scholarly journals Way ahead - Post Covid-19 Lockdown in India

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2 (Supp)) ◽  
pp. 175-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manish Rana ◽  
Rashmi Kundapur ◽  
Amir Maroof ◽  
Vipul Chaudhari ◽  
Amiruddin Kadri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health System ◽  
Herd Immunity ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
World Health ◽  
Susceptible Population ◽  
Good Data ◽  
Mild Disease ◽  
Gradual Development ◽  
Containment Measures

COVID 19 pandemic is a global health emergency which every country is grappling with since beginning of this year.  Countries have their own strategies to cope with the cases and there have been no universal guidelines or recommendations for same. We commend the Hon. Prime Minister for taking pre-emptive timely measures to contain the pandemic at very beginning of infection in India as sustaining containment measures. Even the World Health Organisation (WHO) has acknowledged India’s efforts. According to experts for effective herd immunity about 60% of population needs to be infected, after which the infection will slow down and cases will continue to occur at low levels. For that we need good data coming from the system and government shall ensure that good data is provided for monitoring and surveillance. If all the susceptible population is exposed (without any restrictions) then we have an exponential rise in cases and our health system will be overwhelmed probably resulting in large number of deaths.  Great Britain went ahead with strategy of developing herd immunity in its population and safeguarding the elderly but after projections from Imperial College COVID 19 team, reversed their strategy to social distancing and saving lives as their health system will be overwhelmed.  COVID 19 is a mild disease for people in the younger age group while in people above the age of 60 years, the mortality is high. So staggered exposure of younger population to infection while safeguarding the elderly population at home will prevent the surge of cases and facilitate gradual development of immunity in population. Government should also focus on developing a robust health care system for screening and management of cases coupled with gradual relaxation of restriction so that health system is not overwhelmed with management of COVID 19.

scholarly journals Prevalence and factors associated with Metabolic Syndrome in elderly users of the Unified Health System

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 805-817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edna Cunha Vieira ◽  
Maria do Rosário Gondim Peixoto ◽  
Erika Aparecida da Silveira
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Syndrome ◽  
Health System ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
World Health ◽  
Fat Percentage ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Unified Health System ◽  
The Metabolic Syndrome

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence and factors associated with metabolic syndrome in the elderly. METHODS: Cross-sectional study, with 133 individuals randomly selected in the Unified Health System in Goiania, Goiás. The following variables were researched: anthropometric (BMI, waist circumference, fat percentage by Dual X-ray absorptiometry), sociodemographic (gender, age, color, income, marital status and years of schooling), lifestyle (physical activity, smoking and risk alcohol consumption) and food intake (risk and protective foods). The metabolic syndrome was assessed according to harmonized criteria proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO). The combinations were tested by Poisson regression for confounding factors. RESULTS: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 58.65% (95%CI 49.8 - 67.1), with 60.5% (95%CI 49.01 - 71.18) for females and 55.7% (95%CI 41.33 - 69.53) for males. Hypertension was the most prevalent component of the syndrome in both men, with 80.8% (95%CI 64.5 - 90.4), and women, with 85.2% (95%CI 75.5 - 92.1). After the multivariate analysis, only the excess of weight measured by body mass index (prevalence ratio = 1.66; p < 0.01) remained associated with the metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in this sample was high, indicating the need for systematic actions by health workers in the control of risk factors through prevention strategies and comprehensive care to the elderly.

Association of Suicide Rates of Elderly Persons with Fertility Rates

2008 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajit Shah
Keyword(s):  
Social Integration ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
World Health ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Fertility Rates ◽  
Suicide Rates ◽  
Proxy Measure ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Using Data

A negative correlation between societal suicide rates and social integration has been reported, but rarely specifically examined for suicide rates of the elderly although suicide rates of elderly persons are among the highest. The associations of suicide rates of elderly persons and fertility rates for 81 countries were examined using data from the World Health Organisation and United Nations. Fertility rates were considered a proxy measure for social integration. Multiple regression analysis indicated that suicide rates for males and females in the age bands 65–74 years and 75+ years were independently (negative) correlated with fertility rates. Fertility rates, as a measure of social integration, may interact with, modify and mediate the effect of cultural factors on suicide rates of elderly persons.

COVID-19: Avoiding a second tragedy in a tuberculosis burdened country

2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Siddharth Raj Yadav ◽  
Rohit Kumar ◽  
Nitesh Gupta ◽  
Pranav Ish ◽  
Shibdas Chakrabarti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Human Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
World Health ◽  
Special Population ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
The World

To the EditorNovel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first notified in December 2019 from Wuhan, China. Now, it has spread rapidly and has been declared a pandemic affecting over 200 countries with widespread morbidity and mortality. It has been postulated that the most vulnerable population are the elderly, people living in crowded areas, children and immune-compromised individuals, such as people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The correlation of tuberculosis (TB), HIV and malnutrition are well documented and hence, people with tuberculosis should be considered as special population in this pandemic. TB is an ancient disease among humans recorded as far back as seventy thousand years which was declared a global public health emergency in 1993 by the World Health Organisation (WHO). India has the highest TB burden in the world.

scholarly journals Fairness evaluation of health financing between 2007 to 2010 in China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guan Wang ◽  
Qing Shen
Keyword(s):  
Health Behavior ◽  
Health System ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Chronic Conditions ◽  
Health Financing ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Communicable Diseases ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Non Communicable Diseases

Abstract Background: Population aging and the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are increasingly a strain on health systems. The World Health Organization (WHO) uses fairness of health financing as one of the criteria for assessing health system performance. The Chinese government has undertaken a series of health reforms to reduce the pace of disease transition towards non-communicable diseases, as well as protecting people from catastrophic health expenditures. The aim of this study was to assess the fairness of health financing among the elderly with different health conditions in China during the year of 2007 to 2010. Methods: The data source was the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) Wave 1, a national weighted data collected from adults older than 50 years. In this study, 10099 respondents were included for analysis. Chi-square and partial proportional odds model test were applied to assess the distribution of socioeconomic and health behavior factors among different chronic conditions. Fairness of healthcare financing analysis was used to evaluate how the burden of health financing is distributed according to the household ability to pay (ATP). Dominance tests were applied for comparing different ways of health financing among health conditions. Results: More than half of the elderly had at least one chronic condition, and around 20% people suffered from multi-morbidity. Several socioeconomic as well as health behavior factors were found associated with developing NCDs. Out-of-pocket payment dominated other health finance sources in Non-NCD, single morbidity and multi-morbidity groups with a regressive pattern. Even though mandatory insurance had covered more than 70% of the elder population in China, due to the relative lower proportion reimbursement for chronic diseases, people still had to pay a lot for seeking healthcare between 2007 to 2010. Conclusion: When reimbursement for chronic diseases is relatively low, high mandatory insurance coverage does not ensure fairness of health financing. The Chinese health system should be developed further in order to meet the needs of elderly with different chronic conditions.

scholarly journals Modeling the COVID-19 outbreaks and the effectiveness of the containment measures adopted across countries

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward De Brouwer ◽  
Daniele Raimondi ◽  
Yves Moreau
Keyword(s):  
Herd Immunity ◽  
Case Fatality ◽  
Severe Pneumonia ◽  
Optimal Level ◽  
World Health ◽  
Reproduction Ratio ◽  
The Public ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Containment Measures ◽  
Health Organization

AbstractOn March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak, originally started in China, a global pandemic. Since then, the outbreak has indeed spread across all continents, threatening the public health of numerous countries. Although the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of COVID-19 is relatively low when optimal level of healthcare is granted to the patients, the high percentage of severe cases developing severe pneumonia and thus requiring respiratory support is worryingly high, and could lead to a rapid saturation of Intensive Care Units (ICUs). To overcome this risk, most countries enacted COVID-19 containment measures. In this study, we use a Bayesian SEIR epidemiological model to perform a parametric regression over the COVID-19 outbreaks data in China, Italy, Belgium, and Spain, and estimate the effect of the containment measures on the basic reproduction ratio R0.We find that the effect of these measures is detectable, but tends to be gradual, and that a progressive strengthening of these measures usually reduces the R0 below 1, granting a decay of the outbreak. We also discuss the biases and inconsistencies present in the publicly available data on COVID-19 cases, providing an estimate for the actual number of cases in Italy on March 12, 2020. Lastly, despite the data and model’s limitations, we argue that the idea of “flattening the curve” to reach herd immunity is likely to be unfeasible.

scholarly journals P-BN47 Acute cholecystectomy in elderly - Age is not a limit

2021 ◽  
Vol 108 (Supplement_9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aayush Gupta ◽  
Muhammad Umair Rashid ◽  
Namal Rupasinghe ◽  
Samuel Adjepong ◽  
James Rink ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Elderly Patients ◽  
Performance Status ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
World Health ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Elderly Age ◽  
Necrotising Pancreatitis ◽  
Biliary Pathology

Abstract Background Acute or hot cholecystectomy (AC) has been established as a safe and efficacious modality of managing acute biliary pathology. However, it has been performed with caution in the elderly (defined by the world health organisation as patients over the age of 65). The NICE guidance in this area does not preclude this practise on elderly patients. Our acute cholecystectomy service treats patients of all ages according to performance status and fitness for surgery rather than age we audited our results in this age group. Methods All patients over the age of 65 who underwent acute cholecystectomy in the dedicated emergency cholecystectomy lists were audited from the period starting 31st December 2019 to 31st June 2021. Patient demographics, co-morbidies and surgical factors were recorded. The primary outcomes measure was in hospital stay and re-admission, secondary outcome were complications and perioperative mortality. Results 41 elderly patients underwent AC during the audit period, (male 18: female 23). Majority of patients had acute cholecystitis 30(73%). The median inpatient stay following surgery was 2 days(range 2-5 days) and the median admission to surgery time was 6 days (range 5-12 days). Only 3(7%) patients had a subtotal cholecystectomy. There was only 3 complications from surgery which were all between a clavien-dindo score of 2 and 3. There were 3 readmission in the immediate post-operative period. There was one 30-day mortality which was from necrotising pancreatitis as a result of ERCP and not from the operation. Conclusions Acute cholecystectomy in this age group appears to be safe and effective way to treat acute biliary pathology and compares similarly to the outcomes in the younger groups.

scholarly journals Protecting the Herd: Why Pharmacists Matter in Mass Vaccination

Pharmacy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 199
Author(s):  
Lois Lee ◽  
Gregory M. Peterson ◽  
Mark Naunton ◽  
Shane Jackson ◽  
Mary Bushell
Keyword(s):  
Potential Role ◽  
Natural Infection ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Herd Immunity ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
Mass Vaccination ◽  
World Health ◽  
Public Health Services ◽  
Online Library

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing. The unprecedented challenges worldwide implore the urgent development of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. Globally, pharmacists have been delivering important public health services as part of the COVID-19 response. It remains to be seen what role they will play once a vaccine is available. This review examines herd immunity and the potential role of the pharmacy profession in mass vaccination against COVID-19, particularly within the Australian context. Aim: A literature review was conducted to review the global development of COVID-19 vaccines, and the Australian healthcare workforce capability and existing policy for mass vaccination and the potential role of the pharmacist. Method: ScienceDirect, Scopus, The National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), Wiley Online Library, PubMed, and Google Scholar were used to search for relevant literature using keywords COVID-19, vaccines, immunisation, herd immunity, pandemic, pharmacist and Australian healthcare. Results: A large portion of the literature was journal articles, and information from governmental and international bodies such as the World Health Organisation were often referenced. Over 20 million Australians need to be immunised through vaccination or acquire immunity through natural infection for the country to achieve herd immunity for COVID-19. When examining state and territory pandemic plans, pharmacists are underutilised. Modifying legislation to allow pharmacists to administer approved COVID-19 vaccines will enable a trained and skilled workforce to be deployed to increase the rate of mass vaccination. Conclusion: In preparation for a successful COVID-19 vaccine, the Australian Government must consider various elements in their vaccination policy. This includes the estimated herd immunity threshold, methods of vaccine delivery, vaccine clinic locations, staffing arrangements and training, and strategies for vaccine prioritisation. Pharmacists can and should play a key role in the roll out of mass COVID-19 vaccination.

Decreased anxiety after Dawood fasting in the pre-elderly and elderly

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ika Fidianingsih ◽  
Nur Aisyah Jamil ◽  
Russy Novita Andriani ◽  
Wira Muhammad Rindra
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Ketone Bodies ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
World Health ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Control Group Design ◽  
Significant Difference

Abstract Background A high prevalence of anxiety in the elderly often leads to decreased quality of life (QOL). A restrictive diet can increase the production of ketone bodies that encourage mood enhancement, neural protection and pain reduction. This study aimed to identify whether Dawood fasting could increase the QOL of the elderly by reducing anxiety. Methods This research was a quasi-experimental study involving a pretest–post-test control group design. The subjects were pre-elderly and elderly or healthy people aged more than 50, and a consecutive sampling method was employed. The fasting group observed the fast of Dawood, in which they abstained from eating, drinking, or having sexual intercourse from the break of dawn to dusk with the expressed intent to fast every other day. The fast was observed for 22 days (11 fasting days). Anxiety was examined using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HRS-A), while QOL was identified using the Indonesian version of the World Health Organisation Quality of Life (WHOQOL). Results A total of 48 respondents participated in this study with 24 respondents observing the fast of Dawood and 24 others not fasting. Results showed that the 22 days of Dawood fast reduced respondents’ complaints about anxiety by 4.37% and was significantly different from the non-fasting group (p=0.001). There was an increase in the QOL of the fasting group (p=0.019), although no significant difference was found when compared to the non-fasting group. Conclusions The fast of Dawood reduced anxiety in the pre-elderly and elderly.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document