Demand Side Financing and Healthcare Seeking of Pregnant Women

Demand-side financing (DSF) scheme is popularly known as the maternal health voucher program, which is launched in many developing countries of the world including Bangladesh as an intervention of developing overall health status. Maternal mortality ratio is a strong indicator of health profile of any country and pregnant women are prone to fall vulnerable situation. This review was aimed to find gap/missing of existing literature in order to make foundation of new research on healthcare seeking of pregnant women along with financing coverage. After repeated critical review of number original articles, some gaps have been found. Almost every article they focused on outcome and mildly highlighted input variables but did not consider all possible variables and missed to show interlink between those variables.

On the Intergenerational Transmission of Health Inequality

Cumulating evidence from social science has indicated the intergenerational transmission of inequality is majorly derived from the economic imbalance. In line with this, the same thing happens in health, and emerging evidence has been documenting its transmissible property. No matter the genetic or non-genetic causes, health inequality inevitably plays its role in contributing to the underlying health-associated despoliation in life. Each individual shows an eventual health state where equality and inequality reach a time-dependent temporary condition in which the balancing point fluctuates back and forth. To promote the overall health status, it is crucial to promote and optimize the positive health characteristics to get equilibrium between positive and negative. This review discussed the underlying mechanisms of intergenerational transmission of health inequality by focusing on different types of contributors to the inequality and providing prospective insights into the potentially beneficial strategies that can optimize overall individual health.

Cannabis at the End of Life: A Road More Traveled

This study examines medical cannabis as a complement or alternative to palliative care (PC). Using cross-sectional survey data from 708 terminal patients in the Illinois Medical Cannabis Program, we compare those in PC (n = 115) to those who are not (n = 593). Increased odds of PC utilization were observed for prior military service, cancer diagnosis, low psychological wellbeing, and medical complexity. PC was positively associated with improvement scores for pain, and ability to manage health status. Higher pain levels were also observed for PC patients who indicated concurrent use of cannabis and opioids, compared to those not using opioids. While most terminal patients use cannabis as an alternative to PC, medical cannabis does operate as a therapeutic complement for individuals in PC to help manage pain and overall health status, and is used at higher levels of pain when patients are also using opioids.

Swarna Prashana – faith in the embrace of research

Childhood needs diverse nutritional requirements. Poor appetite, lifestyle changes, and poor digestion affects child immunity and make them prone to diseases. Kaumarabhritya, a branch of Ayurveda which deals in child and adolescent health care, has a unique concept of Swarna Prashana (SP) to promote generalized immunity and intellect. SP is commonly recommended to children between 0 and 12 years of age and given as a general health promoter to improve intellect, digestion, strength, immunity, longevity, and complexion. Multiple benefits of SP are mentioned in different Samhitas which needs to be explored on scientific background. Authors have highlighted content variabilities, plausible mechanisms, research tasks and potentials, lacunae, and future prospects about SP. This manuscript is a spotlight on current social, clinical, marketing, and scientific information of Swarna Prashana. SP can be a cost-effective, safe, infrastructure compatible, and prevention-centric approach to improve children’s overall health status and has the potential to serve as a positive health care program for children.

Microplastics in fecal samples of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) and from surface water in the Philippines

Marine plastic abundance has increased over the past 60 years and microplastics (< 5 mm) constitute a primary component of such litter. Filter-feeding megafauna, such as the whale shark, might be particularly affected by microplastic pollution as their feeding mode requires filtration of up to thousands of cubic meters of water. In addition, the habitat range of whale sharks intersects with several recognized microplastic pollution hotspots, among which is the Coral Triangle. Direct evidence for microplastic ingestion in whale sharks however, has not yet been presented. Here we show that whale shark scat collected in the Philippines from 2012 to 2019 contained a mean of 2.8 microplastics g− 1. Contrary to our expectations, the microplastic concentration in the scat remained consistent from 2012 to 2019. Water samples from the study site in 2019 indicated that the local microplastic pollution (5.83 particles m− 3) was higher than in surface waters in other whale shark habitats, but well below other pollution hot-spots found in Southeast Asia and China (range: 100–4100 particles m− 3). With the predicted growth in plastic use, leading to increased plastic marine pollution, whale sharks are expected to become more exposed to this form of pollution. To what extent microplastic ingestion impacts the overall health status of this endangered species remains an open question.

Acute Appendicitis in the Elderly: A Literature Review on an Increasingly Frequent Surgical Problem

With increased life expectancy and the growing total population of elderly patients, there has been rise in the number of cases of acute appendicitis in elderly people. Although acute appendicitis is not the most typical pathological condition in the elderly, it is not uncommon. Most of these patients require surgical treatment, and as with any acute surgical pathology in advanced age, treatment possibilities are affected by comorbidities, overall health status, and an increased risk of complications. In this literature review we discuss differences in acute appendicitis in the elderly population, with a focus on clinical signs, diagnostics, pathogenesis, treatment, and results.

Geriatric Implications of Surgical Oncology

Surgical oncology is cancer care that focuses on using surgery to diagnose, stage, and treat cancer and is one of the main treatments for malignancy. Patients older than 65 years are generally considered geriatric. The incidence of cancer in geriatric patients is increasing annually. Candidacy for surgical intervention depends on factors such as cancer type, size, location, grade and stage of the tumor, and the patient’s overall health status and age. Despite increasing agreement that age should not limit treatment options, geriatric patients tend to be undertreated. Cancer in geriatric patients has different features than in younger patients. As such, treatment options may be dissimilar in these 2 cohorts. Here, care of the geriatric patient undergoing surgical oncology interventions is discussed.

Thai version of the dry eye-related quality-of-life score questionnaire: preliminary assessment for psychometric properties

Background This study aimed to develop a Thai version of the Dry Eye–Related Quality-of-Life Score (DEQS-Th) questionnaire and evaluate its validity, reliability, and feasibility among Thai participants. Methods The DEQS-Th, a 15-item self-report measuring dry eye and its impact on quality of life (QOL) was developed based on the DEQS. The questionnaire was divided into two subscales: Bothersome Ocular Symptoms (six questions), and Impact on Daily Life (nine questions). It employed a 5-point Likert scale, addressing on both the frequency and the degree of symptoms. Backward and forward and cultural adaptation process translation methods were employed. Thirty healthy participants were enrolled to evaluate the feasibility of the DEQS-Th in terms of difficulty and convenience. Reliability was assessed using internal consistency determined by Cronbach’s alpha, with values > 0.7 considered acceptable. Convergent validity was determined by the correlation between DEQS-Th and overall health status. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted for its factor structure. Results The participants’ mean age was 38.6 ± 12.9 years, and 23 (76.7%) were females. The mean time to complete the questionnaire was 9.3 ± 2.7 min. The Cronbach’s alpha of the ocular symptoms subscale, impact on QOL subscale, and summary score on frequency and degree were 0.80 and 0.70, 0.89 and 0.89, and 0.90 and 0.89, respectively. The overall health status significantly correlated with the summary score (r = 0.564, p = .001), subscale ocular symptoms (r = 0.594, p = .001), and impact on QOL scores (r = 0.626, p < .001) of the DEQS-Th, respectively. A one-factor model fitted the data the best for both the ocular symptoms subscale (CFI = 1.000, TLI = 1.000, RMSEA = 0.000) and the impact on QOL subscale (CFI = 0.998, TLI = 0.997, RMSEA = 0.053). Conclusion When tested among normal participants, the DEQS-Th is a valid and reliable measurement for dry eye symptoms and impact on QOL.

Quality of periodic health examination service for employees and associated factors at the New Port Medical Center, Ho Chi Minh city in 2020

Objectives: A periodic health examination helps people to evaluate the overall health status, so it is of the utmost importance to each individual, including employees. At Saigon Newport Corporation, employees have to do strenuous, hazardous, and dangerous works, so periodic health examination is necessary. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 436 employees to measure their perception of the periodic health examination service quality via the SERVPERF scale and associated factors at the New Port Medical Center, Ho Chi Minh City, 2020. Results: Research results indicated that 78% of employees have a good assessment of the quality of periodic health examination, in which reliability was 79.6%, assurance was 79.8%, which were also the least. Conclusions: Gender, level of education, and sector of employment were related to the employees’ perception of the periodic health examination service. Keywords: Periodic health examination, employee, SERVPERF, New Port Medical Center, Saigon Newport Corporation.

Cross-sectional Analysis of Food Insecurity and Frequent Emergency Department Use

Introduction: Emergency department (ED) patients have higher than average levels of food insecurity. We examined the association between multiple measures of food insecurity and frequent ED use in a random sample of ED patients. Methods: We completed survey questionnaires with randomly sampled adult patients from an urban public hospital ED (n = 2,312). We assessed food insecurity using four questions from the United States Department of Agriculture Household Food Security Survey. The primary independent variable was any food insecurity, defined as an affirmative response to any of the four items. Frequent ED use was defined as self-report of ≥4 ED visits in the past year. We examined the relationship between patient food insecurity and frequent ED use using bivariate and multivariable analyses and examined possible mediation by anxiety/depression and overall health status. Results: One-third (30.9%) of study participants reported frequent ED use, and half (50.8%) reported any food insecurity. Prevalence of food insecurity was higher among frequent vs. non-frequent ED users, 62.8% vs 45.4% (P <0.001). After controlling for potential confounders, food insecurity remained significantly associated with frequent ED use (adjusted odds ratio 1.48, 95% confidence interval, 1.20-1.83). This observed association was partially attenuated when anxiety/depression and overall health status were added to models. Conclusion: The high observed prevalence of food insecurity suggests that efforts to improve care of ED patients should assess and address this need. Further research is needed to assess whether addressing food insecurity may play an important role in efforts to reduce frequent ED use for some patients.