhubungan dengan Kesiapan Institusi dalam Penerapan Jenjang Karir Perawat di Puskesmas. Implementasi jenjang karir perawat di puskesmas belum terbentuk seperti pelaksanaan jenjang karir perawat di rumah sakit. Pengorganisasi jenjang karir yang berbeda pada pelayanan primer menjadi kendala dalam implementasi jenjang karir perawat di puskesmas. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengidentifikasi hubungan kesiapan institusi dan kesiapan perawat dalam penerapan jenjang karir perawat di puskesmas. Desain penelitian menggunakan cross sectional menggunakan kuesioner kepada 93 perawat pada 13 puskesmas. Teknik pengambilan sampel adalah convenience sampling. Data dianalisis menggunakan uji korelasi Spearman yang melihat hubungan kesiapan perawat dengan kesiapan intitusi dalam pengembangan jenjang karir perawat di puskesmas. Hasil didapatkan rerata kesiapan insitusi 64 (71,9% dari nilai maksimal), sedangkan kesiapan perawat didapatkan hasil lebih tinggi yaitu 112 (74,5%). Terdapat hubungan secara bermakna kesiapan institusi dengan kesiapan perawat dalam penerapan jenjang karir di puskesmas dengan p< 0,001, arah hubungan positif, dan kekuatan hubungan cukup kuat yaitu r= 0,521. Penelitian ini menjadi data dasar agar puskesmas dan dinas kesehatan dapat menerapkan jenjang karir perawat profesional di puskesmas. Kata Kunci:implementasi, jenjang karir, kesiapan, perawat, puskesmas

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