The Impact of Text Messaging in Adherence Programs

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Kevin Dolgin
Keyword(s):  
Text Messaging ◽  
Smart Phone ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
New Drugs ◽  
World Health ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Adherence To Medication ◽  
Message Service ◽  
The Impact

Average adherence rates for chronic treatment average approximately 50%, leading the World Health Organisation (WHO) to state that increasing the effectiveness of adherence interventions may have a far greater impact on the health of the population than any improvement in specific medical treatments and new drugs per se. In this environment, programs designed to increase adherence to medication and to treatment in general have multiplied over the past several years. These programs generally include communication with patients to inform and influence behavior. This communication can take place via a number of channels, ranging from face-to-face contact to physical mail to smart phone apps. Each channel has its own advantages and disadvantages and each entails costs of its own. Short Message Service (SMS) or text messaging has proven in numerous studies to represent an advantageous cost / benefit profile, particularly when the messages are customized to individual patients. This is the case across a wide variety of patient types, ages, pathologies and geographies. The present article provides an overview of the challenges of treatment adherence and how these can be successfully addressed using text messaging interventions across a variety of chronic illness and within different geographical and cultural settings.

scholarly journals The Impact of Ultraviolet Radiation on the Aetiology and Development of Uveal Melanoma

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1700
Author(s):  
Melissa Chalada ◽  
Charmaine A. Ramlogan-Steel ◽  
Bijay P. Dhungel ◽  
Christopher J. Layton ◽  
Jason C. Steel
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Ultraviolet Radiation ◽  
Uveal Melanoma ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
World Health ◽  
Genetic Mutations ◽  
High Incidence ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact

Uveal melanoma (UM) is currently classified by the World Health Organisation as a melanoma caused by risk factors other than cumulative solar damage. However, factors relating to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) susceptibility such as light-coloured skin and eyes, propensity to burn, and proximity to the equator, frequently correlate with higher risk of UM. These risk factors echo those of the far more common cutaneous melanoma (CM), which is widely accepted to be caused by excessive UVR exposure, suggesting a role of UVR in the development and progression of a proportion of UM. Indeed, this could mean that countries, such as Australia, with high UVR exposure and the highest incidences of CM would represent a similarly high incidence of UM if UVR exposure is truly involved. Most cases of UM lack the typical genetic mutations that are related to UVR damage, although recent evidence in a small minority of cases has shown otherwise. This review therefore reassesses statistical, environmental, anatomical, and physiological evidence for and against the role of UVR in the aetiology of UM.

scholarly journals Riding the waves: the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on a national surgical training cohort

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orla Hennessy ◽  
Amy Lee Fowler ◽  
Conor Hennessy ◽  
David Brinkman ◽  
Aisling Hogan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Surgical Training ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
World Health ◽  
Training Methods ◽  
Viral Spread ◽  
Surgical Services ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Surgical Trainees ◽  
Secondary Survey ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background The World Health Organisation declared a global pandemic on the 11 March 2020 resulting in implementation of methods to contain viral spread, including curtailment of all elective and non-emergent interventions. Many institutions have experienced changes in rostering practices and redeployment of trainees to non-surgical services. Examinations, study days, courses, and conferences have been cancelled. These changes have the potential to significantly impact the education and training of surgical trainees. Aim To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on training, educational, and operative experiences of Irish surgical trainees. Methods Surgical trainees were surveyed anonymously regarding changes in working and educational practices since the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic on 11 March 2020. The survey was circulated in May 2020 to both core and higher RCSI surgical trainees, when restrictions were at level five. Questions included previous and current access to operative sessions as well as operative cases, previous and current educational activities, access to senior-led training, and access to simulation-/practical-based training methods. A repeat survey was carried out in October 2020 when restrictions were at level two. Results Overall, primary and secondary survey response rates were 29% (n = 98/340) and 19.1% (n = 65/340), respectively. At the time of circulation of the second survey, the number of operative sessions attended and cases performed had significantly improved to numbers experienced pre-pandemic (p < 0.0001). Exposure to formal teaching and education sessions returned to pre-COVID levels (p < 0.0001). Initially, 23% of trainees had an examination cancelled; 53% of these trainees have subsequently sat these examinations. Of note 27.7% had courses cancelled, and 97% of these had not been rescheduled. Conclusion Surgical training and education have been significantly impacted in light of COVID-19. This is likely to continue to fluctuate in line with subsequent waves. Significant efforts have to be made to enable trainees to meet educational and operative targets.

“Air pollution arrested not imprisoned”: The impact of laws invoked on Covid-19 city lockdowns

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Mensah Aboagye ◽  
◽  
Nana Osei Owusu ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Environmental Problem ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
World Health ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

Air pollution continues to be an environmental problem that poses a lot of health risks to the young and aged. Developed countries have invested heavily to curb this environmental problem, causing severe threats to human lives, yet the results do not look convincing. In developing countries, the situation is difficult than they can imagine, resulting in governments borrowing to fight what looks like a lost battle [1-3]. The in-depth study of this environmental menace - air pollution, suggests that the government enacts stringent measures to help fight this battle. This is because air pollution has natural (volcanic eruption) and anthropogenic (human activities) causes. In December 2019, the deadly Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak was soon declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) [4]. Majority of countries have had their share of the impact of this outbreak. Many countries resorted to city lockdown to strictly control the movement of people and economic activities as recommended by WHO.

scholarly journals Live wildlife trade in markets - a scoping review to inform risk assessment of emerging infectious diseases

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria J Brookes ◽  
Okta Wismandanu ◽  
Etih Sudarnika ◽  
Justin A Roby ◽  
Lynne Hayes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Epistemic Uncertainty ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
World Health ◽  
Wildlife Trade ◽  
The Impact

Wet markets are important for food security in many regions worldwide but have come under scrutiny due to their potential role in the emergence of infectious diseases. The sale of live wildlife has been highlighted as a particular risk, and the World Health Organisation has called for the banning of live, wild-caught mammalian species in markets unless risk assessment and effective regulations are in place. Following PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a global scoping review of peer-reviewed information about the sale of live, terrestrial wildlife in markets that are likely to sell fresh food, and collated data about the characteristics of such markets, activities involving live wildlife, the species sold, their purpose, and animal, human, and environmental health risks that were identified. Of the 59 peer-reviewed records within scope, only 25% (n = 14) focussed on disease risks; the rest focused on the impact of wildlife sale on conservation. Although there were some global patterns (for example, the types of markets and purpose of sale of wildlife), there was wide diversity and huge epistemic uncertainty in all aspects associated with live, terrestrial wildlife sale in markets such that the feasibility of accurate assessment of the risk of emerging infectious disease associated with live wildlife trade in markets is limited. Given the value of both wet markets and wildlife trade and the need to support food affordability and accessibility, conservation, public health, and the social and economic aspects of livelihoods of often vulnerable people, there are major information gaps that need to be addressed to develop evidence-based policy in this environment. This review identifies these gaps and provides a foundation from which information for risk assessments can be collected.

scholarly journals The Impact of Covid-19 Public Health Policies on Persons with Disability and their Caregivers in Malta

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-37
Author(s):  
Andrew Camilleri ◽  
Samantha Pace Gasan ◽  
Andrew Azzopardi
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
World Health ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Essential Services ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
Restrictive Measures ◽  
The Impact

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a global health pandemic, due to the spread of a novel coronavirus, later named “Covid-19”. The spread of Covid-19 led to social isolation, distancing and a number of restrictive measures in Malta.  The aim of this paper is to analyse the impact of Covid-19 and the subsequent restrictive measures on persons with disability and their caregivers and families in Malta. Using thematic analysis, the study found that a variety of impacts ranging from a sense of isolation, lack of essential services being provided, additional difficulties encountered at the place of work and education and measures that were not sufficiently tailored for persons with disability issued by public health authorities. Underlying the additional difficulties brought about by Covid-19, structural difficulties to access essential services as well as ignorance from policy makers and politicians and the added “vulnerable-ization” of persons with disabilities were found to be highly impacting factors that pervade the experience of persons with disabilities and their caregivers.

29 September, International Day of Otolaryngologist

2020 ◽  
pp. 75-79
Author(s):  
Oksana Rybachok
Keyword(s):  
Injury Risk ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Genetic Diseases ◽  
Medical Science ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
World Health ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
The World ◽  
Injury Risk Factor ◽  
The Impact

According to the World Health Organisation, deafness is one of the most widely spread sensory disorders in the world affecting about 360 million people worldwide. The causes of deafness can be very diverse, from genetic diseases, the impact of injury-risk factor and infectious agents to the administration of ototoxic drugs. Moreover, otolaryngologists believe that about half of deafness and hearing loss cases could have been prevented. Though otolaryngology was separated as an independent medical science in the mid-18th century, the decision to celebrate the Otolaryngologist Day on September 29 as a professional holiday for medical practitioners in this speciality was made not so long ago. This date at the end of September was chosen on purpose: the influx of patients to medical practitioners in this speciality is observed closer to the mid-autumn, after the first cold snap.

Text Messaging and Private Practice: Ethical Challenges and Guidelines for Developing Personal Best Practices

2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Sude
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Private Practice ◽  
Text Messaging ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Ethical Concerns ◽  
Message Service ◽  
Impact Of Technology ◽  
The Impact

The impact of technology on mental health practice is currently a concern in the counseling literature, and several articles have discussed using different types of technology in practice. In particular, many private practitioners use a cell phone for business. However, no article has discussed ethical concerns and best practices for the use of short message service (SMS), better known as text messaging (TM). Ethical issues that arise with TM relate to confidentiality, documentation, counselor competence, appropriateness of use, and misinterpretation. There are also such boundary issues to consider as multiple relationships, counselor availability, and billing. This article addresses ethical concerns for mental health counselors who use TM in private practice. It reviews the literature and discusses benefits, ethical concerns, and guidelines for office policies and personal best practices.

scholarly journals The impact of maternal obesity on completion of fetal anomaly screening

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly-Ann Eastwood ◽  
Ciara Daly ◽  
Alyson Hunter ◽  
David McCance ◽  
Ian Young ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Obesity ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
Normal Weight ◽  
World Health ◽  
Fetal Anomaly ◽  
Class Iii ◽  
Fetal Medicine ◽  
Obese Class ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact

AbstractObjective:To examine the impact of maternal obesity on completion of fetal anomaly screening.Methods:A retrospective analysis of 500 anomaly scans (19+0–21+6 weeks) was included. Women were categorised according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) body mass index (BMI) classification: normal weight (18.50–24.99 kg/mResults:Image quality deteriorated as BMI increased and was significantly different across the BMI categories (P<0.001). Performance was poorest in imaging of the fetal chest and was significantly different across BMI categories (P<0.001). In obese class III, 33% of four-chamber cardiac views and 38% of outflow tract views were not obtained. In total, 119 women (23.6%) had an incomplete scan. In obese class III, 44.1% of scans were incomplete compared with 10.2% in the normal BMI category (P<0.001). Of 117 women attending for repeat scans, 78.6% were complete, 11.1% were incomplete, 6.8% were advised to re-attend and 3.4% were referred to Fetal Medicine.Conclusion:Maternal obesity has a significant impact on completion of fetal anomaly screening.

scholarly journals The conjunctival transcriptome in Ethiopians after trichiasis surgery: associations with the development of eyelid contour abnormalities and the effect of oral doxycycline treatment

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 130
Author(s):  
Tamsyn Derrick ◽  
Esmael Habtamu ◽  
Zerihun Tadesse ◽  
E. Kelly Callahan ◽  
Abebaw Worku ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Controlled Trial ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
World Health ◽  
Doxycycline Treatment ◽  
Post Surgery ◽  
Outcome Group ◽  
Transcriptional Changes ◽  
Randomised Controlled ◽  
Upregulated Genes ◽  
The Impact

Background: Surgery to correct trichiasis is a key component of the World Health Organisation trachoma control strategy, however unfavourable outcomes such as eyelid contour abnormalities (ECA) following surgery are relatively common. This study aimed to understand the transcriptional changes associated with the early development of ECA and the impact of doxycycline, which has anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic properties, upon these transcription patterns. Methods: One thousand Ethiopians undergoing trichiasis surgery were enrolled in a randomised controlled trial following informed consent. Equal groups of randomly assigned individuals were orally administered with 100mg/day of doxycycline (n=499) or placebo (n=501) for 28 days. Conjunctival swabs were collected immediately prior to surgery and at one- and six-months post-surgery. 3’ mRNA sequencing was performed on paired baseline and one-month samples from 48 individuals; 12 in each treatment/ECA outcome group. qPCR validation was then performed for 46 genes of interest in 145 individuals who developed ECA at one month and 145 matched controls, using samples from baseline, one and six months. Results: All treatment/outcome groups upregulated genes associated with wound healing pathways at one month relative to baseline, however no individual differences were detected between groups. The summed expression of a highly coexpressed cluster of pro-fibrotic genes was higher in patients that developed ECA in the placebo group relative to controls. qPCR validation revealed that all genes in this cluster and a number of other pro-inflammatory genes were strongly associated with ECA, however these associations were not modulated by trial arm. Conclusions: The development of post-operative ECA is associated with overexpression of pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic genes including growth factors, matrix metalloproteinases, collagens and extracellular matrix proteins. There was no evidence that doxycycline modulated the association between gene expression and ECA.

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