Relationships Between Self-Rated Health at Three Time Points: Past, Present, Future

Background: Multiple studies have shown that people who have experienced a serious health problem such as an injury tend to overrate the quality of health they had before that event. The main objective of this study was to test whether the phenomenon of respondents overrating their past health can also be observed in people from the general population. A second aim was to test whether habitual optimism is indeed focused on events in the future.Method: A representatively selected community sample from Leipzig, Germany (n = 2282, age range: 40–75 years) was examined. Respondents were asked to assess their current health, their past health (5 years before), and their expected future health (in 5 years) on a 0–100 scale. In addition, the study participants completed several questionnaires on specific aspects of physical and mental health.Results: Respondents of all age groups assessed their health as having been better in the past than it was at present. Moreover, they also assessed their earlier state of health more positively than people 5 years younger did their current state. Habitual optimism was associated with respondents having more positive expectations of how healthy they will be in 5 years time (r = 0.37), but the correlation with their assessments of their current health was nearly as high (r = 0.36).Conclusion: Highly positive scores of retrospectively assessed health among people who have experienced a health problem cannot totally be accounted for by a response to that health problem.

“We are also here”—Spiritual Care Practitioners’ Experiences of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study from Poland

Although healthcare professionals have become the symbol of risk and sacrifice during the COVID-19 pandemic, spiritual care practitioners (SCP) have also put themselves at great risk while offering their service in hospitals, hospices and other healthcare facilities. This study was designed to explore the lived experiences of SCP during the current health crisis in Poland. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-four SCP. Nine major themes emerged from the interviews: personal reactions to the pandemic, SCP’s perception of the pandemic, the impact of COVID-19 on the provision of spiritual care, spiritual needs during the pandemic, work-related emotions, the impact of the COVID-19 on religion, the role of spiritual care during the outbreak, the healthcare professionals’ perceptions of SCP and barriers to the provision of spiritual care during the pandemic. The SCP indicated that although the COVID-19 crisis has affected the availability of pastoral, religious and spiritual care, it has amplified the importance of such care and has positively influenced the visibility of SCP in modern healthcare practice. Nonetheless, in such desperate times, SCP are still neglected and should be further recognised and integrated into the healthcare system.

Is concern for gynaecological alarm symptoms associated with healthcare-seeking? A Danish population-based cross-sectional study

Background Diagnosing cancer at an early stage increases survival, and for most gynaecological cancers the diagnostic pathway is initiated, when women seek medical attention with symptoms. As many factors influence healthcare-seeking, knowledge about these factors is important. Concern can act as a barrier or a trigger for women experiencing gynaecological alarm symptoms. This study aimed to examine whether concern for the symptom or the current health was associated with healthcare-seeking among women with gynaecological alarm symptoms. Methods Some 100,000 randomly selected Danish citizens were invited to a national web-based survey. The questionnaire included items regarding symptom experiences, healthcare-seeking and concern for the experienced symptoms and current health. This study included 5019 women with self-reported gynaecological alarm symptoms (pelvic pain, pain during intercourse, bleeding during intercourse and postmenopausal bleeding). Concern was reported on a 5-point Likert scale from ‘not at all’ to ‘extremely’. Data were analysed using multivariate logistic regression models. Results Women who were ‘extremely’ concerned about a gynaecological alarm symptom had two to six times higher odds of reporting healthcare-seeking compared to women who were ‘not at all’ concerned. Symptom concern was associated with higher odds of healthcare-seeking for all four gynaecological alarm symptoms and the odds increased with increasing levels of concern. Additionally, concern for current health was associated with higher odds of healthcare-seeking. Concern for current health as expressed by others was positively associated with healthcare-seeking but had only minor influence on the association between concern for current health and healthcare-seeking. Conclusions Concern for a gynaecological alarm symptom and for current health was positively associated with healthcare-seeking. The results can be used for future informational health campaigns targeting individuals at risk of postponing warranted healthcare-seeking.

Investigation on the Needs of Preoperative Health Education of Parents, Whose Children Undergoing Day Surgery

BackgroundTo explore the needs of preoperative health education of parents，whose children undergoing day surgery, and to provide reference for nurses to carry out health education. MethodsThe parents whose children undergoing day surgery in Guangzhou Women and Children,s medical center from January 2021 to February 2021 were selected as the research objects. The needs of parents for preoperative health education were investigated by questionnaire, and the needs and satisfaction of parents for the timing, content, ways and push methods of preoperative health education were observed. Results591 questionnaires were distributed and 578 were recovered, with a recovery rate of 97.80%. The results showed that the parents had the highest demand for preoperative health education when they made an appointment for day surgery. The most desired content of health education was admission procedure, and the most desired way to receive health education was through video. The most acceptable push mode was through WeChat official account. Parents' satisfaction with the current health education was 94.64%. ConclusionsThe content of preoperative health education should be formulated according to the needs of parents, whose children undergoing day surgery. The time of providing health education should be moved forward. Health education videos should be given first, combined with a variety of health education methods, and health education videos should be pushed through WeChat official account or WeChat video number, so as to ensure the smooth development of children's day surgery and enhanced recovery after surgery.

The Natural Movement of The Population in The Context of the Pandemic. Statistics at National Level Regarding Births, Deaths, Marriages and Divorces

The research in this article sheds light on issues related to the evolution of the national situation of the natural movement of the population from January 2019 to May 2021, given the registrations made at the civil registry services in Romania on births, deaths, marriages and divorces, aiming to make a comparison between the period before the pandemic and the period after its onset in our country, in March 2020. We want to see if the number of the four life events mentioned above was really influenced by the pandemic and thus increased or decreased significantly. Also, the study of the natural movement of the population in Romania, under the spectrum of the current health crisis is of major importance, given that the pandemic has visible effects on the acceleration of deaths in people with various comorbidities.

Health perception among the elderly in India: A gender perspective

There is an urgent need to understand and study the gender-based comprehensive own-perception approaches about health status. Our primary interest is to elucidate and capture whether and what determinants of gender disparity exist in own-perception about current and change in health status in Indian settings among the elderly. Therefore, we intended to examine the gender disparity in own-perception and their differences among the elderly in India. We used cross-sectional data from the 75th National Sample Survey Organizations (NSSO), collected from July 2017 to June 2018. The analytical sample constitutes 42759 cases of the elderly (eliminating two points of transgender). Thus, 21902 older men and 20857 older women have been considered. Two different measurements of own-perception about health status among the elderly have been used. We have calculated absolute gaps in the prevalence of current self-perception and change in health status by background characteristics. We carried out an ordered logistic regression model (or proportional odds model) to determine the predictors of health perception among the elderly. There is a clear gap between men and women in terms of rating poor perception about health; men generally have reported higher perception about their current health status when it comes to rating them excellent in terms of socio-economic outcomes like income, place of residence, and household structure. Despite numerous limitations, this study addressed the significant public health concern, which is crucial to address the challenge of the elderly health and their perception of well-being. Keywords: current health perception; change in health perception; gender gap; elderly.

Changes in the research conduction on agro-biotechnology due to COVID-19: The case of LBRM-COLMENA Research Node

<p>COVID-19 has had negative impacts on human health, economic stability, food supply chains, and global food security, increasing poverty and inequality. Institutions and laboratories worldwide have focused their efforts on the study of sustainable agro-biotechnological alternatives to contribute to food security for the present and future, as well as on mitigating the negative impacts of the ongoing pandemic. This work aims to share the experiences of our team in the Laboratorio de Biotecnología del Recurso Microbiano-Colección de Microorganismos Edáficos y Endófitos Nativos (LBRM-COLMENA) Research Node during the current health contingency, as well as the strategies implemented to continue with the research projects focused on generating knowledge in different scientific disciplines.</p>

Assessing country performances during the Covid-19 pandemic: A Standard devıatıon based range of value method

In this paper, we compare the pandemic management performance of 22 countries that belong to the middle-high income class based on criteria including the pandemic data, population characteristics, and health system capacity. The management of the COVID-19 pandemic requires considering many and often conflicting aspects at the same time which necessitates an MCDM approach. We use a standard deviation (SDV) based range of value (ROV) method which coincides with the black-box nature of the disease. The weights obtained from the SDV method reveal that the number of COVID-19 deaths, current health expenditure, and deaths due to cardiovascular diseases are the most important criteria. The ROV method indicates that most Asian countries are ranked in higher positions due to their strong healthcare systems and quick implementation of social distancing rules. The lowest performances belong to Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They have experienced an elevated number of deaths due to having an elderly population and inefficient usage of healthcare resources. We also show that extreme poverty is an important determinant of country performance. In countries where poverty is higher, as the case with Indonesia, implementing the social distancing rules becomes almost impossible which affects the overall country performance significantly.

Learning our lesson: using past policies to improve digital and ethnic inequalities beyond the pandemic

COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities in the UK, raising questions about whether learning from the past few decades about the interplay between ethnicity and health inequalities has been effectively incorporated in current health policy. As digital health approaches, such as remote consultations and apps, become more widespread during and after the pandemic, it is important to ensure that these do not contribute to ‘widening the gap’. We highlight three areas in which existing knowledge and evidence can be translated into cross-sectoral action to avoid further ethnic and digital health inequalities: data and measurement, improved communication, and embedded equality impact.

Indigenous people’s self-determination in the context of COVID-19 in northern Mexico

This article presents various transformations registered in the political sphere and community participation due to the COVID-19 pandemic on Indigenous territories in northern Mexico. It explores the challenges of the Rarámuri and Ódami Indigenous people’s experience in guaranteeing their political rights and self-determination in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically when organising festivities and ceremonies that were unable to celebrate to comply with official health care guidelines. The article gives firsthand accounts of the political relations between Indigenous groups’ community responses and the Mexican government’s actions to mitigate the effects of the new coronavirus. The article draws on the argument that the current health emergency context is inserted into a complex network of pre-existing and structured power relations that largely define the scope of the actions taken because of the pandemic. Critically, the community responses emanating from Indigenous groups show crucial cultural differences in ways to deal with the disease.