Promoting Equity When Using the SNOT-22 Score: A Scoping Review and Literature Review

It is established that non-white people experience worse health outcomes than white people within the same population. Equity addresses differences between patient subgroups, allowing needs-based distribution of resources. The use of quality-of-life (QoL) tools to assist clinical decision making such as the SNOT-22 for chronic rhinosinusitis promotes equality, not equity, as quality-of-life (QoL) tools provide the same criteria of symptom scoring across diverse populations. We considered the effects of ethnicity and race on SNOT-22 scores and whether these scores should be adjusted to improve equity. PubMed and MEDLINE provided papers for a scoping review. A combination of the following search terms was used: patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) (OR) quality of life; (AND) race (OR) ethnicity (OR) disparities; (AND) otolaryngology (OR) SNOT-22 (OR) sinusitis. The first study identified no evidence of ethnic variability in SNOT-22 scores. However, the study did not represent the local population, including 86% white people. Other studies identified baseline SNOT-22 disparities with respect to population demographics, gender, and age. Ethnic differences appear to exist in acute sinusitis symptomatology. In other fields both within and outside of otorhinolaryngology, ethnic differences exist with regard to QoL tools. This scoping review identified a paucity of data in rhinology. However, evidence implies some form of correction to QoL scores could help promote equity for non-white patients.

Learning of Biographical Writing for Coping with Ethnic Prejudice in a Culturally Diverse Society

<p style="text-align: justify;">The purpose of this paper is to explore if the learning of biographical writing contributes to the positive views and attitudes towards others of different groups. The paper used the Research and Development approach by designing and implementing a learning model of biographical writing. The subjects of this study were 200 seventh-grade students having different ethnic and religious backgrounds from nine junior high schools. The data-collecting method was pretest-posttest. The results of the study demonstrated that the average scores of the aspects of student empathy, student positive attitudes towards ethnic differences, and student positive attitudes towards religious differences increased in all the schools investigated. The increase of average score in the aspect of student empathy, positive attitudes towards ethnic differences, and positive attitudes towards religious differences could be classified into three categories: high, medium, and low. Most of the schools under study experienced medium and low increases of average score in all aspects.</p>

Harmonization in Multicultural Community Life

This study aims to define the interaction and tolerance of Hindus and Muslims in the life of a multicultural society. A socio-cultural approach related to local wisdom is used in this study. The application of qualitative methods with observation and in-depth interviews was used as a means of collecting data and information. Theories about multiculturalism were used to analyze the data. Azra (2007) states that multiculturalism is an understanding of life that puts forward togetherness on the principle of difference, whether religious, political, or ethnic differences. This study found that community life in Serangan Village, South Denpasar District, which consists of six banjars (village community organization) namely Banjar Ponjok, Banjar Tengah, Banjar Kaja, Banjar Peken, Banjar Kawan, and Banjar Dukuh, and an environment called Kampung Bugis Environment goes hand in hand in harmonious situation and condition. This research is expected to strengthen the understanding of multiculturalism for Indonesians who comes from hundreds of ethnicities with multi-variety languages, cultures, customs, traditions, and beliefs. The results of the research are also expected to have contributed to increasing the sense and value of nationalism towards the nation and the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.

Ethnic Pharmacogenomic Differences in the Management of Asian Patients with Metastatic Prostate Cancer

Progression to metastatic disease occurs in about half of all men who develop prostate cancer (PC), one of the most common cancers in men worldwide. Androgen deprivation therapy has been the mainstay therapy for patients with metastatic PC (mPC) since the 1940s. In the last decade, there has been unprecedented advancement in systemic therapies, e.g., taxane, androgen-signalling pathway inhibitors, and biomarker-driven targeted therapies for various stages of disease, resulting in overall survival improvement. Adding to ongoing controversies over how best to treat these patients is the recognition that ethnicity may influence prognosis and outcomes. This review discusses recent evidence for the impacts of Asian ethnicity specifically, which includes environmental, sociocultural, and genetic factors, on the approach to pharmacological management of mPC. Clear inter-ethnic differences in drug tolerability, serious adverse events (AEs), and genetic heterogeneity must all be considered when dosing and scheduling for treatment, as well as designing future precision studies in PC.

Ethnic differences in right ventricular structure and function in urbanized hypertensive patients in the Gornaya Shoriya region

Objective of this study was to compare right ventricular echocardiography parameters in urbanized hypertensive patients of the Shor and non-indigenous ethnic groups in the Mountain Shoria region. Methods The study included patients with arterial hypertension: 58 Shors and 50 non-indigenous urbanized residents, comparable in age, and divided by ethnicity and gender into 4 groups: Shors men (n = 20), Shors women (n = 38), non-indigenous men (n = 15) and non-indigenous women (n = 35). All underwent echocardiographic examination, and the right heart parameters were studied. Results Shor men with arterial hypertension had the lowest values ​​of the pulmonary artery index, the right atrium dimensions, and the highest values ​​of the blood flow velocity in the right ventricle, et' and st' in comparison with non-indigenous men. Shor women have the lowest values Et and Et/At ratios. RV diastolic dysfunction was detected mainly in women, somewhat more often in Shors. Ethnicity was one of the factors associated with the right ventricular diastolic dysfunction presence. Among the factors associated with the RV diastolic dysfunction were risk factors (smoking, obesity), blood pressure, gender, ethnicity, and left ventricular parameters (diastolic dysfunction and the myocardial mass increase). Conclusion Our study established the influence of ethnic differences on the right heart echocardiographic parameters in Shors and Caucasians with arterial hypertension. The revealed differences should improve the assessment of the right heart structure and function in patients with arterial hypertension from small ethnic groups, which will help to improve the diagnosis and treatment of such patients.

Gender and Ethnic Disparities of Acute Kidney Injury in COVID-19 Infected Patients: A Literature Review

Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) has become a public health emergency of concern worldwide. COVID-19 is a new infectious disease arising from Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It has a strong transmission capacity and can cause severe and even fatal respiratory diseases. It can also affect other organs such as the heart, kidneys and digestive tract. Clinical evidence indicates that kidney injury is a common complication of COVID-19, and acute kidney injury (AKI) may even occur in severely ill patients. Data from China and the United States showed that male sex, Black race, the elderly, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and higher body mass index are associated with COVID-19‐induced AKI. In this review, we found gender and ethnic differences in the occurrence and development of AKI in patients with COVID-19 through literature search and analysis. By summarizing the mechanism of gender and ethnic differences in AKI among patients with COVID-19, we found that male and Black race have more progress to COVID-19-induced AKI than their counterparts.