Search results for: mental health status

Authors: Veli Durmus, Mert Uydaci

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Every patient who needs to get a medical treatment should share health-related personal data with healthcare providers. Therefore, personal health data plays an important role to make health decisions and identify health threats during every encounter between a patient and caregivers. In other words, health data can be defined as privacy and sensitive information which is protected by various health laws and regulations. In many cases, the data are an outcome of the confidential relationship between patients and their healthcare providers. Globally, almost all nations have own laws, regulations or rules in order to protect personal data. There is a variety of instruments that allow authorities to use the health data or to set the barriers data sharing across international borders. For instance, Directive 95/46/EC of the European Union (EU) (also known as EU Data Protection Directive) establishes harmonized rules in European borders. In addition, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will set further common principles in 2018. Because of close policy relationship with EU, this study provides not only information on regulations, directives but also how they play a role during the legislative process in Turkey. Even if the decision is controversial, the Board has recently stated that private or public healthcare institutions are responsible for the patient call system, for doctors to call people waiting outside a consultation room, to prevent unlawful processing of personal data and unlawful access to personal data during the treatment. In Turkey, vast majority private and public health organizations provide a service that ensures personal data (i.e. patient’s name and ID number) to call the patient. According to the Board’s decision, hospital or other healthcare institutions are obliged to take all necessary administrative precautions and provide technical support to protect patient privacy. However, this application does not effectively and efficiently performing in most health services. For this reason, it is important to draw a legal framework of personal health data by stating what is the main purpose of this regulation and how to deal with complicated issues on personal health data in Turkey. The research is descriptive on data protection law for health care setting in Turkey. Primary as well as secondary data has been used for the study. The primary data includes the information collected under current national and international regulations or law. Secondary data include publications, books, journals, empirical legal studies. Consequently, privacy and data protection regimes in health law show there are some obligations, principles and procedures which shall be binding upon natural or legal persons who process health-related personal data. A comparative approach presents there are significant differences in some EU member states due to different legal competencies, policies, and cultural factors. This selected study provides theoretical and practitioner implications by highlighting the need to illustrate the relationship between privacy and confidentiality in Personal Data Protection in Health Law. Furthermore, this paper would help to define the legal framework for the health law case studies on data protection and privacy.

Keywords: data protection, personal data, privacy, healthcare, health law

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Authors: Adedayo Jeremiah Adeyekun, Samuel Olugbemiga Ishola

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This paper is intended to examine how architecture influences its occupants and how is what we design and build be used by its inhabitants. It also reviews the effect of Architecture to our convenience. According to history of architecture, this issue has materialized in various methods with control of space, through philosophy of experience with social and cultural influences and through art. What these all share in common is the area of strategies, when used from an architectural point of view, are thoughtful in nature. We thought of how architecture influences us, and thereafter we provide recommendation. As humans, we are encouraged to develop our houses to suit our living regarding to health, and it is the desire of every good architect to provide houses that will encourage comfort. We have acquired understanding from questions with rational point of views on the impact of Architecture to our health. As a result, this paper will certainly reinforce the requirement for architects to design a structure that will certainly urge the social and cultural convenience of the environment. To accomplish the goals of this study, experts in the discipline of architecture and wellness were interviewed, and information was originated from journals, publications and textbooks associated to architecture in order to establish the influence of architecture to our wellness.

Keywords: architecture, well-being, health, impact, environment

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Authors: Franklin Chu Buh, Irene Ule Ngole Sumbele, Andrew I. R. Maas, Mathieu Motah, Jogi V. Pattisapu, Eric Youm, Basil Kum Meh, Firas H. Kobeissy, Kevin W. Wang, Peter J. A. Hutchinson, Germain Sotoing Taiwe

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Introduction: Studying TBI characteristics and their relation to outcomes can identify initiatives to improve TBI prevention and care. The objective of this study was to define the features and outcomes of TBI patients seen over a 1-year period in a level-I trauma center in Cameroon. Methods: Data on demographics, causes, injury mechanisms, clinical aspects, and discharge status were prospectively collected over a period of 12 months. The Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOSE) and the Quality of Life Questionnaire after Brain Injury (QoLIBRI) were used to evaluate outcomes 6-months after TBI. Categorical variables were described as frequencies and percentages. Comparisons between 2 categorical variables were done using Pearson's Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. Results: A total of 160 TBI patients participated in the study. The age group 15-45 years (78%; 125) was most represented. Males were more affected (90%; 144). Low educational level was recorded in 122 (76%) cases. Road traffic incidents (RTI) were the main cause of TBI (85%), with professional bike riders being frequently involved (27%, 43/160). Assaults (7.5%) and falls (2.5%) represent the second and third most common causes of TBI in Cameroon, respectively. Only 15 patients were transported to the hospital by ambulance, and 14 of these were from a referring hospital. CT-imaging was performed in 78% (125/160) of cases intracranial traumatic abnormality was identified in 77/125 (64%) cases. Financial constraints were the main reason for not performing a CT scan on 35 patients. A total of 46 (33%) patients were discharged against medical advice (DAMA) due to financial constraints. Mortality was 14% (22/160) but disproportionately high in patients with severe TBI (46%). DAMA had poor outcomes with QoLIBRI. Only 4 patients received post-injury physiotherapy services. Conclusion: TBI in Cameroon mainly results from RTIs and commonly affects young adult males, and low educational or socioeconomic status and commercial bike riding appear to be predisposing factors. Lack of pre-hospital care, financial constraints limiting both CT-scanning and medical care, and lack of acute physiotherapy services likely influenced care and outcomes adversely.

Keywords: characteristics, traumatic brain injury, outcome, disparities in care, prospective study

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Authors: Taira Bano

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Cry, the Peacock is a famous novel by Anita Desai which deals with the psychic tumult of a young and sensitive female protagonist, Maya. The novel deals with the in-depth study of the psyche of Maya who is haunted by a childhood prophecy of a fatal disaster. This persistent obsession of death either for her or her husband within four years of their marriage is the main reason for Maya’s neurosis. The novel is not only concerned with the psychological aspect of Maya but is also a strong plea for the rights of women. The novel consists of both psychological as well as feministic elements. The attitude of Maya, not to submit to the authority of her husband gives perfect description of second wave feminism. Feminism is a movement which deals with the issues of inequality between men and women. Psychoanalysis is the study of the psychology of characters. It depicts how an incident in one’s life shapes the personality of an individual. This paper will deal with the study of the novel Cry, the Peacock from psychoanalytic perspective and will try to trace out the reason for such an extreme step that Maya takes in the end of the novel- crossing all the limits of a traditional submissive wife.

Keywords: psyche, psychological, mental, feminist

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Authors: Dujrudee Chinwong, Chanida Prompantakorn, Ubonphan Chaichana, Surarong Chinwong

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Objective: Understanding the university students’ perceptions on smoking caused lung cancer based on the Health Belief Model should help health care providers in assisting them to quit smoking. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the University students’ health belief in smoking behaviors caused lung cancer, which based on the Health Belief Model. Methods: Data were collected from voluntary participants using a self-administered questionnaire. Participants were students studying at a University in northern Thailand who were current smokers; they were selected using snowball sampling. Results: Of 361 students, 84% were males; 78% smoked not more than 10 cigarettes a day; 68% intended to quit smoking. Our findings, based on the health belief model, showed that 1) perceived susceptibility: participants strongly believed that if they did not stop smoking, they were at high risk of lung cancer (88%); 2) perceived severity: they strongly believed that they had a high chance of death from lung cancer if they continued smoking (84%); 3) perceived benefits: they strongly believed that quitting smoking could reduce the chance of developing lung cancer; 4) perceived barriers of quitting smoking: they strongly believed in the difficulty of quitting smoking because it needed a high effort and strong intention (69%); 5) perceived self-efficacy: however, they strongly believed that they can quit smoking right away if they had a strong intention to quit smoking (70%); 6) cues to action: they strongly believed in the support of parents (85%) and lovers (78%) in helping them to quit smoking. Further, they believed that limitation on smoking area in the University and smoking cessation services provided by the University can assist them to quit smoking. Conclusion: The Health Belief Model helps us to understand students’ smoking behaviors caused lung cancer. This could lead to designing a smoking cessation program to assist students to quit smoking.

Keywords: health belief model, lung cancer, smoking, Thailand

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Authors: Jachin Pousson, Valdis Bernhofs

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Applications of the binaural sound experience are wide-ranged. This paper focuses on the interaction between binaural tones and human emotion with an aim to apply the resulting knowledge artistically. For the purpose of this study, binaural music is defined as musical arrangements of sound which are made of combinations of binaural difference tones. Here, the term ‘binaural difference tone’ refers to the pulsating tone heard within the brain which results from listening to slightly differing audio frequencies or pure pitches in each ear. The frequency or tempo of the pulsations is the sum of the precise difference between the frequencies two tones and is measured in beats per second. Polyrhythmic pulsations that can be heard within combinations of these differences tones have shown to be able to entrain or tune brainwave patterns to frequencies which have been linked to mental states which can be characterized by different levels of attention and mood.

Keywords: binaural auditory pulsations, brainwave entrainment, emotion, music composition

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Authors: Musa Sekamatte

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Background: Zoonotic diseases continue to be a public health burden in countries around the world. Uganda is especially vulnerable due to its location, biodiversity, and population. Given these concerns, the Ugandan government in collaboration with the Global Health Security Agenda conducted a zoonotic disease prioritization workshop to identify zoonotic diseases of concern to multiple Ugandan ministries. Materials and Methods: The One Health Zoonotic Disease Prioritization tool, developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was used for prioritization of zoonotic diseases in Uganda. Workshop participants included voting members representing human, animal, and environmental health ministries as well as key partners who observed the workshop. Over 100 articles describing characteristics of these zoonotic diseases were reviewed for the workshop. During the workshop, criteria for prioritization were selected, and questions and weights relevant to each criterion were determined. Next steps for multi-sectoral engagement for the prioritized zoonoses were then discussed. Results: 48 zoonotic diseases were considered during the workshop. Criteria selected to prioritize zoonotic diseases in order of importance were (1) severity of disease in humans in Uganda, (2) availability of effective control strategies, (3) potential to cause an epidemic or pandemic in humans or animals, (4) social and economic impacts, and (5) bioterrorism potential. Seven zoonotic diseases were identified as priorities for Uganda: anthrax, zoonotic influenza viruses, viral hemorrhagic fevers, brucellosis, African trypanosomiasis, plague, and rabies. Discussion: One Health approaches and multi-sectoral collaborations are crucial in the surveillance, prevention, and control strategies for zoonotic diseases. Uganda used such an approach to identify zoonotic diseases of national concern. Identifying these priority diseases enables the National One Health Platform and the Zoonotic Disease Coordinating Office to address the diseases in the future.

Keywords: national one health platform, zoonotic diseases, multi-sectoral, severity

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Authors: İbrahi̇m Kara, Seher Arslankaya

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Frequently preferred in the field of engineering in particular, data mining has now begun to be used in the field of health as well since the data in the health sector have reached great dimensions. With data mining, it is aimed to reveal models from the great amounts of raw data in agreement with the purpose and to search for the rules and relationships which will enable one to make predictions about the future from the large amount of data set. It helps the decision-maker to find the relationships among the data which form at the stage of decision-making. In this study, it is aimed to determine the risk of heart attack at the first stage, to control it, and to make its resource planning with the method of data mining. Through the early and correct diagnosis of heart attacks, it is aimed to reveal the factors which affect the diseases, to protect health and choose the right treatment methods, to reduce the costs in health expenditures, and to shorten the durations of patients’ stay at hospitals. In this way, the diagnosis and treatment costs of a heart attack will be scrutinized, which will be useful to determine the risk of the disease at the first stage, to control it, and to make its resource planning.

Keywords: data mining, decision support systems, heart attack, health sector

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Authors: Lipi Agarwal, Siddhant Patni

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The corporate organizations are seeking for the spaces that are energy efficient and maximize occupant health and productivity. Thus, designing workplaces that effectively steward resources and supports the health, the well-being of its occupants has become a dire need of the hour. The purpose of this paper is to understand the design approach for creating sustainable interiors in corporate offices. The objective is to identify the factors that aid energy efficient design and elevates the well-being in building and communities. The paper will employ qualitative methodology and undertake case study approach to comprehend the role of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and WELL (a global rating system for health and wellness) in providing sustainable interiors. The findings help the design fraternity in designing a workspace that optimizes the use of resources and advances the human health inside the built environment. The paper suggests the framework that leads to interior environment which is sustainable in nature.

Keywords: corporate interiors, energy efficiency, LEED, sustainability, WELL, well-being

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Authors: Caixiu Pu, Zhen Chen

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We present the rare case of umbilical arterial atresia, leading to a good outcome and provide clinical and pathological findings. A 27-year-old nulliparous first gravida with PGDM was found single umbilical artery(SUA) by routine ultrasound san at 30 weeeks of gestation. Fetal status was monitored weekly. A healthy male newborn was delivered by cesarean section at 39 weeks. The umbilical cord was overly twisted and no thrombus was found along the whole diseased vessel. The cause of umbilical arterial atresia was unclear, and the correct diagnosis was a challenge. Expected clinical management was recommended, in which sonographic diagnosis may play a very important part.

Keywords: pregnancy, single umbilical artery, umbilical arterial atresia, prenatal diagnosis

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Authors: Gregor Bouville, Celine Schmidt

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This article presents a French case study on lean production drawing on a mixed method design which has received little attention in French management research-especially in French human resources research. The purpose is to show that using a mixed method approach in this particular case overstep the limitations of previous studies in lean production studies. The authors use the embedded design as a special articulation of mixed method to analyse and understand the effects of three organizational practices on job satisfaction and workers’ health. Results show that low scheduled autonomy, quality management, time constraint have deleterious effects on job satisfaction. Furthermore, these three practices have ambivalent effects on health work. Interest in the subjects of mixed method has been growing up among French health researchers and practioners, also recently among French management researchers. This study reinforces and refines how mixed methods may offer interesting perspectives in an integrated framework included human resources, management, and health fields. Finally, potentials benefits and limits for those interdisciplinary researches programs are discussed.

Keywords: lean production, mixed method, work organization practices, job satisfaction

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Authors: Baloyi Gift Tlharihani

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This paper explores the relationship between pastoral care and counselling and psychology. It will critically review the variety of views and debates regarding this relationship while acknowledging the different sides of the debates on the sameness and difference of these notions, this paper argues for the inevitable interconnectedness of the two. There has always been a close relationship, between pastoral care and counselling and psychology, although these are two totally different notions. Even though pastoral care and counselling are thought of as more spiritually focused and psychology with emotional and mental challenges, the components that connect these two sciences are represented by the care of human being. Therefore, this paper is interested in the interconnectedness of these two science as they both makes a vital contribution to human caring. It indicates that whether we take the dualistic difference between the body and soul, the trichotomous difference between the body, soul and spirit, our essential nature is found in the unity of those constituent elements.

Keywords: anthropology, human care, pastoral care and counseling, psychology

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Authors: Rutcher M. Lacaza, Stephen Jun V. Villejo

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This paper investigated the patterns of private transfers in the Philippines using the Family Income Expenditure Survey (FIES) 2009, conducted by the Philippine government’s National Statistics Office (NSO) every three years. The paper performed bivariate analysis on net transfers, using the identified determinants for a household to be either a net receiver or a net giver. The household characteristics considered are the following: age, sex, marital status, employment status and educational attainment of the household head, and also size, location, pre-transfer income and the number of employed members of the household. The variables net receiver and net giver are determined by computing the net transfer, subtracting total gifts from total receipts. The receipts are defined as the sum of cash received from abroad, cash received from domestic sources, total gifts received and inheritance. While gifts are defined as the sum of contributions and donations to church and other religious institutions, contributions and donations to other institutions, gifts and contributions to others, and gifts and assistance to private individuals outside the family. Both in kind and in cash transfers are considered in the analysis. It also performed a multiple regression analysis on transfers received and income including other household characteristics to examine the motives for giving transfers – whether altruism or exchanged. It also used the binary logistic regression to estimate the probability of being a net receiver or net giver given the household characteristics. The study revealed that receiving tends to be universal – both the non-poor and the poor benefit although the poor receive substantially less than the non-poor. Regardless of whether households are net receivers or net givers, households in the upper deciles generally give and receive more than those in the lower deciles. It also appears that private transfers may just flow within economic groups. Big amounts of transfers are, therefore, directed to the non-poor and the small amounts go to the poor. This was also supported by the increasing function of gross transfers received and the income of households – the poor receiving less and the non-poor receiving more. This is contrary to the theory that private transfers can help equalize the distribution of income. This suggested that private transfers in the Philippines are not altruistically motivated but exchanged. However, bilateral data on transfers received or given is needed to test this theory directly. The results showed that transfers are much needed by the poor and it is important to understand the nature of private transfers, to ensure that government transfer programs are properly designed and targeted so as to prevent the duplication of private safety nets already present among the non-poor.

Keywords: private transfers, net receiver, net giver, altruism, exchanged.

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Authors: Al Asyary, Meita Veruswati, Dian Ayyubi

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Sukabumi municipal has highest rank for maternal mortality in Indonesia with 102 by 100,000 live birth with almost 80% of birth were not attended by skilled birth attendant (SBA). Although universal health coverage has been implemented, availability and sufficiency of SBA, such as midwife in this developing country, are problematic agenda for the quality of public healthcare as well as decreasing maternal mortality rate. This study aims to describe the equal distribution of midwives in Sukabumi municipal as support of government’s program named Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that suppressed maternal mortality rate in Indonesia. We conducted an observational study with Workload Indicator of Staffing Need (WISN) analysis to present the dispersion of midwives by their activities and workloads in 37 Puskesmas. We also generated in-depth interview with several executive chief of health sections, including chief of health offices in Sukabumi municipal. It resulted inferentially that several activities in midwives’ program were differed at once of existing than needed condition ideally (ρ value = 0.002 < 0.05). Meanwhile, decision for midwives’ procurement and placement were held by un-systematically procedure such as based on where the midwife was staying, and it also progressed by neighborhood issue priorities. The absence of formal regulation in local government is a serious problem that indicated poor political commitment, while access to SBA shall be focused carefully.

Keywords: developing country, health professional resources, health policy, need assessment

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Authors: Barbara Pittau, Piergiorgio Palla, Antonio Mastino

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Communication is fundamental to health education. The proper use of medicinal products is a crucial aspect of the health of citizens that affects both safety and health care spending. Therefore, encouraging/promoting communication, concerning the importance of proper use of pharmaceuticals, has substantial implications in terms of individual health, health care, and health care system sustainability. In view of these considerations, in the context of two projects, one of which is still in progress, a relational database-backed web application named COLLABORAFARMACISOLA has been designed and developed as a tool to analyze and visualize how people approach the use of medicinal products, with the aim of improving and enhancing communication efficacy. The software application is being used to collect information (anonymously and voluntarily) from the citizens of Sardinia, an Italian region, regarding their knowledge, experiences, and opinions towards pharmaceuticals. This study that was conducted to date on thousand of interviewed people, has focused on different aspects such as: the treatment interruption and the "self-prescription” without medical consultation, the attention paid to reading the leaflets, the awareness of the economic value of the pharmaceuticals, the importance of avoiding the waste of medicinal products and the attitudes towards the use of generics. To this purpose, our software application provides a set of ad hoc parsing routines, to store information into the structure of a relational database and to process and visualize it through a set of interactive tools aimed to emphasize the findings and the insights obtained. The results of our preliminary analysis show the efficacy of the awareness plan and, at the same time, the criticality and the needs of the territory under examination. The ultimate goal of our study is to provide a contribution to the community by improving communication that can result in a benefit for public health in a context strictly connected to the reality of the territory.

Keywords: communication, pharmaceuticals, public health, relational database, tool, web application

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Authors: Sangeeta Dhamdhere, G. V. P. Rao

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Adolescent students need more energy, proteins, vitamins, and minerals because they grow to maturity in this age. Balanced diet plays important role in their wellbeing and health. The study conducted showed 48% students are not normal in their height and weight. 26% students found underweight, 18% overweight and 4% students found obese. The annual income group of underweight students was below 7 Lac and more than 90% students were staying at their home. The researcher has analysed the eating pattern of these students and concluded that there is need of awareness among the parents and students about balance diet and nutrition. The present research will help students improve their dietary habits and health, increase the number of attendees, and achieve academic excellence.

Keywords: balanced diet, nutrition, malnutrition, obesity, health education

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Authors: LaRon A. Scott, Donna M. Gibson

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Data indicate that counselor education programs in the United States do not prepare their students adequately to serve students with disabilities nor provide counseling as a related service. There is a need to train more school counselors to provide related services to students with disabilities, for many reasons, but specifically, school counselors are participating in Individualized Education Programs (IEP) and transition planning meetings for students with disabilities where important academic, mental health and post-secondary education decisions are made. While school counselors input is perceived very important to the process, they may not have the knowledge or training in this area to feel confident in offering required input in these meetings. Using a conceptual research design, a model that can be used to prepare school counseling students as related service providers and effective supports to address transition for students with disabilities was developed as a component of this research. The authors developed the Collaborative Model of Preparing School Counseling Students as Related Service Providers to Students with Disabilities, based on a conceptual framework that involves an integration of Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) and evidenced-based practices based on Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to provide related and transition services and planning with students with disabilities. The authors’ conclude that with five overarching competencies, (1) knowledge and understanding of disabilities, (2) knowledge and expertise in group counseling to students with disabilities, (3), knowledge and experience in specific related service components, (4) knowledge and experience in evidence-based counseling interventions, (5) knowledge and experiencing in evidenced-based transition and career planning services, that school counselors can enter the field with the necessary expertise to adequately serve all students. Other examples and strategies are suggested, and recommendations for preparation programs seeking to integrate a model to prepare school counselors to implement evidenced-based transition strategies in supporting students with disabilities are included

Keywords: transition education, social cognitive career theory, self-determination, counseling

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Authors: Jochen Nelles, Susanne Kohns, Julia Spies, Friederike Schmitz-Buhl, Roland Thietje, Christopher Brandl, Alexander Mertens, Christopher M. Schlick

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Industrial robots as part of highly automated manufacturing are recently developed to cooperative (light-weight) robots. This offers the opportunity of using them as assistance robots and to improve the participation in professional life of disabled or handicapped people such as tetraplegics. Robots under development are located within a cooperation area together with the working person at the same workplace. This cooperation area is an area where the robot and the working person can perform tasks at the same time. Thus, working people and robots are operating in the immediate proximity. Considering the physical restrictions and the limited mobility of tetraplegics, a hands-free robot control could be an appropriate approach for a cooperative assistance robot. To meet these requirements, the research project MeRoSy (human-robot synergy) develops methods for cooperative assistance robots based on the measurement of head movements of the working person. One research objective is to improve the participation in professional life of people with disabilities and, in particular, mobility impaired persons (e.g. wheelchair users or tetraplegics), whose participation in a self-determined working life is denied. This raises the research question, how a human-robot cooperation workplace can be designed for hands-free robot control. Here, the example of a library scenario is demonstrated. In this paper, an empirical study that focuses on the impact of head movement related stress is presented. 12 test subjects with tetraplegia participated in the study. Tetraplegia also known as quadriplegia is the worst type of spinal cord injury. In the experiment, three various basic head movements were examined. Data of the head posture were collected by a motion capture system; muscle activity was measured via surface electromyography and the subjective mental stress was assessed via a mental effort questionnaire. The muscle activity was measured for the sternocleidomastoid (SCM), the upper trapezius (UT) or trapezius pars descendens, and the splenius capitis (SPL) muscle. For this purpose, six non-invasive surface electromyography sensors were mounted on the head and neck area. An analysis of variance shows differentiated muscular strains depending on the type of head movement. Systematically investigating the influence of different basic head movements on the resulting strain is an important issue to relate the research results to other scenarios. At the end of this paper, a conclusion will be drawn and an outlook of future work will be presented.

Keywords: assistance robot, human-robot interaction, motion capture, stress-strain-concept, surface electromyography, tetraplegia

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Authors: Ali Raza

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The dynamic landscape of communication has brought about significant advancements that intersect with the realms of public health and journalism. This abstract explores the evolving synergy between these fields, highlighting how their intersection has contributed to informed societies and improved public health outcomes. In the digital age, communication plays a pivotal role in shaping public perception, policy formulation, and collective action. Public health, concerned with safeguarding and improving community well-being, relies on effective communication to disseminate information, encourage healthy behaviors, and mitigate health risks. Simultaneously, journalism, with its commitment to accurate and timely reporting, serves as the conduit through which health information reaches the masses. Advancements in communication technologies have revolutionized the ways in which public health information is both generated and shared. The advent of social media platforms, mobile applications, and online forums has democratized the dissemination of health-related news and insights. This democratization, however, brings challenges, such as the rapid spread of misinformation and the need for nuanced strategies to engage diverse audiences. Effective collaboration between public health professionals and journalists is pivotal in countering these challenges, ensuring that accurate information prevails. The synergy between public health and journalism is most evident during public health crises. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the pivotal role of journalism in providing accurate and up-to-date information to the public. However, it also highlighted the importance of responsible reporting, as sensationalism and misinformation could exacerbate the crisis. Collaborative efforts between public health experts and journalists led to the amplification of preventive measures, the debunking of myths, and the promotion of evidence-based interventions. Moreover, the accessibility of information in the digital era necessitates a strategic approach to health communication. Behavioral economics and data analytics offer insights into human decision-making and allow tailored health messages to resonate more effectively with specific audiences. This approach, when integrated into journalism, enables the crafting of narratives that not only inform but also influence positive health behaviors. Ethical considerations emerge prominently in this alliance. The responsibility to balance the public's right to know with the potential consequences of sensational reporting underscores the significance of ethical journalism. Health journalists must meticulously source information from reputable experts and institutions to maintain credibility, thus fortifying the bridge between public health and the public. As both public health and journalism undergo transformative shifts, fostering collaboration between these domains becomes essential. Training programs that familiarize journalists with public health concepts and practices can enhance their capacity to report accurately and comprehensively on health issues. Likewise, public health professionals can gain insights into effective communication strategies from seasoned journalists, ensuring that health information reaches a wider audience. In conclusion, the convergence of public health and journalism, facilitated by communication advancements, is a cornerstone of informed societies. Effective communication strategies, driven by collaboration, ensure the accurate dissemination of health information and foster positive behavior change. As the world navigates complex health challenges, the continued evolution of this synergy holds the promise of healthier communities and a more engaged and educated public.

Keywords: public awareness, journalism ethics, health promotion, media influence, health literacy

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Authors: Vladimir A. Grachev

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Today, in the context of rapidly developing technosphere and hourly emerging new technologies, the industrial and environmental safety issue is ever more pressing. The article is devoted to the relationship of social, environmental, and industrial policies with industrial safety, occupational health and safety, environmental safety, and environmental protection. The author assesses the up-to-day situation through system analysis and on the basis of the existing practices. A complex system of the policies implementation without "gaps" and missing links ensures preservation of human lives, health and a favorable living environment. The author demonstrates that absence of an "environmental safety" high-priority link can lead to a significant loss of human lives and health and the global changes in the environment. The role of implementing the environmental policy of enterprises and organizations, and of economic sectors in the implementation of national environmental policy is shown. It was established that the system for implementing environmental policy should be based on a system analysis.

Keywords: environmental protection, environmental safety, industrial safety, occupational health and safety

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Authors: Jonix Owino, Heather Fuller

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Refugees flee from their home countries due to civil unrest, war, persecution and migrate to Western countries such as the United States in search of a safe haven. Transitioning into a new society and culture can be challenging, thereby affecting refugee’s quality of life and well-being in the host communities. Moreover, as individuals age, they experience physical, cognitive and socioemotional changes that may impact their quality of life. However, little is known about the predictors of quality of life among aging refugees. It is not clear how quality of life varies by age, that is, between midlife refugees in comparison to their older counterparts. In addition to age, other sociodemographic factors such as gender, socioeconomic status, or country of origin are likely to have differential associations to quality of life, yet research on such variations among older refugees is sparse. Thus the present study seeks to explore factors associated with quality of life by asking the following research questions: 1) Do sociodemographic factors (such as age and gender) predict quality of life among older refugees, 2) Is there an association between social integration and quality of life, and 3) Is there an association between migratory related experiences (such as post migratory adjustments) and quality of life. The present study recruited 90 refugees (primarily originating from Bhutan, Somalia, Burundi, and Sudan) aged 50 or older living in the US. The participants completed a structured questionnaire which assessed factors such as participant’s sociodemographic attributes (e.g., age, gender, length of residence in the US, country of origin, employment, level of education, and marital status), and validated measures of social integration, post-migration living difficulties, and quality of life. Preliminary results suggest sociodemographic variability in quality of life among these refugees. Further analyses will be conducted using hierarchical regression analyses to address the following hypotheses: first, it is hypothesized that quality of life will vary by age and gender such that younger refugees and men will report higher quality of life. Second, it is expected that refugees with greater levels of social integration will also report better quality of life. Finally, post-migration factors such as language barriers and family stress are hypothesized to predict poorer quality of life. Further results will be analyzed, including potential moderating effects of age and gender, and resulting findings will be interpreted and discussed. The findings from this study have potential implications for communities on how they can better support older refugees as well as develop social programs that can effectively cater to their well-being. Conclusions will be drawn and discussed in light of policies related to both aging and refugee migration within the context of the US.

Keywords: aging out of place, migration, older refugees, quality of life, social integration

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Authors: Sukhwinder Singh, Julian Park, Dinesh Kumar Benbi

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Although soil health, which is recognized as one of the key determinants of sustainable agricultural development, can be measured by a range of physical, chemical and biological parameters, the widely used parameters include pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC), plant available phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Soil health is largely affected by the occurrence of natural events or human activities and can be improved by various land management practices. A database of 120 soil samples collected from farmers’ fields spread across three major agro-climatic zones of Punjab suggested that the average pH, EC, OC, P and K was 8.2 (SD = 0.75, Min = 5.5, Max = 9.1), 0.27 dS/m (SD = 0.17, Min = 0.072 dS/m, Max = 1.22 dS/m), 0.49% (SD = 0.20, Min = 0.06%, Max = 1.2%), 19 mg/kg soil (SD = 22.07, Min = 3 mg/kg soil, Max = 207 mg/kg soil) and 171 mg/kg soil (SD = 47.57, Min = 54 mg/kg soil, Max = 288 mg/kg soil), respectively. Region-wise, pH, EC and K were the highest in south-western district of Ferozpur whereas farmers in north-eastern district of Gurdaspur had the best soils in terms of OC and P. The soils in the central district of Barnala had lower OC, P and K than the respective overall averages while its soils were normal but skewed towards alkalinity. Besides agro-climatic conditions, the size of landholding and farmer education showed a significant association with Soil Fertility Index (SFI), a composite index calculated using the aforementioned parameters’ normalized weightage. All the four stakeholder groups cited the current cropping patterns, burning of rice crop residue, and imbalanced use of chemical fertilizers for change in soil health. However, the current state of soil health in Punjab is unclear, which needs further investigation based on temporal data collected from the same field to see the short and long-term impacts of various crop combinations and varied cropping intensity levels on soil health.

Keywords: soil health, punjab agriculture, sustainability, soil fertility index

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Authors: Paul Moses Ndegwa, Teresia Kabucho, Lucy Wanjiru, Esther Wanjiru, Brian Githaiga, Jecinta Wambui

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Health outcome has improved in the country since 2013 following the adoption of the new constitution in Kenya with devolved governance with administration and health planning functions transferred to county governments. 2018-2022 development agenda prioritized universal healthcare coverage, food security, and nutrition, however, the emergence of Covid-19 and the increase of non-communicable diseases pose a challenge and constrain in an already overwhelmed health system. A study was conducted July-November 2021 to establish key challenges in achieving universal healthcare coverage within the county and best practices for improved non-communicable disease control. 14 health workers ranging from nurses, doctors, public health officers, clinical officers, and pharmaceutical technologists were purposely engaged to provide critical information through questionnaires by a trained duo observing ethical procedures on confidentiality. Data analysis. Communicable diseases are major causes of morbidity and mortality. Non-communicable diseases contribute to approximately 39% of deaths. More than 45% of the population does not have access to safe drinking water. Study noted geographic inequality with respect to distribution and use of health resources including competing non-health priorities. 56% of health workers are nurses, 13% clinical officers, 7% doctors, 9%public health workers, 2% are pharmaceutical technologists. Poor-quality data limits the validity of disease-burdened estimates and research activities. Risk factors include unsafe water, sanitation, hand washing, unsafe sex, and malnutrition. Key challenge in achieving universal healthcare coverage is the rise in the relative contribution of non-communicable diseases. Improve targeted disease control with effective and equitable resource allocation. Develop high infectious disease control mechanisms. Improvement of quality data for decision making. Strengthen electronic data-capture systems. Increase investments in the health workforce to improve health service provision and achievement of universal health coverage. Create a favorable environment to retain health workers. Fill in staffing gaps resulting in shortages of doctors (7%). Develop a multi-sectional approach to health workforce planning and management. Need to invest in mechanisms that generate contextual evidence on current and future health workforce needs. Ensure retention of qualified, skilled, and motivated health workforce. Deliver integrated people-centered health services.

Keywords: multi-sectional approach, equity, people-centered, health workforce retention

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Authors: Minna K. Miller, Chantel. E. Canessa, Suzanna V. McRae, Susan Shumay, Alissa Collingridge

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Primary care provides the first point of contact and access to health care services. For the pediatric population, the goal is to help healthy children stay healthy and to help those that are sick get better. Primary care facilitates regular well baby/child visits; health promotion and disease prevention; investigation, diagnosis and management of acute and chronic illnesses; health education; both consultation and collaboration with, and referral to other health care professionals. There is a protective association between regular well-child visit care and preventable hospitalization. Further, low adherence to well-child care and poor continuity of care are independently associated with increased risk of hospitalization. With a declining number of family physicians caring for children, and only a portion of pediatricians providing primary care services, it is becoming increasingly difficult for children and their families to access primary care. Nurse practitioners are in a unique position to improve access to primary care and improve health outcomes for children. Limited literature is available on the nurse practitioner role in primary care pediatrics. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development, implementation and evaluation of a Nurse Practitioner-led pediatric primary care clinic in a tertiary care setting. Utilizing the participatory, evidence-based, patient-focused process for advanced practice nursing (PEPPA framework), this paper highlights the results of the initial needs assessment/gap analysis, the new service delivery model, populations served, and outcome measures.

Keywords: access, health outcomes, nurse practitioner, pediatric primary care, PEPPA framework

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Authors: Agnieszka Fryźlewicz, Jowita Kras, Mikołaj Sadowski, Agnieszka Łapczuk-Krygier, Agnieszka Kącka-Zych Radomir Jasiński

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Nicotines are a group of compounds containing conjugated pyridine and pyrrolidine molecular segments. They are widely applied in medicine, pharmacy, and agriculture. Namely as researched treatment of Alzheimer, depression, Parkinson's, Tourette syndrome, general nervous and mental disorders. Furthermore, nicotine itself is used as a stimulant, animal repellent and was widely applied as an insecticide. In our work, we obtained nicotine analogues with possible applications in agriculture. The synthesis employed [3+2] cycloaddition (32CA) reactions, occurring between pirydyl-functionalised nitrones and conjugated nitroalkenes, that allowed us to fully regio- and stereoselectively obtain product. Moreover, cycloaddition reaction realizes rapidly in mild conditions with the full atomic economy, thus fitting into “green chemistry” trends.

Keywords: nicotine, isoxazolidine, 1-3-dipolar cycloaddition, green chemistry, biological and pharmacological activity

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Authors: Nathalie Stephenne, Mathieu Veschkens, Stéphane Palm, Christophe Charlemagne, Jacques Defoux

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According to Europe’s first River basin Management Plans (RBMPs), 56% of European rivers failed to achieve the good status targets of the Water Framework Directive WFD. In Central European countries such as Belgium, even more than 80% of rivers failed to achieve the WFD quality targets. Although the RBMP’s should reduce the stressors and improve water body status, their potential to address multiple stress situations is limited due to insufficient knowledge on combined effects, multi-stress, prioritization of measures, impact on ecology and implementation effects. This paper describes a webGis prototype developed for the Walloon administration to improve the communication and the management of sediment dredging actions carried out in rivers and lakes in the frame of RBMPs. A large number of stakeholders are involved in the management of rivers and lakes in Wallonia. They are in charge of technical aspects (client and dredging operators, organizations involved in the treatment of waste…), management (managers involved in WFD implementation at communal, provincial or regional level) or policy making (people responsible for policy compliance or legislation revision). These different kinds of stakeholders need different information and data to cover their duties but have to interact closely at different levels. Moreover, information has to be shared between them to improve the management quality of dredging operations within the ecological system. In the Walloon legislation, leveling dredged sediments on banks requires an official authorization from the administration. This request refers to spatial information such as the official land use map, the cadastral map, the distance to potential pollution sources. The production of a collective geodatabase can facilitate the management of these authorizations from both sides. The proposed internet system integrates documents, data input, integration of data from disparate sources, map representation, database queries, analysis of monitoring data, presentation of results and cartographic visualization. A prototype of web application using the API geoviewer chosen by the Geomatic department of the SPW has been developed and discussed with some potential users to facilitate the communication, the management and the quality of the data. The structure of the paper states the why, what, who and how of this communication tool.

Keywords: sediments, web application, GIS, rivers management

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Authors: Paula C. Ferreira, Ana Margarida Veiga Simão, Nádia Pereira, Aristides Ferreira, Alexandra Marques Pinto, Alexandra Barros, Vitor Martinho

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Cyberbullying is a phenomenon of worldwide concern regarding children and adolescents’ mental health and risk behavior. Bystanders of this phenomenon can help diminish the incidence of this phenomenon if they engage in pro-social behavior. However, different social-cognitive and affective bystander reactions may surface because of the lack of contextual information and emotional cues in cyberbullying situations. Hence, this study investigated how cyberbullying bystanders’ unpleasant emotions could be related to their personal moral beliefs and their behavioral intentions to cyberbully or defend the victim. It also proposed to investigate how their normative beliefs of perceived severity about cyberbullying behavior could be related to their personal moral beliefs and their behavioral intentions. Three groups of adolescents participated in this study, namely a first of group 402 students (5th – 12th graders; Mage = 13.12; SD = 2.19; 55.7% girls) to compute explorative factorial analyses of the instruments used; a second group of 676 students (5th – 12th graders; Mage = 14.10; SD = 2.74; 55.5% were boys) to run confirmatory factor analyses; and a third group (N = 397; 5th – 12th graders; Mage = 13.88 years; SD = 1.45; 55.5% girls) to perform the main analyses to test the research hypotheses. Self-report measures were used, such as the Personal moral beliefs about cyberbullying behavior questionnaire, the Normative beliefs of perceived severity about cyberbullying behavior questionnaire, the Unpleasant emotions about cyberbullying incidents questionnaires, and the Bystanders’ behavioral intentions in cyberbullying situations questionnaires. Path analysis results revealed that unpleasant emotions were mediators of the relationship between adolescent cyberbullying bystanders’ personal moral beliefs and their intentions to help the victims in cyberbullying situations. Moreover, adolescent cyberbullying bystanders’ normative beliefs of gravity were mediators of the relationship between their personal moral beliefs and their intentions to cyberbully others. These findings provide insights for the development of prevention and intervention programs that promote social and emotional learning strategies as a means to prevent and intervene in cyberbullying.

Keywords: cyberbullying, normative beliefs of perceived severity, personal moral beliefs, unpleasant emotions

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Authors: Masanori Kimura

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Due to the decline of the 18-year-old population, Japanese universities have a tendency to convert their form of employment from tenured positions to fixed-term positions for newly hired teachers. The advantage of this is that universities can be more flexible in their employment plans in case they fail to fill the enrollment of quotas of prospective students or they need to supplement teachers who can engage in other academic fields or research areas where new demand is expected. The most serious disadvantage of this, however, is that if secure positions cannot be provided to faculty members, there is the possibility that coherence of education and continuity of research supported by the university cannot be achieved. Therefore, the question of this presentation is as follows: Are universities aiming to give first priority to management, or are they trying to prioritize educational and research rather than management? To answer this question, the author examined the number of job offerings for college foreign language teachers posted on the JREC-IN (Japan Research Career Information Network, which is run by Japan Science and Technology Agency) website from April 2012 to October 2015. The results show that there were 1,002 and 1,056 job offerings for tenured positions and fixed-term contracts respectively, suggesting that, overall, today’s Japanese universities show a tendency to give first priority to management. More detailed examinations of the data, however, show that the tendency slightly varies depending on the types of universities. National universities which are supported by the central government and state universities which are supported by local governments posted more job offerings for tenured positions than for fixed-term contracts: national universities posted 285 and 257 job offerings for tenured positions and fixed-term contracts respectively, and state universities posted 106 and 86 job offerings for tenured positions and fixed-term contracts respectively. Yet the difference in number between the two types of employment status at national and state universities is marginal. As for private universities, they posted 713 job offerings for fixed-term contracts and 616 offerings for tenured positions. Moreover, 73% of the fixed-term contracts were offered for low rank positions including associate professors, lectures, and so forth. Generally speaking, those positions are offered to younger teachers. Therefore, this result indicates that private universities attempt to cut their budgets yet expect the same educational effect by hiring younger teachers. Although the results have shown that there are some differences in personal strategies among the three types of universities, the author argues that all three types of universities may lose important human resources that will take a pivotal role at their universities in the future unless they urgently review their employment strategies.

Keywords: higher education, management, employment status, foreign language education

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Authors: Anneke Van Biljon

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Background: Exercise is a primary form of preventing and improving cardiometabolic disease risk factors; however specific exercise variables and their associated health benefits in children are inconclusive. A preliminary study revealed that different exercise variables may improve particular cardiometabolic health benefits. Objectives: This study further investigated the specific cardiometabolic health benefits associated with three isocaloric exercise interventions set at different intensities. Methods: Hundred-and-twenty (n = 120) participants between the ages of 10 – 14 years old were assigned to four different study groups 1. High intensity interval training (HIIT) at > 80% MHR 2. Moderate intensity continuous training (MICT) at 65% – 70% MHR 3. Alternative intensities (ALT) of HIIT and MICT 4. Control group. Exercise interventions were designed to generate isocaloric workloads of ~154.77 kcal per session, three times per week for five weeks. The one-way ANOVA test established comparisons between group means. Post hoc tests were calculated to determine specific group differences. Results: Although, all exercise groups improved cardiometabolic health, the MICT group showed greater improvements in fasting glucose (-9.30%), whereas cardiorespiratory fitness increased most by 31.33% (p = 0.000) within the HIIT group. Finally, ALT group recorded overall superior and additional cardiometabolic health benefits compared with both MICT and HIIT groups. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that superior benefits may be elicited when combining and alternating MICT and HIIT. These results provide specific exercise recommendations for achieving optimal and substantial cardiometabolic health benefits in children which will contribute towards achieving the health-related Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.

Keywords: cardiometabolic disease risk factors, exercise, pediatrics, interventions

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Authors: Imelda Albert Gisip, Tarisah T. Z. Taman

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In Asia, particularly in Malaysia, women entrepreneurs contribute substantially to economic growth. This paper presents a review of women entrepreneurs’ program, focusing on Creating Millionaires among Young Women Entrepreneurs (CREAM@YWE) program in Sabah Malaysia, which aims to accelerate entrepreneurship among young women in Sabah Malaysia. Entrepreneurs are seen as essential for growth, job creation, and social progress, and the virtues of small business for Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ), the Sabah state government Sabah State development plan for the year 2021-2025. SMJ guides the direction of the government's policies and programs, further guiding the implementation in a planned and strategic manner to achieve targets and goals that coincide with the development needs of the state. One of the government’s agendas is to put more effort into ensuring that women entrepreneurs are well supported and enhanced. Thus, The CreaM@YWE Program was developed in 2018 with the main objective is to produce competitive young women entrepreneurs in Sabah and achieve "millionaire" status. CreaM@YWE Program is an innovation process specifically developed to accelerate the entrepreneurship sector, particularly for women entrepreneurs in Sabah, by incorporating strategic partnerships and collaborations with government agencies and industry players. Being the first of its kind in Sabah, the novelty of this project is providing a supportive ecosystem, including six months of intensive courses guided through "hands-holding”, collaborations with strategic partners, and easy access to government assistance. Since its inception, the program has significantly impacted society’s wellbeing, particularly in empowering young women entrepreneurs in Sabah for the past six years, and has produced many successful women entrepreneurs with “millionaire” status. Generally, improving the women’s enterprise sector in Malaysia needs an overall environment that provides development opportunities for women entrepreneurs, including access to resources and support services. Since achieving the goal of women's entrepreneurship policy requires effective partnerships and inclusiveness, Cream @YWE Program has managed to practice these in assisting small entrepreneurs among young women in Sabah in accessing public goods and business opportunities. This proves that achieving women’s economic empowerment requires sound policies, a holistic approach, and long-term commitment. Thus, this paper presents how the Cream@YWE Program has been supporting Sabah young women entrepreneurs by reforming the business environment to help create opportunities for women while addressing the few existing gender-specific hurdles.

Keywords: young, women, entrepreneurs, Sabah, Malaysia

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