Effects of Price,Information, and Transactions Cost Interventions to Raise Voluntary Enrollment in a Social Health Insurance Scheme: A Randomized Experiment in the Philippines

A cluster randomized experiment was undertaken testing two sets of interventions encouraging enrollment in the Individually Paying Program (IPP), the voluntary component of the Philippines' social health insurance program. In early 2011, 1037 unenrolled IPP‐eligible families in 179 randomly selected intervention municipalities were given an information kit and offered a 50% premium subsidy valid until the end of 2011; 383 IPP‐eligible families in 64 control municipalities were not. In February 2012, the 787 families in the intervention sites who were still IPP‐eligible but had not enrolled had their vouchers extended, were resent the enrollment kits and received SMS reminders. Half the group also received a ‘handholding’ intervention: in the endline interview, the enumerator offered to help complete the enrollment form, deliver it to the insurer's office in the provincial capital, and mail the membership cards. The main intervention raised the enrollment rate by 3 percentage points (ppts) (p = 0.11), with an 8 ppt larger effect (p < 0.01) among city‐dwellers, consistent with travel time to the insurance office affecting enrollment. The handholding intervention raised enrollment by 29 ppts (p < 0.01), with a smaller effect (p < 0.01) among city‐dwellers, likely because of shorter travel times, and higher education levels facilitating unaided completion of the enrollment form. Copyright © The World Bank Health Economics © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

反复粪便培养金黄色葡萄球菌阳性老年患者口服万古霉素效果评价

目的 通过探讨肠道非急性感染期反复粪便培养金黄色葡萄球菌阳性的老年患者口服万古霉素的效果，为此类患者提供一种潜在的治疗方案。方法 前瞻性分析吉林大学第一医院干部病房2015 年9 月～2018 年12 月收治的186 例肠道非急性感染期反复粪便培养金黄色葡萄球菌阳性的老年患者。根据是否口服万古霉素治疗分为万古组和对照组。收集两组患者的一般临床资料，比较两组患者试验前后万古霉素血药浓度、血常规、降钙素原（PCT）、C 反应蛋白（CRP），试验期间粪便培养结果、体温、抗生素使用情况。结果 试验治疗期间，万古组便培养转阴率高于对照组，差异有统计学意义（P＜0.05）；万古组发热率（29.75%）低于对照组的34.77%，差异有高度统计学意义（P＜0.01）；万古组抗生素使用率（4.49%）低于对照组的19.23%，差异有高度统计学意义（P＜0.01）。试验前两组白细胞、中性粒细胞计数、中性粒细胞比例、PCT、CRP 比较，差异无统计学意义（P＞0.05）；试验后万古组白细胞、中性粒细胞计数、中性粒细胞比例、CRP 低于对照组，差异有高度统计学意义（P＜0.01）。试验后万古组白细胞、中性粒细胞计数、中性粒细胞比例、CRP 低于试验前，差异有高度统计学意义（P＜0.01）。结论 口服万古霉素可能提高肠道非急性感染期反复粪便培养金黄色葡萄球菌阳性的老年患者粪便转阴率，减少发热及抗生素的应用，降低炎症细胞水平，可能是此类患者一种潜在的临床治疗方案。     

Disparate exposure to physically demanding working conditions in France

BackgroundOur study was aimed at examining disparate exposure to physically demanding working conditions in France, a key objective being to identify the types of employees/jobs requiring high-priority preventive actions.MethodsWe analyzed the data from the 2017 French nationwide cross-sectional survey (SUMER) on occupational hazards to which French employees in various sectors were subjected. The prevalence of several types of physically demanding working conditions (lifting of heavy loads, awkward body postures, vibrations, noise, and extreme temperatures) was explored. Potential associations of individual and job characteristics with these factors of hardship at work were studied by multivariate logistic regression.ResultsIn total, 48% of employees were exposed to at least one physically demanding working condition and 24.8% were exposed to multiple constraints. While managers and intellectual professionals were exposed relatively infrequently to physical constraints, blue-collar workers experienced the highest frequency of exposure. On the one hand, the role of company size depended on the factor of hardship at work considered; on the other hand, employees in large-scale companies were generally less exposed. As expected, employees in the construction industry were the most exposed to physical constraints; that said, our results also show that some activities in the services sector (e.g., personal care, administrative and support services) were quite significantly affected by a wide array of physically demanding working conditions.ConclusionNotwithstanding the establishment in France of Plans de Santé au travail (preventive workplace health and safety plans), occupational risks were found to be high, and above all, they were unevenly distributed among the various socio-professional categories, and strongly contributed to social inequalities in health. Our results identify the types of publics to be designated as high-priority targets for preventive measures aimed at reducing the adverse impacts of physically demanding working conditions and the incidence of associated musculoskeletal disorders.     

Prevalence of and factors contributing to anxiety,depression and cognitive disorders among urban elderly in Odisha – A study through the health systems’ Lens

IntroductionGrowing geriatric mental health needs of urban population in India pose several programmatic challenges. This study aimed to assess anxiety, depression and cognitive disorders among urban elderly, and explore availability of social support mechanisms and of a responsive health system to implement the national mental health programme.Methods244 respondents were randomly selected from Berhampur city. We administered a semi-structured interview schedule to assess substance abuse, chronic morbidity, anxiety, depression and cognitive abilities. Further, in-depth interviews were conducted with 25 key informants including district officials, psychiatrists, and programme managers. We used R software and ‘thematic framework’ approach, respectively, for quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Ethical standards were complied with.ResultsAbout half of the respondents were economically dependent; 57.3% had moderate to severe anxiety; 46.7% had moderate to severe depression; while about 25% had severe cognitive impairments. We found association of chewing tobacco (1.34(0.28–2.40)) and depression (0.52(0.37–0.68)) with anxiety; negative perception about elderly-friendly society (1.64(0.75–2.53)) and physical inactivity (2.88(1.60–4.16)) with depression; and age (-0.11(-0.20 – -0.02)) and physical inactivity (-3.44(-5.13 – -1.74)) with cognitive disorders. Qualitative analysis revealed lack of awareness, social stigma, poor availability of trained human resources, and poor political commitment as important systemic barriers to early detection and treatment of mental ailments among the elderly.ConclusionEstablishing tobacco cessation centres, sensitizing community about mental health needs of elderly, incentivizing physical activity of elderly, integrating mental health with primary care, multi-skilling providers and developing a cadre of community counsellors need urgent attention of policy makers and programme implementers.     

基于频数分析法的骨伤科中成药用药规律研究

目的：探讨骨伤科中成药的用药规律，为临床合理用药及新药开发提供参考。方法：以《中国药典》2015年版一部收载的骨伤科类中成药共149个为研究对象，运用频数分析的方法研究其主治病症、所用剂型、各类方剂高频药物、核心药物组成，分析骨伤科中成药用药规律。结果：常用骨伤科中成药中治疗骨关节痹症的最多，其次为跌打损伤和骨关节退行性疾病的中成药；剂型以胶囊剂、片剂、丸剂为主；以活血化瘀药、祛风湿药、补虚药为核心药物组合，各类方剂中三者比例偏重不同。结论：通过对研究结果进行分析，提出了新药研发的方向。     

Difference in Survival in Early Kidney after Liver Transplantation Compared with Simultaneous Liver-Kidney Transplantation: Evaluating the Potential of the “Safety Net”

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Vacuum myofascial therapy device for non-specific neck pain. A single blind randomized clinical trial

ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the efficacy of a vacuum myofascial therapy device (VT) for improving pressure pain thresholds (PPTs), range of motion (ROM), neck pain-related disability, pain, and quality of life in patients with non-specific neck pain.MethodsA randomized controlled trial in which thirty-eight participants with non-specific neck pain (NP) were randomly assigned to either an experimental (VT) or a comparison physical therapy program (PTP) group. The VT group (n = 19) received five sessions of treatment with a vacuum myofascial therapy device while the PTP group (n = 19) received five sessions of massage, ultrasound therapy (US), and transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) over two weeks. The outcome measures were the numerical pain rating scale (NPRS), range of motion, quality of life (SF-12), neck disability Index (NDI), and PPTs at the end of treatment and at one-month follow-up.ResultsAlthough both groups experienced improvements in pain, neck disability, range of motion, and pressure pain, these only were statistically significant in the VT group. At one-month follow-up, the VT group still showed improvements in pain, neck disability, and range of motion.DiscussionVacuum myofascial therapy applied with a device offers similar results to other vacuum-based techniques such as cupping therapy. Moreover, in this device the parameters are digitally controlled, which allows for the precise reproduction of treatment.     

Diagnostic sensitivity of electrophysiology and ultrasonography in ulnar neuropathies of different severity

ObjectiveTo assess the diagnostic performance of electrophysiology and nerve ultrasound in ulnar neuropathies of varying clinical severity in 135 consecutive patients.MethodsClinical severity of ulnar neuropathy was graded on a 4 point scale from very mild (symptoms only) to severe (marked atrophy of intrinsic hand muscles). Sensitivity and localization ability of electrophysiology and nerve ultrasound were assessed for each point of the scale.ResultsUltrasound had higher sensitivity than electrophysiology in clinically very mild (20% and 3% for ultrasound and electrophysiology, respectively) and mild (62% and 47% for ultrasound and electrophysiology, respectively) neuropathies, had greater localizing ability in axonal ulnar neuropathies, and identified nerve hypermobility.Ultrasound nerve cross-sectional area had strong positive correlation with both clinical and electrophysiological severity scores, but with significant overlap across the severity groups.ConclusionThe diagnostic work-up of ulnar neuropathies was improved by using both electrophysiology and ultrasound at all levels of clinical severity. Ultrasound increased the diagnostic yield in very mild and mild neuropathies, localized all the ulnar neuropathies with abnormal non-localizing electrophysiology and identified nerve hypermobility.SignificanceThis is the first detailed analysis of the diagnostic performance of electrophysiology and ultrasound in ulnar neuropathies of varying severity.