Health Seeking Behavioural Practices of the Elderly in Rural Community of Ekiti State, South-western Nigeria

BackgroundThe ageing process increases the risks of contracting a disease among elderly people. Health-seeking behaviour is poor among the aged in sub-Saharan countries like Nigeria, escalating the burden of Non-communicable diseases and the cost of healthcare which further impact the utilization of Orthodox medicine. This study aims to assess the healthcare-seeking behavioural practices and associated factors among elderly people in Ido-Ekiti.MethodA descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted amongst 420 elderly respondents in Ido-Ekiti. An interviewer-administered semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 25 and results were presented in form of tables and bar charts. Chi-square tests were used to test for associations. All data analysis was done at a 5% level of significance.ResultsThe age range of respondents was between 65-95 years with a mean age of 73.88 +/- 6.84 years and 64.0% within the age range 65-75 years. About 63.3% of the respondents have had an episode of illness in the last year preceding the study and only 35.3% consulted a doctor for treatment (Good Health seeking behaviour), however, 57.9% admitted utilizing any of the following; self-medication, consult spiritualist, use of herbal medicine (poor health-seeking behaviour). The factors statistically significantly associated with respondents’ health-seeking behavioural practices are employment status(p<0.001), educational level (p<0.002), cost of health care, access to the health facility, length of time before consultation, beliefs, and lack of support from relations(p<001). ConclusionThis study shows the majority of elderlies had poor health-seeking behaviour due to educational and .economic factors. Making the free or subsidized cost of health care for the elderly in rural communities and the provision of monthly financial support to the aged by the government will promote and encourage good health-seeking behaviour of old people.

Changes in Sociodemographic and Disease Prevalence Among Five Birth Cohorts of Older Latinos

Latinos are often treated as an amalgamated group without respect to Latinos' composition included in sampling designs in different periods. This matters because the Latino population is continuously changing over time with respect to migration patterns, socioeconomic status, sociocultural characteristics, and geographic dispersion across the U.S., which may influence disease patterns in later life. We use data from the Health and Retirement Study and the National Health Interview Survey to investigate changes in older Latinos' composition by examining five birth cohorts. Results indicate that there have been significant demographic and health changes over time among older Latinos, with later-born cohorts more racially and ethnically diverse, more educated, and exhibiting a higher prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. Understanding these shifting dynamics is imperative for crafting strategies and public policies that meet this group's health needs, reduce the cost of health care, and increase the quality of life for older Latinos.

Is It Legitimate for Society to Intervene in the Way Citizens Live Their Lives When the Cost of Health Care Has to Be Borne by the General Public?—General Considerations and Special Implications During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Over the last few decades, the perception of disease has changed significantly. In the concept of the sick person's role it should be the aim of every person to keep health at a good level for as long as possible. Several examples can be found where, however, a disease can be caused or worsened by a person. Examples include unhealthy diet, alcohol consumption leading to atherosclerosis and diabetes, or smoking, leading to lung cancer and COPD. There are also other appropriate examples where there is a potential for conflict between the autonomy of the individual and health. Improving public health should be the main objective of any health system. However, the more the impact is on personal freedom (and there is no extraneous danger), the more an attempt should be made to achieve this through the motivation of each individual to support the desire for a healthy lifestyle, rather than through legal prohibitions or penalties. The situation is even more complex in the case of the Covid-19 pandemic. In this context too, personal freedom is restricted in many areas and some people feel, for example, that compulsory masks or the prohibition of large crowds are serious encroachment on their autonomy. However, even in this case, the risk of possible external threats from the spread of the virus outweighs the right to personal choice and freedom. To sum up, it is necessary to balance the two principles - autonomy and interference in them in the interests of public health.

Smartphone and Surgery, Reality or Gadget?

Surgical care is an essential component of health care. This basic universal right is not available to everyone. Indeed, countries with low economic resources suffer from a lack of access to surgical care and the most developed countries will have to reduce the cost of health care to ensure the sustainability of provided care quality. New communication technologies have invaded the field of health and have led to the development of a new concept of mobile health. The purpose of this paper is to answer the following question: Can these new tools, and in particular the Smartphone, remedy, even partially, the lack of health care in poor countries and reduce the cost of health care in rich countries? New communication tools, led by the Smartphone, have the capacity to capture, store, retrieve and transmit data to provide instant and personalized information to individuals. This information could be a key element in health systems and can contribute to monitoring health status and improving patient safety and care quality. Mobile telephony via applications and connected objects can facilitate the pre-, intra- and post-operative management of patients. These mobile systems also facilitate the collection and transmission of data. This will allow better analysis of this data and will greatly pave the way to the introduction of artificial intelligence in medicine and surgery. The Smartphone can be used as an important tool for both, diagnosis care and surgical training. Surgeons must adapt their equipment to local resources while respecting safety standards. Covid-19 has put health systems around the world under severe strain. Decision-makers are being forced to make adjustments. The long-vaunted digital health is becoming a reality and a necessity. Healthcare authorities and strategy specialists face challenges in terms of disease prevention and therapy, as well as in terms of health economics and management.

Healthcare Inaccessibilities Challenged Through Podcasts

Podcasting has become a form of disseminating information as well as for advocating social change. This paper utilizes the popular mainstream form of artivism (podcasts) in order to underscore the disparities in the healthcare system that specifically affect the Latinx community. These social inequalities that provide a lack of access to care include language/cultural barriers, geographical accessibility, and the cost of health care. These various podcasts use personal anecdotes and statistics to highlight the gaps in our healthcare system and to encourage the listeners to advocate for change.

SURGICAL SITE INFECTIONS AT A TERTIARY CARE CENTRE: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Background: Surgical site infections are associated with substantial morbidity and mortality, increase in hospital stay and enhanced cost of health care. Objective of present study is to identify the etiological pathogens and their antimicrobial susceptibility, resistance and risk factors for development SSIs. Methods: It is observational study carried out at Department of General Surgery at GSVM Medical College, Kanpur, India for a period of one year. It is a tertiary care centre and a teaching hospital. A predesigned and pretested proforma was used to collect data. Surgical sites were examined and culture with sensitivity was done for infected wounds. Results: The most commonly isolated bacteria were: Klebsiella, E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Increasing age and associated diabetes showed signicantly higher rates of infection compared to their counterparts. Universal resistance was present to ampicillin, cefoxitin, ceftriaxone and tetracycline, while organism were sensitive to Imipenam, Meropenam and Piperacillin. Conclusions: Post-operative abdominal wound infection represents a substantial burden of disease both for the patients and the healthcare services in terms of the morbidity, mortality and economic costs.

What is Behind the High Dental Costs in the U.S.

Healthcare is among the most important issues for Americans since the U.S. health care system is the most expensive in the world. Analyzing the U.S. rising cost of health care in the 21 century it is impossible not to see that the increase of dental prices exceeds significantly the growth of prices for many other medical services. Regular preventive dental care is essential for good oral health, but many persons don’t get the care they need. More people are unable to afford dental care than other types of health care. Such situation with dental health is inadmissible.

Inpatient Case-mix Cost Vs Average Cost for Health Care Services in King Fahd Central Hospital, Saudi Arabia: A Comparative Study

Health care systems aim to deliver high-quality medical care while considering efficient resource usage and cost-effective forms of interventions. Such purposes require scientific tools or mechanisms which aid in cost assessment before the efforts of cost reduction are considered. Diagnosis-related groups based costing methodology (Case-mix) is considered one of the preferred costing approaches in the health care sector. King Fahd Central hospital Jazan, the only tertiary hospital in the Jazan region, was selected for case-mix system-based patient-level costing of health services. The study’s objective was to estimate the cost per Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG) per inpatient admission and compare it with the already established average cost of health care services for inpatients. We applied a cross-sectional retrospective approach to categorize the inpatients based on their diagnosis and procedures and then estimate the actual cost of health care services provided to inpatients during 2018 and compared it with the average cost of the health services. There was a considerable difference between DRG-based costing (SAR 269,663,897) and average costing (SAR 247,035,938). The Diagnosis Related Group costing was found to be more reliable and representative of the services provided to the patients and is recommended to be used for reimbursement purposes.