HIV risk behavior and work in Uganda: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: The study assessed the prevalence of factors associated with HIV risky behaviour among employees of a Sugar Factory in Jinja District, Uganda. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of 321 participants was carried out in a Sugar Factory where several workers were migrants. Using an interviewer-administered questionnaire, information on socio-demographic characteristics, work factors and sexual behaviours was obtained. RESULTS: Fifty-one percent of the men and 32% of the women reported having multiple sex partners in the past year. Thirty-six percent of the respondents reported using condoms during the last casual sex. Twenty-four percent of men and 15% women reported sexually transmitted infection-related symptoms in the last one-year. Having multiple sex partners was associated with being a contract worker (OR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.10-3.79) and being married but not living with spouse (OR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.16-4.00). CONCLUSION: HIV risk behaviour among Sugar Factory workers is associated with separation from partner. HIV intervention strategies should include work related factors of this type.     

Anemia in pregnancy in Malaysia: a cross-sectional survey

Anemia is the most prevalent nutritional deficiency during pregnancy. Except for a study conducted 10 years ago in Kelantan, Malaysia's available statistics are based on isolated small urban maternity hospital studies from the 1980s. There was therefore, a need for a large study at national level to estimate the magnitude of the problem in the country as well as to understand its epidemiology. This multi-center, cross-sectional study was conducted from February to March 2005, to assess the prevalence of anemia. Multistage stratified random sampling technique was used and 59 Ministry of Health (MOH) primary health care clinics were selected. Our final dataset consisted of 1,072 antenatal mothers from 56 clinics. The overall prevalence of anemia in this population was 35 % (SE 0.02) if the cut off level is 11 g/dL and 11 % (SE 0.03) if the cut-off level is 10 g/dL. The majority was of the mild type. The prevalence was higher in the teenage group, Indians followed by Malays and Chinese being the least, grandmultiparas, the third trimester and from urban residence. After multiple linear regression analysis, only gestational age remained significant. These findings are useful for our Maternal Health program planners and implementers to target and evaluate interventions. Work is in progress for outcomes and cost-effectiveness studies to best tackle this problem. In conclusion, the prevalence of anemia is 35% and mostly of the mild type and more prevalent in the Indian and Malays.     

Health-state utilities in a prisoner population: a cross-sectional survey

Background  

Health-state utilities for prisoners have not been described.     

Cost-consciousness among Swiss doctors: a cross-sectional survey

Background  

Knowing what influences physicians attitudes toward health care costs is an important matter, because most health care expenditures are the results of doctors' decisions. Many decisions regarding medical tests and treatments are influenced by factors other than the expected benefit to the patient, including the doctor's demographic characteristics and concerns about cost and income.     

Blood cholesterol and walnut consumption: a cross-sectional survey in France

BACKGROUND: The preventive role of polyunsaturated fatty acids in cardiovascular disease has been recognized. We conducted a cross-sectional study to assess the association between walnut consumption (oil and kernel) as a source of polyunsaturated fatty acids and blood lipid levels. METHODS: Seven hundred ninety-three persons, males and females, ages 18-65 years, living in a walnut production area (Dauphiné, France) attended health screening visits organized by the Agriculture Social Security. Past diet (1-year recall, including walnut and animal fat consumption) and cardiovascular risk factors were ascertained using food frequency questionnaires. For each participant a blood sample was taken to measure HDL, LDL, and total cholesterol; apo A1; and apo B. RESULTS: A high level of HDL cholesterol and apo A1 was associated with a high amount of walnut consumption (oil and kernel) in the regular diet, with a positive trend with increasing degree of walnut consumption. This association did not appear to be confounded by dietary animal fat and alcohol as measured in this study. Other blood lipids did not show significant associations with walnut consumption. CONCLUSION: The positive effect of walnut consumption on blood HDL cholesterol and apo A1 is of special interest since these lipid parameters have been shown to be negatively correlated with cardiovascular morbidity.     

Determinants of attendance and patient satisfaction at eye clinics in south-western Uganda.

PURPOSE: To identify the reasons for subjects deciding to attend or not attend local and referral ophthalmology clinics in south-west Uganda, and to establish the levels of satisfaction of clinic attenders with the services they received. METHODS: A population survey identified subjects with ocular conditions who were referred to the local clinic or the district hospital. All non-attenders and a group of attenders were interviewed at home. RESULTS: 31% of those referred did not attend the local clinic. The most common reasons were 'too busy' (29%) or 'unwilling to buy spectacles' (17%). Less than half of attenders were satisfied, mainly because of no perceived clinical improvement or having to buy spectacles. Only 13% of those referred to the district hospital clinic attended. The main reasons for non-attendance were high transport cost and fear of the clinic. CONCLUSION: Attendance and satisfaction with the community ophthalmology service could be improved by more intensive motivation and explanation for patients, and assistance with spectacle and transport costs. The use of aphakic motivators should be tested in this context.     

Social equalization in youth: evidence from a cross-sectional British survey

BACKGROUND: A number of studies have suggested that social inequalities in health disappear or are attenuated in early adolescence possibly due to changing risk exposures. The present study examines social equalization in youth in a representative sample of British households with children aged 0-18 years. METHODS: Secondary analysis of a cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of British households with children and youth with parent-reported less than good health, long-standing illness, and chest problems as outcomes. RESULTS: Data were available on 15 756 children aged 0-18 years in 8541 households in the third sweep (2001) of the British government's Families and Children Study. Parent-rated health status, long-standing illness, and chest problems all showed social patterning among children who were 0-11 years of age. Among 12- to 14-year-olds, the social gradients in these outcomes noted in childhood associated with income, social class, and education were lost but inequalities in parent-rated health status and long-standing illness but not chest problems persisted associated with measures of household work status and wealth. Among 15- to 18-year-olds, income inequalities appeared to reassert themselves, particularly among girls, but gradients by maternal education noted among 0- to 11-year-olds were absent in both sexes. Inequalities persisted with measures of household worklessness and wealth. CONCLUSIONS: In this cross-sectional study, the social equalization in youth was noted for some health outcomes and by some measures of socioeconomic status but not for others. Inequalities in parent-rated health status and long-standing illness persist among young people in workless households and those experiencing severe material hardship.     

Catastrophic household expenditure on health in Nepal: a cross-sectional survey

Objective

To determine the incidence of – and illnesses commonly associated with – catastrophic household expenditure on health in Nepal.

Methods

We did a cross-sectional population-based survey in five municipalities of Kathmandu Valley between November 2011 and January 2012. For each household surveyed, out-of-pocket spending on health in the previous 30 days that exceeded 10% of the household’s total expenditure over the same period was considered to be catastrophic. We estimated the incidence and intensity of catastrophic health expenditure. We identified the illnesses most commonly associated with such expenditure using a Poisson regression model and assessed the distribution of expenditure by economic quintile of households using the concentration index.

Findings

Overall, 284 of the 1997 households studied in Kathmandu, i.e. 13.8% after adjustment by sampling weight, reported catastrophic health expenditure in the 30 days before the survey. After adjusting for confounders, this expenditure was found to be associated with injuries, particularly those resulting from road traffic accidents. Catastrophic expenditure by households in the poorest quintile were associated with at least one episode of diabetes, asthma or heart disease.

Conclusion

In an urban area of Nepal, catastrophic household expenditure on health was mostly associated with injuries and noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes and asthma. Throughout Nepal, interventions for the control and management of noncommunicable diseases and the prevention of road traffic accidents should be promoted. A phased introduction of health insurance should also reduce the incidence of catastrophic household expenditure.     

Critical care resources in the Solomon Islands: a cross-sectional survey

Background  

There are minimal data available on critical care case-mix, care processes and outcomes in lower and middle income countries (LMICs). The objectives of this paper were to gather data in the Solomon Islands in order to gain a better understanding of common presentations of critical illness, available hospital resources, and what resources would be helpful in improving the care of these patients in the future.     

Factors affecting dental job satisfaction: a cross-sectional survey in Turkey

In this cross-sectional study, a randomly selected group of dentists (n = 855) from nine provinces of Turkey were interviewed for their levels of intrinsic, extrinsic, and overall job satisfaction. The proportion of overall job satisfaction was computed as the proportion of dentists who had mean general satisfaction scores > or = 4 on a 5-point, Likert-type scale and was found to be 40.8% for the sample as a whole. The significant factors that affected overall satisfaction were age, the type of social insurance possessed, income level, the presence of dental auxiliaries, and the number of patients examined per day. Multivariate analysis of the data revealed that the type of social insurance, the amount of monthly income, and the number of patients examined per day were the most common and statistically significant predictors of intrinsic, extrinsic, and overall satisfaction in Turkish dentists.     

Quality of life in women with endometriosis: a cross-sectional survey

Quality of Life Research - The aim of the study was to assess QoL and identify and analyse its determinants in women with endometriosis. The study was performed in 2019 in health centres in Lublin...     

Drug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Malawi: a cross-sectional survey

Objective

To document the prevalence of multidrug resistance among people newly diagnosed with – and those retreated for – tuberculosis in Malawi.

Methods

We conducted a nationally representative survey of people with sputum-smear-positive tuberculosis between 2010 and 2011. For all consenting participants, we collected demographic and clinical data, two sputum samples and tested for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).The samples underwent resistance testing at the Central Reference Laboratory in Lilongwe, Malawi. All Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates found to be multidrug-resistant were retested for resistance to first-line drugs – and tested for resistance to second-line drugs – at a Supranational Tuberculosis Reference Laboratory in South Africa.

Findings

Overall, M. tuberculosis was isolated from 1777 (83.8%) of the 2120 smear-positive tuberculosis patients. Multidrug resistance was identified in five (0.4%) of 1196 isolates from new cases and 28 (4.8%) of 581 isolates from people undergoing retreatment. Of the 31 isolates from retreatment cases who had previously failed treatment, nine (29.0%) showed multidrug resistance. Although resistance to second-line drugs was found, no cases of extensive drug-resistant tuberculosis were detected. HIV testing of people from whom M. tuberculosis isolates were obtained showed that 577 (48.2%) of people newly diagnosed and 386 (66.4%) of people undergoing retreatment were positive.

Conclusion

The prevalence of multidrug resistance among people with smear-positive tuberculosis was low for sub-Saharan Africa – probably reflecting the strength of Malawi’s tuberculosis control programme. The relatively high prevalence of such resistance observed among those with previous treatment failure may highlight a need for a change in the national policy for retreating this subgroup of people with tuberculosis.     

Hispanic physicians' tobacco intervention practices: a cross-sectional survey study

Background  

U.S. Hispanic physicians constitute a considerable professional collective, and they may be most suited to attend to the health education needs of the growing U.S. Hispanic population. These educational needs include tobacco use prevention and smoking cessation. However, there is a lack of information on Hispanic physicians' tobacco intervention practices, their level of awareness and use of cessation protocols, and the type of programs that would best address their tobacco training needs. The purpose of this study was to assess the tobacco intervention practices and training needs of Hispanic physicians.     

Risk factors for hypertension: results from a cross-sectional survey

A case-control study of hypertension was conducted, using as a sampling frame a cross-sectional survey of Canadian Federal civil servants. Three case groups were selected, based on prior knowledge of hypertensive status and measured blood pressure. A 3-to-1 matching scheme was employed. Data was analysed using a logistic regression model. Statistically significantly elevated odds ratios, in excess of 3.0, were noted for overweight or obese status. Other odds ratios associated with a significantly increased risk of hypertension were maternal and paternal history of hypertension and current cigarette smoking.     

牡丹江市学龄前儿童反复呼吸道感染现状及影响因素分析

  目的  了解中国托幼机构卫生保健人员配备现状及专业技术情况,并分析可能的影响因素,为提高集体儿童保健工作以及政策决策制定提供依据。  方法  调查数据来自于2013年全国托幼机构卫生保健工作现状调查,采用容量比例概率抽样方法进行分层抽样,共有5 405所托幼机构完成卫生保健人员调查。  结果  中国托幼机构卫生保健人员的配备率为74.98 %,兼职卫生保健人员和专职卫生保健人员配备率分别为44.20 % 和30.78 %;34.11 % 的卫生保健人员有医学学历,23.35 % 的卫生保健人员有医师/护士资格,仅15.32 % 的卫生保健人员有医师/护士执业资格;卫生保健人员配备率和专业技术资格情况在不同地域分布、园所所在地和不同规模间差异有统计学意义。多元logistic回归分析显示,地域划分、园所所在地和园所规模均是影响卫生保健人员配备的因素,东部托幼机构配备卫生保健人员是西部的4倍。  结论  中国托幼机构卫生保健人员配备较10年前有较大提高,但仍然存在人员配备不足、工作兼职和专业水平不足问题。