scholarly journals Clinical Diagnosis of Leptospirosis in Malaysia: Challenges and Prospects

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 534-542
Author(s):  
Bashiru Garba ◽  
Ayan Aden Moussa
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Service ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Accurate Diagnosis ◽  
Diagnostic Methods ◽  
Risk Of Infection ◽  
Rural Regions ◽  
The World ◽  
Reservoir Hosts ◽  
Harmful Effects

Leptospirosis is a neglected emerging zoonosis occurring both in urban environments and rural regions worldwide. During occupational and recreational activities, individuals who directly or indirectly contact the urine of infected animals are at a high risk of infection. Southeast Asia is reported to have the highest incidence of leptospirosis in the world. The disease is endemic in Malaysia and has consistently caused outbreaks among humans with severe outcomes. Early diagnosis is vital for commence treatment thereby minimizing the harmful effects of the disease. It also allows the implementation of measures to control the spread to humans and the environment. In this article, an attempt was made to review the current diagnostic methods including challenges faced by healthcare service providers during the diagnosis of acute cases, as well as the emerging technologies used for early and accurate diagnosis. The review also highlighted innovative ideas that can be integrated into developing practical solutions, including the crucial roles of the patients, reservoir hosts, and the environments that harbor the bacteria.

scholarly journals Role of Coxiella burnetii in the development of fever of unknown origin: А mini review

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-265
Author(s):  
P. Genova-Kalou ◽  
S. Ivanova ◽  
A. Pavlova ◽  
K. Simeonov ◽  
D. Pencheva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fever Of Unknown Origin ◽  
Clinical Presentation ◽  
Q Fever ◽  
Unknown Origin ◽  
Accurate Diagnosis ◽  
Diagnostic Methods ◽  
Molecular Diagnostic ◽  
Agricultural Systems ◽  
The World

Q fever is a widespread zoonosis throughout the world in the form of numerous natural and agricul-tural outbreaks. C. burnetii infects various hosts, including humans, ruminants and pets and in rare cases, reptiles, birds, and ticks. This bacterium is excreted in urine, milk, faeces, and birth products. In humans Q fever occurs as acute or chronic disease with diverse clinical presentation, as isolated cases and epidemics. It affects various organs and systems, and in pregnant women can cause miscar-riage or premature birth. Untreated Q fever can become chronic with adverse effects on patients. Diversity in the clinical picture in the absence of specific pathological syndrome often hinders accurate diagnosis and proper etiological significance. Therefore, improvement of diagnostic methods and in particular the development and introduction of new molecular diagnostic methods is the basis of effective therapeutic and prophylactic approach. Тhe purpose of the review is to renew the interest to Q fever – on one hand, because of its serious impact on human health and agricultural systems, and on the other, the ability for development and introduction of new molecular diagnostic methods.

scholarly journals The Doctor-Manager Relationship

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-53
Author(s):  
Raju Basnet Chhetri
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Service ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Medical Sciences ◽  
Common Goal ◽  
Quality Healthcare ◽  
The World ◽  
Hospital Systems ◽  
The Common ◽  
Day By Day

Healthcare service in itself is one of the most crucial, most sensitive services in the world. Advancement in healthcare infrastructures, equipment and manpower are rapid day by day. “Healthcare service providers”, the definition is changing from commonly perceived “doctors” to “doctors plus managers”. The healthcare practice has changed all its way from individual practice to communal, organised hospital systems; resources are pooled in a common place; where patients expect for every kind of treatment once they enter the common roof. However, the hospital only can understand the role the doctor and manager play together for quality healthcare services. The two now cannot be separated despite of several disparities that appear between them.There should always be an effort to bridge the gap between them which appears between them despite serving the common goal. Doctor manager collaboration including collaboration of education system shall bring the real bond between them to understand each other, understand system and pace for their common goal.Journal of Universal College of Medical Sciences (2017) Vol.05 No.01 Issue 15, page: 49-53

Health Care Services and EU Competition Law

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Okeoghene Odudu
Keyword(s):  
Market Power ◽  
Healthcare Service ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Competition Law ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
System Matrix ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Care Services

This chapter investigates how, within a number of European Union (EU) Member States, competition law has been used to address problems of market power in the healthcare services sector. It summarizes the relevant EU and national competition laws and considers the experience of applying those laws to providers of healthcare services. The chapter is chiefly concerned with healthcare services in England, although examples are drawn for other EU Member States. Examination of the English experience provides a view of the use of competition law to address market power problems in most elements of the health system matrix. The chapter then considers three challenges that emerge from that experience of using competition law to address problems of market power in healthcare service markets. The first challenges the applicability of competition law to healthcare service providers operating in each or every element of the healthcare system matrix. The second, accepting applicability, questions the appropriateness of the substantive rules to healthcare services. The third, a battle of authority and autonomy, considers whether decisions made by healthcare service providers should be subject to external review and the type of review that competition law offers.

Comprehensive Effects of Short-Term Rental Platforms Across Hotel Types in U.S. and International Destinations

2021 ◽  
pp. 193896552110335
Author(s):  
John W. O’Neill ◽  
Jihwan Yeon
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Comprehensive Analysis ◽  
Competitive Market ◽  
Substitution Effects ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Hotel Performance ◽  
The World ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Location Type ◽  
The Impact

In recent years, short-term rental platforms in the lodging sector, including Airbnb, VRBO, and HomeAway, have received extensive attention and emerged as potentially alternative suppliers of services traditionally provided by established commercial accommodation providers, that is, hotels. Short-term rentals have dramatically increased the available supply of rooms for visitors to multiple international destinations, potentially siphoning demand away from hotels to short-term rental businesses. In a competitive market, an increase in supply with constant demand would negatively influence incumbent service providers. In this article, we examine the substitution effects of short-term rental supply on hotel performance in different cities around the world. Specifically, we comprehensively investigate the substitution effects of short-term rental supply on hotel performance based on hotel class, location type, and region. Furthermore, we segment the short-term rental supply based on its types of accommodations, that is, shared rooms, private rooms, and entire homes, and both examine and quantify the differential effects of these types of short-term rentals on different types of hotels. This study offers a comprehensive analysis regarding the impact of multiple short-term rental platforms on hotel performance and offers both conceptual and practical insights regarding the nature and extent of the effects that were identified.

scholarly journals The Effects of Urban Natural Environments on Preference and Self-Reported Psychological Restoration of the Elderly

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 509
Author(s):  
Ling Qiu ◽  
Qujing Chen ◽  
Tian Gao
Keyword(s):  
Green Space ◽  
Environmental Design ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Photo Elicitation ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
The World ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Aging Populations

The world is facing the challenge of aging populations. Urban natural environments, including green spaces and blue spaces, have been demonstrated to have great benefits to the mental restoration of the elderly. However, the study of the specific characteristics of urban environments that are popular and the most restorative for the elderly is still lacking. Photo elicitation as visual stimuli was utilized to explore the differences in preference and psychological restoration of the elderly through the perception of the eight perceived sensory dimensions (PSDs) in different types of urban environments. The results showed that: (1) The respondents had different perceptions of the eight PSDs in the different urban natural environments. Blue space and partly-closed green space were more preferred by the elderly, and also had more psychological restorative effects on the elderly. (2) There was no significant correlation between the number of highly perceived PSDs and preference, as well as between the number of highly perceived PSDs and psychological restoration. However, there was a significant correlation between preference and psychological restoration. (3) Partly-closed green space with more Serene and Refuge qualities, and blue space with more Serene, Refuge and Prospect properties were optimal characteristics for psychological restoration of the elderly. In addition, open green space with more Prospect, Serene and Social qualities, and closed green space with more Space, Refuge and less Nature properties could also increase psychological restoration of older adults. These findings can provide useful guidelines for restorative environmental design for the elderly in the future.

scholarly journals Clinical Differences between COVID-19 and a COVID-Like Syndrome

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2519
Author(s):  
Pierpaolo Di Micco ◽  
Giuseppe Camporese ◽  
Vincenzo Russo ◽  
Giuseppe Cardillo ◽  
Egidio Imbalzano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
False Negative ◽  
Nasopharyngeal Swab ◽  
Similar Group ◽  
Risk Of Infection ◽  
Hospital Workers ◽  
Serological Tests ◽  
Clinical Presentations ◽  
The World ◽  
Lung Failure ◽  
The Difference

COVID-19 is an infection due to SARS-CoV-2; this virus has been identified as the cause of the present pandemic. Several typical characteristics are present in this infection, in particular pneumonia with possible lung failure, but atypical clinical presentations are being described daily by physicians around the world. Ground-glass opacities with pneumonia are the most common and dangerous presentations of the COVID-19 disease, and they are usually associated with positive nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) tests with detectable SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA. Compared to the general population, hospital workers have been at a greater risk of infection ever since the first patients were hospitalized. However, hospital workers have also been reported as having COVID-like symptoms despite repeated negative swab tests but having tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies with serological tests. We can postulate that a COVID-like syndrome is possible, in particular in hospital workers, that is characterized by symptoms similar to those of COVID-19, but with repeated negative nasopharyngeal swabs. These repeated negative NSPs make the difference in daily clinical management with people that experienced a single false negative nasopharyngeal swab; furthermore, a clear clinical differentiation of these situations is still lacking in the literature. For this reason, here, we report our main findings from a cohort of patients with a COVID-like syndrome compared to a similar group affected by typical COVID-19.

A case study of noise pollution levels during the restrictions period due to COVID-19.

2021 ◽  
Vol 263 (6) ◽  
pp. 206-214
Author(s):  
David Montes-González ◽  
Juan Miguel Barrigón-Morillas ◽  
Ana Cristina Bejarano-Quintas ◽  
Manuel Parejo-Pizarro ◽  
Guillermo Rey-Gozalo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Noise Pollution ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Acoustic Measurements ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

The pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) led to the need for drastic control measures around the world to reduce the impact on the health of the population. The confinement of people in their homes resulted in a significant reduction in human activity at every level (economic, social, industrial, etc.), which was reflected in a decrease in environmental pollution levels. Studying the evolution of parameters, such as the level of environmental noise caused by vehicle traffic in urban environments, makes it possible to assess the impact of this type of measure. This paper presents a case study of the acoustic situation in Cáceres (Spain) during the restriction period by means of long-term acoustic measurements at various points of the city.

DIAGNÓSTICO PRECOCE DE HANSENÍASE E AÇÕES ESTRATÉGICAS PARA A SUA DETECÇÃO

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-73
Author(s):  
Inês Stafin ◽  
Virgílio Ribeiro Guedes ◽  
Seyna Ueno Rabelo Mendes
Keyword(s):  
Early Diagnosis ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Diagnostic Methods ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Strategic Actions ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
The World ◽  
Grade Ii

RESUMO Introdução: O diagnóstico da hanseníase ainda causa grande impacto social, tanto por ser frequentemente tardio e evoluir com sequelas, quanto pelos estigmas que a envolvem. O Brasil persiste como uma área endêmica e possui o segundo lugar em número de casos da doença no mundo. Já o Tocantins é um dos estados com maior endemicidade no país, com um aumento importante no número de diagnósticos em menores de 15 anos e no número de pessoas diagnosticadas com incapacidade grau II. Metodologia: Trata-se de uma revisão de literatura do tipo narrativa, realizada por meio de publicações sobre as ações estratégicas para o diagnóstico precoce de hanseníase, entre o período de 2012 a 2017. Desenvolvimento: A situação atual da hanseníase demonstra a persistência da transmissão, a carência de ações para o seu controle efetivo, a sub detecção e um diagnóstico tardio dessa patologia. O presente artigo aborda as principais ações estratégicas para a realização do diagnóstico precoce da hanseníase, bem como os métodos diagnósticos importantes, proporcionando um maior auxílio aos profissionais de saúde da atenção primária. Considerações finais: Para que se amplie o diagnóstico precoce de forma adequada é essencial a busca e avaliação dos contatos, a qualificação adequada dos profissionais de saúde, a educação em saúde da população e a participação ativa dos gestores.   Palavras-chave: Hanseníase; diagnóstico precoce; estratégias; atenção primária. ABSTRACT Introduction: The diagnosis of leprosy still causes great social impact, both because it is often late and evolves with sequelae, and because of the stigmas that surround it. Brazil persists as an endemic area and has the second largest number of cases of the disease in the world. The state of Tocantins represents one of the areas with high endemicity in the country, with a significant increase in the number of diagnoses in children under 15 years and in the number of people diagnosed with disability grade II. Methodology: This is a literature review of the narrative type, carried out through publications on strategic actions for the early diagnosis of leprosy, between the period of 2012 to 2017. Development: The current situation of leprosy shows the persistence of transmission, lack of actions for effective control, sub detection and a late diagnosis of this pathology. This article discusses the main strategic actions for the early diagnosis of leprosy, as well as the important diagnostic methods, providing greater assistance to primary health care professionals. Final considerations: In order to increase the early diagnosis in an adequate way, it is essential the search and evaluation of contacts, the adequate qualification of health professionals, the health education of the population and the participation of managers. Keywords: Leprosy; early diagnosis; strategies; primary care.

Service quality in public health clinics: perceptions of users and health professionals

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 680-692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Domingos Fernandes Campos ◽  
Rinaldo Bezerra Negromonte Filho ◽  
Felipe Nalon Castro
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Healthcare Service ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Public Health Services ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health Clinics ◽  
Public Health Clinics ◽  
The City

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the expectations and quality gaps in services provided at city public health clinics in the city of Natal, Brazil, from the perspective of patients and healthcare service providers. Design/methodology/approach The research sample consisted of 1,200 patients who used public health services and 265 providers – doctors, nutritionists, physiotherapists, psychologists, pharmacists and managers at three health clinics in the city of Natal, Brazil. A scale with 25 health service attributes was used in data collection. Summary statistics and t-test were used to analyze the data. Findings The results show that the providers think that users have lower levels of expectations than those indicated by the users in all attributes. Providers and users have the most approximate insights into what attributes are considered most important: explanations, level of knowledge and attention dispensed by health professionals. Users and providers perceived similar quality gaps for most of the attributes. The gaps were statistically the same, when comparing the mean quality shortcomings by means of a Student’s test, considering a significance level of 5 percent, obtained independently by the manifestation of users and providers. Research limitations/implications The results reveal only a photograph of the moment. The study did not consider the differences that may exist between groups with different income levels, genders or age groups. A qualitative study could improve the understanding of the differences and coincidences of the diverse points of views. A more advanced research could even study possibilities so that health managers could promote changes in the service, some of them low cost, as the health professionals training for contact with patients. Practical implications The evaluation of the service quality complemented by the matrix of opportunities, importance × quality gaps generates information to help make decisions in the rational allocation of available resources and improvement of the quality of the service delivered to patients. Besides, it offers a focus to prioritize specific actions. Originality/value It is important to compare the perceptions of service quality between patients and the healthcare service providers who work in direct contact with them. The managers can smooth out these differences and ensure, over time, customer satisfaction. In this study, providers were asked to express what they think about the expectations of patients and about their own service performance delivered. Thus, not only the traditional gap 5 was measured, but it was also possible to evaluate the distance between what providers think that patients need and their actual needs.

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