Self-perceived competency among postgraduate students of public health dentistry in India: A cross-sectional survey

While the health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on frontline health care workers have been well described, the effects of the COVID-19 response on the U.S. public health workforce, which has been impacted by the prolonged public health response to the pandemic, has not been adequately characterized. A cross-sectional survey of public health professionals was conducted to assess mental and physical health, risk and protective factors for burnout, and short- and long-term career decisions during the pandemic response. The survey was completed online using the Qualtrics survey platform. Descriptive statistics and prevalence ratios (95% confidence intervals) were calculated. Among responses received from 23 August and 11 September 2020, 66.2% of public health workers reported burnout. Those with more work experience (1–4 vs. <1 years: prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.08−3.36; 5–9 vs. <1 years: PR = 1.89, CI = 1.07−3.34) or working in academic settings (vs. practice: PR = 1.31, CI = 1.08–1.58) were most likely to report burnout. As of September 2020, 23.6% fewer respondents planned to remain in the U.S. public health workforce for three or more years compared to their retrospectively reported January 2020 plans. A large-scale public health emergency response places unsustainable burdens on an already underfunded and understaffed public health workforce. Pandemic-related burnout threatens the U.S. public health workforce’s future when many challenges related to the ongoing COVID-19 response remain unaddressed.

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Vaccination knowledge, attitudes and practices in patients with HIV: a cross-sectional survey

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa166.824 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

S Rousset ◽

G Voglino ◽

E Boietti ◽

A Corradi ◽

M R Gualano ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Infectious Diseases ◽

Health System ◽

Vaccination Coverage ◽

Public Health System ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Hiv Patients ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Contagion Risk ◽

High Level

Abstract Background Infectious diseases are more common and severe in patients with HIV, which show different response to vaccines and a diminished protection. It is therefore very important to assess knowledge and attitudes towards vaccination in people with HIV, since precise vaccination coverage and vaccine hesitancy are not well established in this subgroup of patients. Methods A sample of 119 patients with HIV completed a cross-sectional survey. Patients were recruited during their routine medical examination at the infectious diseases clinic in Turin. The survey explored these main areas: demographics and history of HIV infection, vaccination history, attitudes towards vaccination, confidence in the public health system, contagion risk and disease seriousness perception. In this preliminary phase descriptive analysis were conducted. Results Preliminary data show that mean age of the participants was 49.51 years, 80% were males. The median of HIV infection duration was 10 years, while the median of the lymphocyte count was 762.50 cells/mm3. The disease with the highest vaccination coverage was tetanus (88.7%), considered a serious or very serious disease by 85.6% of the participants, despite low or very low contagion risk perception (84.1%). The disease with the lowest vaccination coverage was Herpes Zoster (7.3%), despite high or very high seriousness perception (70%). Furthermore, 99.1% of the participants showed high or very high confidence toward public health system professionals, and the majority of them (59.5%) stated that vaccines are more useful for the community than for the single person. Conclusions Vaccination coverage is still not fully satisfactory regarding diseases considered infrequent or mild. Considering the high level of confidence toward the public health system that has emerged, it is necessary to implement informative and operative strategies about vaccination for European HIV patients, which are particularly at risk regarding infectious diseases. Key messages Vaccination coverage and risk perception in HIV patients is not satisfactory for many diseases and an effort to implement informative strategies in Europe is needed. The role of vaccination in preventing infectious diseases in HIV patients should be recognized and strengthened by relying on the high level of confidence toward European public health systems.

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Examining Australian’s beliefs, misconceptions and sources of information for COVID-19: a national online survey

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043421 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. e043421

Author(s):

Rae Thomas ◽

Hannah Greenwood ◽

Zoe A Michaleff ◽

Eman Abukmail ◽

Tammy C Hoffmann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Online Survey ◽

Health Behaviours ◽

National Sample ◽

Sources Of Information ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Commercial Television ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

And Gender ◽

Public Health Strategies

ObjectivePublic cooperation to practise preventive health behaviours is essential to manage the transmission of infectious diseases such as COVID-19. We aimed to investigate beliefs about COVID-19 diagnosis, transmission and prevention that have the potential to impact the uptake of recommended public health strategies.DesignAn online cross-sectional survey.ParticipantsA national sample of 1500 Australian adults with representative quotas for age and gender provided by an online panel provider.Main outcome measureProportion of participants with correct/incorrect knowledge of COVID-19 preventive behaviours and reasons for misconceptions.ResultsOf the 1802 potential participants contacted, 289 did not qualify, 13 declined and 1500 participated in the survey (response rate 83%). Most participants correctly identified ‘washing your hands regularly with soap and water’ (92%) and ‘staying at least 1.5 m away from others’ (90%) could help prevent COVID-19. Over 40% (incorrectly) considered wearing gloves outside of the home would prevent them from contracting COVID-19. Views about face masks were divided. Only 66% of participants correctly identified that ‘regular use of antibiotics’ would not prevent COVID-19.Most participants (90%) identified ‘fever, fatigue and cough’ as indicators of COVID-19. However, 42% of participants thought that being unable to ‘hold your breath for 10 s without coughing’ was an indicator of having the virus. The most frequently reported sources of COVID-19 information were commercial television channels (56%), the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (43%) and the Australian Government COVID-19 information app (31%).ConclusionsPublic messaging about hand hygiene and physical distancing to prevent transmission appears to have been effective. However, there are clear, identified barriers for many individuals that have the potential to impede uptake or maintenance of these behaviours in the long term. We need to develop public health messages that harness these barriers to improve future cooperation. Ensuring adherence to these interventions is critical.

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DEMOGRAPHIC STUDY ON SMARTPHONE PREFERENCE AMONG STUDENTS IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES

MALAYSIAN JOURNAL OF COMPUTING ◽

10.24191/mjoc.v6i1.10426 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 650

Author(s):

Simon Ayo Adekunle ◽

Oiza Lauren Dimowo

Keyword(s):

University Students ◽

Perceived Usefulness ◽

Full Time ◽

Brand Name ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Postgraduate Students ◽

Frequency Table ◽

Study Population ◽

Demographic Attributes

This study investigated smartphone preference among undergraduate and postgraduate students in Nigerian universities. Specifically, the study examined the extent to which students’ demographic attributes such as gender, age, usage experience and educational level influence their preference for smartphones. The study also identified and ranked smartphone brands based on selected factors like brand name, brand attachment, perceived usefulness, social influence, price, aesthetic value and product design and features. A cross-sectional survey research design was used for the study. The study population comprised all full-time university students in Nigeria both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Questionnaire was designed and electronically administered using Google Form to the target respondents. After three weeks (10th June to 1st July 2020), five hundred and forty-three (543) responses were collated. However, seventy-eight (78) were found to be invalid. As a result, four hundred and sixty-five (465) responses that formed the sample size were used for the study. The data collected were statistically analyzed using frequency table, percentages, mean, standard deviation and t-test with the aid of Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The study found that Samsung is the most preferred smartphone among students. It was also revealed that the first three most important factors that influence students' preference for smartphones are brand name, perceived usefulness, and design/features. The study revealed that demographic attributes do not significantly influence smartphone preference among university students. The study, therefore, recommends that demographic attributes such as gender, age, usage experience and programme should not be significantly considered by manufacturers and marketers of smartphones in product differentiation. Keywords: Brand name, demographics, preference, smartphone, students.

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Prevalence of overweight and obesity and anthropometric reference centiles for Albanian children and adolescents living in four Balkan nation-states

Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism ◽

10.1515/jpem-2018-0253 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jakob Tarp ◽

Juel Jarani ◽

Florian Muca ◽

Andi Spahi ◽

Anders Grøntved

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Task Force ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

World Health ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Nation States ◽

Country Differences ◽

Age And Sex

Abstract Background The extent of the obesity epidemic among youth is an important public health statistic which provides an indication of the future burden of non-communicable diseases. Many developing countries, including Albania, do not have systematic and repeated monitoring systems in operation. Methods The Balkan Survey of Inactivity in Children study is a population-based cross-sectional survey including Albanian children living in the four Balkan nation-states of Albania, Kosovo, FYR Macedonia and Montenegro. In total, 19,850 children from 49 schools were approached. The LMS method was used to provide body mass index (BMI), height, weight and waist circumference reference centiles for boys and girls. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) age- and sex-specific BMI cut-points were applied to evaluate adiposity levels. Results A sample of 18,460 participants aged 6–16 years old was available for creation of the BMI for age and sex reference centiles. The prevalence of overweight (including obesity) in the full sample was 21% (95% CI: 20%–21%) according to IOTF cut-off points and 28% (95% CI: 28%–29%) at WHO cut-off points. Overweight/obesity levels where higher in boys than in girls irrespective of the cut-off points applied (p<0.001). Noticeable between-country differences were observed with a prevalence of overweight/obesity of 40% (95% CI: 38%–42%) in Montenegro but only 20% (95% CI: 19%–21%) in Kosovo (WHO cut-off points). Conclusions Overweight/obesity is highly prevalent in Albanian children and adolescents. The apparent sex and country differences may inform public health actions.

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The Veterinary Treatment Facility as a Readiness Platform for Veterinary Corps Officers

Military Medicine ◽

10.1093/milmed/usab240 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sara B Mullaney ◽

Heather Bayko ◽

Gerald D Moore ◽

Hannah E Funke ◽

Matthew J Enroth ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Animal Health ◽

Published Data ◽

Veterinary Services ◽

Multiple Sources ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Online Readiness ◽

Representative Random Sample ◽

The Individual

ABSTRACT Introduction U.S. Army Veterinary Corps provides highly skilled and adaptive veterinary professionals to protect and improve the health of people and animals while enhancing readiness throughout the DOD. Army veterinarians must be trained and credentialed for critical tasks within the animal health and food protection missions across all components. The Veterinary Metrics Division in the U.S. Army Public Health Center’s Veterinary Services and Public Health Sanitation Directorate is responsible for tracking readiness metrics of Army veterinarians and maintains a robust online Readiness Metrics Platform. Readiness targets were developed based on trends in readiness platform data, input of senior veterinary subject matter experts, and feedback from the field. To date, no data have been published describing the cases presented to DOD-owned Veterinary Treatment Facilities (VTFs). Without capturing and codifying the types of cases that present to the VTF and comparing to cases typically encountered during deployments, it is difficult to determine whether the VTF serves as an adequate readiness platform. In this study, we compare a representative random sample of non-wellness VTF patient encounters in garrison to cases reported from two different combat zones to determine if the VTF is a suitable clinical readiness platform. Materials and Methods Multiple data sources, including pre-existing published data and new data extracted from multiple sources, were used. The Iraq 2009-2010 dataset includes data collected from a Medical Detachment, Veterinary Service Support (MDVSS) deployed to Iraq from January 5, 2009 through August 23, 2010. The Iraq 2003-2007 dataset originated from a retrospective cross-sectional survey that included database and medical record abstraction. The Afghanistan 2014-2015 dataset includes data collected from the MDVSS deployed to Afghanistan from June 2014 to March 2015. Working dog veterinary encounter data were manually extracted from monthly and daily clinical reports. Data for the Garrison 2016-2018 dataset were extracted from the Remote Online Veterinary Record. A random representative sample of government-owned animal (GOA) and privately owned animal (POA) encounters seen across all DOD-owned VTFs from June 2016 to May 2018 were selected. Results We found that animals present to the VTF for a wide variety of illnesses. Overall, the top 10 encounter categories (90.3%) align with 84.2%, 92.4%, and 85.9% of all the encounter types seen in the three combat zone datasets. Comparing these datasets identifies potential gaps in readiness training relying solely on the VTF, especially in the areas of traumatic and combat-related injuries. Conclusions Ultimately, the success of the DOD Veterinary Services Animal Health mission depends on both the competence and confidence of the individual Army veterinarian. As the MHS transitions and DOD Veterinary Services continues to transform emphasizing readiness through a public health and prevention-based Army medicine approach, Army veterinarians must strike a delicate balance to continue to provide comprehensive health care to GOAs and POAs in the VTFs. Leaders at all levels must recognize the roles VTFs play in overall public health readiness and disease prevention through the proper appropriation and allocation of resources while fostering the development, confidence, and competence of Army veterinarians training within these readiness platforms.

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Healthcare Students’ Perception of Social Distancing during the 2019 Coronavirus Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey

International Journal of Medical Students ◽

10.5195/ijms.2021.820 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Devon L Barrett ◽

Katharine W Rainer ◽

Chao Zhang ◽

Travis W Blalock

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Disease Spread ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Healthcare Students ◽

Common Definition ◽

Grouping Students ◽

Control And Prevention ◽

Definition Of

Background: Since the implementation of social distancing practices during the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic there have been a myriad of definitions for ‘social distancing.’ The objective of this study was to determine students’ awareness of the various definitions of social distancing, how strictly they adhered to social distancing guidelines, and how they perceived the importance of various social distancing practices. Methods: This cross-sectional survey was distributed via email to students at Emory-affiliated graduate schools, including the Medical, Nursing, and Public Health Schools. Results: Of the 2,453 recipients of the survey, 415 students responded (16.9% response rate). The majority of respondents were medical students (n=225, 55.6%). Of the respondents, 357 noted that they “frequently” or “always” abided by social distancing. The most common definition of social distancing with which respondents were familiar was the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s (n=276 of 369 responses, 74.8%). There were significant differences across groups when grouping students by the definition of social distancing that they were aware of, the social distancing guideline they most closely followed, and their school of attendance regarding the importance of specific social distancing examples (p<0.05 for each). Conclusions: A survey of healthcare students identified differences in the importance of social distancing practices based on the definition of social distancing that they were aware of. The results of this study underscore the importance of having unified definitions of public health messaging, which ultimately may impact disease spread.

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Scenarios for problem-solving activity for the postgraduate students of public health dentistry

Journal of Dental Research and Review ◽

10.4103/jdrr.jdrr_29_17 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 2

Author(s):

Pradnya Kakodkar

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Problem Solving ◽

Postgraduate Students ◽

Public Health Dentistry

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A cross-sectional survey assessing the preparedness of the long-term care sector to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada

10.21203/rs.3.rs-57368/v3 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Henry Yu-Hin Siu ◽

Lorand Kristof ◽

Dawn Elston ◽

Abe Hafid ◽

Fred Mather

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Long Term Care ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Term Care ◽

Wide Range ◽

Significant Public Health ◽

Public Health Officials ◽

The Government

Abstract Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is a significant public health emergency that impacts all sectors of healthcare. The negative health outcomes for the COVID-19 infection have been most severe in the frail elderly dwelling in Canadian long-term care (LTC) homes.Methods: An online cross-sectional survey of Ontario LTC Clinicians working in LTC homes in Ontario Canada was conducted to provide the LTC clinician perspective on the preparedness and engagement of the LTC sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey questionnaire was developed in collaboration with the Ontario Long-Term Care Clinicians organization (OLTCC) and was distributed between March 30, 2020 to May 25, 2020. All registered members of the OLTCC and Nurse-led LTC Outreach Teams were invited to participate. The primary outcomes were: 1) the descriptive report of the screening measures implemented, communication and information received, and the preparation of the respondent’s LTC home to a potential COVID-19 outbreak; and 2) the level of agreement, as reported using a five-point Likert scale), to COVID-19 preparedness statements for the respondent’s LTC home was also assessed.Results: The overall response rate was 54% (160/294). LTC homes implemented a wide range of important interventions (e.g. instituting established respiratory isolation protocols, active screening of new LTC admissions, increasing education on infection control processes, encouraging sick staff to take time off, etc). Ample communications pertinent to the pandemic were received from provincial LTC organizations, the government and public health officials. However, the feasibility of implementing public health recommendations, as well as the engagement of the LTC sector in pandemic planning were identified as areas of concern. Medical director status was associated with an increased knowledge of local implementation of interventions to mitigate COVID-19, as well as endorsing increased access to reliable COVID-19 information and resources to manage a potential COVID-19 outbreak in their LTC home.Conclusions: This study highlights the communication to and implementation of recommendations in the Ontario LTC sector, despite some concerns regarding feasibility. Importantly, LTC clinician respondents clearly indicated that better engagement with LTC leaders is needed to plan a coordinated pandemic response.

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Survey of compliance with the cigarettes and other tobacco products act, 2003 at schools in Mangalore, Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health ◽

10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20193442 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 (8) ◽

pp. 3289 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jennifer Mathias ◽

Pratap Kumar Jena ◽

Sanjeev Kumar Shah ◽

Jay Prakash Sah ◽

Koshish Raj Gautam ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Indirect Evidence ◽

The Body ◽

Smoking Ban ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Government Schools ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Public Places ◽

Tobacco Products ◽

Wide Range

Background: Tobacco use is a major problem of public health significance as the tobacco smoking causes a wide range of diseases and adverse health impacts that affect nearly every organ of the body. The COTPA, 2003 i.e., the Indian smoke-free legislation “Prohibition of smoking in Public places” which forbids smoking in public places, including educational institutions. The main objective of this study is to assess the compliance of Section 4 and Section 6(b) of cigarettes and other tobacco products act (COTPA), 2003 in schools, to observe compliance of smoking ban at public places, to observe compliance of display of signboards at prominent places, to observe for direct and indirect evidence of smoking and other tobacco products used in school buildings and premises, to study the availability of tobacco products within 100 yards of school premises.Methods: A cross sectional survey in 100 schools in Dakshina Kannada district using compliance guide developed by partners of Bloomberg School of Public health to reduce tobacco use.Results: In 100 schools, 55 were rural area and 45 from urban area, further division shows government/semi-government schools were 44 and Private schools were 56. Section 4 for the presence of signboard, there is an association between the Management wise schools and presence of signboards (p=0.001), for section 6(b) of COTPA, there is an association between this Section and type of management (p=0.004).Conclusions: The schools depending upon the location show varied compliance towards the law. The Section 6(b) shows better compliance than Section 4.This study will help to address the implementation issues of COTPA.

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