Perceptions of Nurses at Ndola Teaching Hospital towards Sexual Health Needs of People with Mental Health Problems

Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is among the fundamental packages of health care, which all clients seeking health care should receive. However, it is unclear how healthcare providers, in particular, nurses perceive the issue of people with mental problems having sexual health needs. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of nurses at Ndola Teaching Hospital towards sexual health needs of people with mental health problems. A general descriptive qualitative study design was utilized and data were collected using three focus group discussions (FGDs) that were recorded and later transcribed verbatim. Purposive sampling was used to select 21 nurses who participated in the study. Nine were male, while 12 were female. Each FGD comprised seven participants. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data, and six major themes: 1) physiological interplay among different body systems, 2) disease process and effects of psychotropic, 3) participant differences in age, gender, educational level, and cultural backgrounds, 4) staff shortages in mental health units, 5) deficient record keeping, and 6) Social stereotypes and labelling theories emerged. Despite acknowledging the existence of sexual activity among people with mental health problems;participants had both positive and negative perceptions. It is, therefore, recommended that interventions aimed at strengthening implementation of SRH guidelines among nurses caring for people with mental health problems should be put in place.

Porch Design Based on Family Health Needs

Physical health is the basic need for survival.There are many factors affecting health,and pathogenic bacteria and viruses are the main reasons.A healthy lifestyle can effectively reduce the risk of disease,and family living space is the main place of life,so improving family health awareness and living habits is an effective measure to maintain health.Indoor living space and outdoor space are relatively independent.The porch is the entrance of the family and the buffer space connecting indoor and outdoor.Therefore,optimizing the sanitary design of the porch is not only conducive to blocking the spread of viruses and bacteria,but also to form a good health awareness and maintain healthy living habits.

How the Reproductive Health Needs of Unmarried Youth Be Concerned in Quality Services in Family Planning/Reproductive Health?

Objective To understand the reproductive health needs of unmarried youth so as to provide them better quality services. Method Data were drawn from a baseline questionnaire survey of provision of reproductive health information and services for unmarried youth aged 16-20 years in rural areas of Chengdu, Southwest China in 2001-2002. Results The study comprised of 1 895 valid subjects. More than 70% subjects felt that the knowledge, information and services in relation to sexual and reproductive health provided by the society were rather insufficient. Near 95% thought that unmarried young people seeking sexual and reproductive health counseling and services were quite normal, although some of them had different misgivings. Their preferred services in reproductive health included： counseling in relation to sexual and reproductive health, how to cope with unexpected sex and unwanted pregnancy, how to select the appropriate contraceptives for unmarried youth, etc. About 2/3 subjects agreed to provide contraceptive services to unmarried youth actively, by the society. A. nd they thought the difficulties and obstacles in provision of contraceptive services for un- married youth were in the following order.＂ restriction of the traditional conceptions, shyness of unmarried youth in accept of such services, disapproval of parents/school teachers, and so forth. Conclusion To improve reproductive health status of unmarried youth and meet their needs is a challenge to quality service of family planning/reproductive health program in China, The related departments and service providers should pay attention to this matter and take the strategies and measures to provide appropriate, specific, friendly and accessibly services for unmarried young people.

Assessing Community Health Needs in a Rural Area: Determining Best Practices to Meet New Affordable Care Act Requirements

We conducted a review of the peer-reviewed literature focused on conducting community health needs assessments and highlighted the necessary steps to conduct a community health needs assessment in a rural community. From the literature review, we identified three steps necessary— establishing partnerships, using a mixed methods approach, and disseminating results—to successfully conduct a needs assessment that fitted the definition of the Affordable Care Act. These three steps have been used as a guide for developing a protocol for conducting a community health needs assessment in Meadville, PA. We detail our preliminary project protocol here.

Addressing the health needs of south Asians: The community perspective

Community based organizations play a vital role in the health of communities in the United States, particularly among immigrant and minority populations. Yet the gap between the needs of the community and the health issues that are being addressed remains quite large. This qualitative assessment provides a brief summary of community-based organizations in the US that focus on health issues specifically addressing the needs of South Asian Americans. In addition, this assessment explores the health needs of the South Asian American community living in the Washington DC metropolitan region, the fifth largest densely populated city in the US of South Asian Americans. While the report provides an array of organizations serving this population, the question of how effective can community-based organizations be if they can not prioritize their needs based on the community’s needs still remains.

Assessment of community health needs of Chongqing residents: a qualitative study

Objective: The aim of this preliminary qualitative study was to gain insight into community health needs in order to develop health program for community in Chongqing. Methods: Totally 40 participants were assigned into 6 focus group discussions. All groups were led by local language speakers, and their talking was recorded after gaining informed consent. Transcribed data were coded and subjected to thematic analysis. Results: The main obtained themes were that community health problems were chronic noncommunicable disease, main health service needs included regularly free check-up and health education, and perceived health risk factors were unhealthy lifestyle and behavior as well as environment problems. Conclusion: Our community health needs assessment (CHNA) with FGDs indicate that residents realize the importance of prevention of disease. Our study identifies that primarily community health promotion is one of the priorities of community health service needs, including reorienting health service, health education, guiding behavior or lifestyle, and creating healthy environments. The findings of this study can provide guidance to the development of more effective and pertinent health program in this community.

Reproductive Health Needs of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Yaounde, Cameroon

The population plagued with the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Cameroon is young, a generation that may desire or control fertility. For those who may become pregnant, the desire to have children may not be there. We carried out this study to look at the picture of the reproductive health needs of women living with HIV/AIDS in our setting. In this cross-sectional non-analytic design that lasted for three years, we employed both qualitative and quantitative methods to collect data from them after receiving ethical clearance (N221/CM/2009) from the National Ethics Committee. Consenting HIV infected women who were attending the “HIV Day Care” clinics and those who delivered and were in the post partum wards in four of our major hospitals in Yaounde were enrolled. Interviews were individualized. We used both CSPro version 4.1 and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19.0 softwares for data analysis. Four hundred and fifteen (415) women were enrolled;the mean age was 29 ± 7.8 years;the most represented age group was 24 -29 years. They were single (36.14%), well educated (5 out of 10 had attained university level of education), 61.20% revealed that their partners knew their HIV status, 82.4% believed that screening for cancer of the cervix was necessary for their status and 47.70% would want to be screened for some or all STIs. About 36.86% had the desire to have children, 57.1% of those who delivered did not plan to have the pregnancies out of which 82% would have wanted a modern method of contraception but did not have (82% unmet needs). Modern contraceptive use was associated with age and individual characteristics such as level of education. It was 64.34% among women who had secondary level of education and below as against 35.66% among those who had high school level of education and above. Contraceptive use was also high among women who were unmarried as against those who were married (89.64% vs 10.36%). The desire to have children decreased as age increased (43.85% vs 18.79%) and was lower among married women compared to those who were single (13.01% versus 49.64%). These women were found to have high unmet needs for modern contraception and showed interest in STIs and cervical cancer screening.

Sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescent girls from conservative and low-income families in Erzurum, Turkey

The objective of this survey was to determine the sexual and reproductive health needs of conservative and/or economically challenged adolescent girls. A total of 310 subjects (16.5 ± 2.2 years old), attending three private institutes teaching Islamic matter and the holy Quran and two private institutes teaching carpet-weaving in Erzurum, Turkey, were interviewed between November 2004 and February 2005. The ques-tionnaire covered knowledge on reproductive health and sexual matters to attain their feelings prior to their first menarche, their practices during menstruation, and their awareness of gynecological and sexually transmitted dis-eases as well as their attitudes toward and re-sponsiveness to domestic violence. Their re-sponses showed that these issues were con-sidered taboo and/or embarrassing to share. Also, a considerable percentage of the girls had no or limited knowledge on reproductive health and sexual matters and mismanaged gyneco-logical problems and domestic violence. More-over, those had knowledge revealed that their sources were non-scientific information from unprofessional individuals. In conclusion, the conservative and/or economically challenged adolescent girls who are not attending regular high schools need professional lectures on re-productive health and sexual matters.

Helping Meet Reproductive Health Needs in Pakistan through a Client-centred Approach

Objective To test the feasibility of training clinic and facility based providers from the Health and Population Welfare Departments. Methods District Sargodha in Punjab province in Pakistan was selected for carrying out the project as it fulfilled the criteria of being a median district with generally similar characteristics as the rest of the country. A quasi-experimental design was used to test the effectiveness of the training programs. Two rounds of situation analyses were carried out both pre and post intervention. Results There was a positive attitudinal change in providers in the intervention areas as compared with the control sites. From a list of indicators it was seen that clinic based static providers considered it important to enquire who were the main decision makers were in the family, 60% in intervention versus 49 % in control, and if the client can persuade other members of the family to assist in solving her reproductive health needs, 19% in intervention and 3% in control. In case of community based providers, as compared with 16% in the control site, 76% in the intervention area considered seeking permission for examination to be important. They also felt that enquiring about the welfare of other family members was also necessary, 50% in intervention and 34% in control. Conclusion Training of providers could lead to attitudinal and behavioural changes that can help clients meet their reproductive health needs, and the intervention is feasible and replicable.

Healthcare Providers' Perceptions of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs (Including Family Planning) of Elderly Women from Selected Sites in Botswana

Much of the sexual and reproductive health services and service delivery including family planning target women of child bearing ages (15 - 49 years) and sometimes men. Hardly are there programmes/interventions that specifically target the needs of the elderly women (50 years and above), yet this group has serious sexual and reproductive health needs as many of them are still sexually active. This cross-sectional study obtained the views of a stratified random sample of 169 healthcare providers (doctors, nurses and pharmacists) from four selected sites, Gaborone, Selibe Phikwe, Barolong and Kweneng East health districts in Botswana on how the healthcare system in the selected sites is meeting the SRH/FP needs of the elderly women. The study found out that while overwhelming majority of the healthcare providers feltthat the healthcare system has no programme that specifically target the SRH/FP needs of this significant others and their SRH/FP needs are not being met ,less than 15% indicated that Pap smear screening as well as screening of cervical cancer were on-going. Although there are SRH/FP services available in the healthcare system, the elderly women are minimally accessing these services. Only condom, combined oral contraceptives, progestogen-only pills, treatment of STIs, screening for HIV/AIDS and screening for cervical cancer are accessed and information is also limited to these services. Reasons given by the healthcare providers for the non-accessibility of these services were cultural diversity (80%), people's sexual behavior and perceptions about sex (79%), lack of knowledge about the desired SRH/FP services (76%), religion (73%) and gender issues (62%). The study, advocates as part of policy options to mitigate the obstacles to accessing SRH/FP services, the expansion of counseling programmes, screening and treatment for breast cancer, public awareness campaigns, production and circulation of appropriate educational materials, effective training of healthcare providers and the establishment of separate clinic days for the elderly women' SRH/FP services.

The Oral Health Status of Person with Special Needs in Kumasi

Background: The most prevalent non-communicable disease worldwide is oral health-related disease, with dental caries and periodontal conditions being common. Oral health status significantly impacts overall health and quality of life. Barriers to dental care affect children with special needs. This study evaluates the oral health status and treatment requirements of people with special needs. Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional study in Kumasi, Ghana examined oral health status among people, 121 children with special needs over two months, in June-July 2022. Dental caries, periodontal changes, malocclusion, and trauma were assessed. The data was analyzed using SPSS 20.0. Results: The oral health status among people with special needs in this study was generally moderate, with a range from very good to very poor. The prevalence of dental caries was 37%, with a mean DMFT score of 2.82. Periodontal health showed unsatisfactory indicators such as mobile teeth, poor gingival health, high plaque scores, and the presence of halitosis. Conclusion: This descriptive study aimed to provide baseline data on the oral health status of special needs students in Kumasi, addressing the lack of knowledge in this area. It highlighted the importance of dental care in maintaining good oral health and overall well-being in individuals with special needs. Coordinated efforts by dental professionals are needed to provide dental health education and preventive interventions for these children.

Community Needs Assessment for a Professional University Health Counselling Course in Cambodia

Developing health and counselling professionals remains an important part of supporting mental health services in Cambodia.This paper aims to identify how the key stakeholders and mental health experts in Cambodia consider how a university level health counselling course could contribute to addressing the needs/treatment gap for mental health services in Cambodia.In order to do this,the study consists of semi-structured interviews with stakeholders,community needs assessment,and community resource mapping.The data were drawn from 15 NGOs,various profit and not-for-profit organizations as well as two key government stakeholders.The participants were invited to take part in a stakeholders/expert semi-structured interview that lasted between 30-60 minutes at the participants’organizations.The findings revealed that all participants believe that a university level health counseling course was crucial in Cambodia to address pressing mental health issues in the country.Most participants believed that a graduate or post-graduate level program such as a B.A.or M.A.was necessary to train qualified counsellors.The program should be internationally benchmarked,with a Cambodian context.Topics should include psychopathology,professional ethics and competencies,counselling theories and interventions,trauma treatment,as well as emotional intelligence and addiction.Other topics might need to include parenting,support system for suicidal patients,self-care,staff wellbeing programs,and school counselor programs.

全健康(One Health)视角下绿色健康社区景观设计体系构建

以全健康(OneHealth)视角为出发点,保障人、环境和动物的健康对于社区健康环境规划与设计具有重要意义。在现有健康社区景观设计体系中,人、环境、物种三者关系虽被提及,但未被系统探究,健康社区建设实践也需要系统性的景观设计体系支持。基于全健康理念中人、环境和物种的相互关系,结合生态系统服务功能、康复景观理论和园艺疗法,进一步探讨人、环境、物种健康之间的关联途径。通过对全健康理念视角下的3个层次进行演绎发展,归纳总结了人的健康、环境健康和物种健康的组成要素及内容,构建了以人的健康需求为导向的社区健康设计框架,提出了以人与人际、人与环境和人与物种为三大圈层的健康社区景观设计体系。全健康视角为社区健康环境设计提供了一个系统性、整合性且具有操作性的框架,未来应重视健康社区体系中各类疗愈空间的设计与使用,以增进社区居民共享的健康福祉。

Challenges and opportunities for battery health estimation:Bridging laboratory research and real-world applications

Addressing climate change demands a significant shift away from fossil fuels,with sectors like electricity and transportation relying heavily on renewable energy.Integral to this transition are energy storage systems,notably lithium-ion batteries.Over time,these batteries degrade,affecting their efficiency and posing safety risks.Monitoring and predicting battery aging is essential,especially estimating its state of health(SOH).Various SOH estimation methods exist,from traditional model-based approaches to machine learning approaches.

Managements of Special Health Care Needs Patients from Dental Assistant Point

The main role of this article is to describe dental assistants and the dental department’s role in the dental delivery system for Special health care needs (SCHN) by creating a structure to educate the dental assisting profession and project factors that have a significant impact on the dental assistant. The dental assisting management of SCHN patient’s profession including dental Assistance general responsibilities, regulation credentialing, and education. The SCHN patient’s management creates a challenge in all area of the dental department. Handling patient with a SCHN is underexplored throughout the dental staff especially when there is not enough theoretical foundation, education and training to deal with this category of patients. SCHN patients are defined as individuals who have abnormal behavioral impairments, mental conditions or/and chronic disease or abnormal laboratory results. Thus, the aim of this article is to guide all dental assistance staff in the best dental management choice for SCHN patients. All health care teams are part of patient care in most medical settings. A work environment supportive ensures positive outcomes for patient care. This article was considered as those categories of patients required more care and special way to deal with, moreover language, age, gender and education level of the patient are also considered significant parries. Not Many studies were found to support the care of SCHN patients in dentistry department. Taking experience from other area help to design a system to handle the SCHN even if it requires hiring a Dentist who is specialized in that filed.

Alexa,let's train now!——A systematic review and classification approach to digital and home-based physical training interventions aiming to support healthy cognitive aging

Background:There is mounting evidence that regular physical activity is an important prerequisite for healthy cognitive aging.Consequently,the finding that almost one-third of the adult population does not reach the recommended level of regular physical activity calls for further public health actions.In this context,digital and home-based physical training interventions might be a promising alternative to center-based intervention programs.Thus,this systematic review aimed to summarize the current state of the literature on the effects of digital and home-based physical training interventions on adult cognitive performance.Methods:In this pre-registered systematic review(PROSPERO;ID:CRD42022320031),5 electronic databases(PubMed,Web of Science,Psyclnfo,SPORTDiscus,and Cochrane Library)were searched by 2 independent researchers(FH and PT)to identify eligible studies investigating the effects of digital and home-based physical training interventions on cognitive performance in adults.The systematic literature search yielded 8258 records(extra17 records from other sources),of which 27 controlled trials were considered relevant.Two reviewers(FH and PT)independently extracted data and assessed the risk of bias using a modified version of the Tool for the assEssment of Study qualiTy and reporting in EXercise(TESTEX scale).Results:Of the 27 reviewed studies,15 reported positive effects on cognitive and motor-cognitive outcomes(i.e.,performance improvements in measures of executive functions,working memory,and choice stepping reaction test),and a considerable heterogeneity concerning study-related,population-related,and intervention-related characteristics was noticed.A more detailed analysis suggests that,in particular,interventions using online classes and technology-based exercise devices(i.e.,step-based exergames)can improve cognitive performance in healthy older adults.Approximately one-half of the reviewed studies were rated as having a high risk of bias with respect to completion adherence(≤85%)and monitoring of the level of regular physical activity in the control group.Conclusion:The current state of evidence concerning the effectiveness of digital and home-based physical training interventions is mixed overall,though there is limited evidence that specific types of digital and home-based physical training interventions(e.g.,online classes and step-based exergames)can be an effective strategy for improving cognitive performance in older adults.However,due to the limited number of available studies,future high-quality studies are needed to buttress this assumption empirically and to allow for more solid and nuanced conclusions.

Health Systems Strengthening to Tackle the Global Burden of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease: A Diagonal Approach

1 Background Congenital heart disease(CHD)is the most common major congenital anomaly,affecting approximately one in every 100 live births[1].Among congenital anomalies,66%of preventable deaths are due to CHD,and 58%of the avertable morbidity and mortality due to congenital anomalies would result from scaling congenital heart surgery services[2].Every year,nearly 300,000 children and adults die from CHD,the majority of whom live in low-and middle-income countries(LMICs)[3].Approximately 49%of all individuals with CHD will require surgical or interventional care at some point in their lifetime[4];as a result of advances in access to and the delivery of such services,over 95%of children born with CHD in high-income countries now live into adulthood[3].Here,adults have surpassed children in the number of CHD cases at a ratio of 2:1[5].

Charting the course:India’s health expenditure projections for 2035 Author links open overlay panel

Objectives Understanding past trends and forecasting future changes in health spending is vital for planning and reducing reliance on out-of-pocket(OOP)expenses.The current study analyzed health expenditure patterns in India and forecasted future trends and patterns until 2035.Methods Data on health expenditure in India from 2000 to 2019 was collected from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD)iLibrary and National Health Accounts 2019 databases.Gross domestic product(GDP)data from the World Bank was also utilized.Descriptive statistics analyzed the composition and pattern,while the exponential smoothing model forecasted future health expenditures.Results The findings revealed that expenditure made by OOP is the primary health financing source,followed by government and pre-paid private spending.The percentage of GDP allocated to total health expenditure remains stable,while the per capita health expenditure fluctuates.Variations in expenditure among states are observed,with Karnataka relying heavily on pre-paid private coverage.Future projections suggest a decline in per capita and total health expenditure as a share of GDP,with a slight increase in the government’s share.Pre-paid private expenditure per capita and OOP health expenditure as a share of the total is projected to remain relatively constant but still high in absolute terms.Conclusion The study highlights variations in health spending in India,characterized by high OOP spending,limited public coverage,and a need for investments,and reforms to improve healthcare access and equity.

Probiotic cocktails accelerate baicalin metabolism in the ileum to modulate intestinal health in broiler chickens

Background Baicalin and probiotic cocktails are promising feed additives with broad application prospects.While probiotic cocktails are known to enhance intestinal health,the potential synergistic impact of combining baicalin with probiotic cocktails on the gut health of broiler chickens remains largely unexplored.Therefore,this study aims to investigate the influence of the combined administration of baicalin and probiotic cocktails on the composition of ileal and cecal microbiota in broiler chickens to elucidate the underlying mechanisms responsible for the healthpromoting effects.Results A total of 3201-day-old male Arbor Acres broilers were divided into 4 groups,each with 8 replicates of 10 chicks per replicate.Over a period of 42 d,the birds were fed a basal diet or the same diet supplemented with 37.5 g/t baicalin(BC),1,000 g/t probiotic cocktails(PC),or a combination of both BC(37.5 g/t)and PC(1,000 g/t).The results demonstrated that BC+PC exhibited positive synergistic effects,enhancing intestinal morphology,immune function,and barrier function.This was evidenced by increased VH/CD ratio,sIgA levels,and upregulated expression of occludin and claudin-1(P<0.05).16S rRNA analysis indicated that PC potentiated the effects of BC,particularly in the ileum,where BC+PC significantly increased theα-diversity of the ileal microbiota,altered itsβ-diversity,and increased the relative abundance of Flavonifractor(P<0.05),a flavonoid-metabolizing bacterium.Furthermore,Flavonifractor positively correlated with chicken ileum crypt depth(P<0.05).While BC+PC had a limited effect on cecal microbiota structure,the PC group had a very similar microbial composition to BC+PC,suggesting that the effect of PC at the distal end of the gut overshadowed those of BC.Conclusions We demonstrated the synergistic enhancement of gut health regulation in broiler chickens by combining baicalin and probiotic cocktails.Probiotic cocktails enhanced the effects of baicalin and accelerated its metabolism in the ileum,thereby influencing the ileal microbiota structure.This study elucidates the interaction mechanism between probiotic cocktails and plant extract additives within the host microbiota.These findings provide compelling evidence for the future development of feed additive combinations.

Social Media-Based Surveillance Systems for Health Informatics Using Machine and Deep Learning Techniques:A Comprehensive Review and Open Challenges

Social media(SM)based surveillance systems,combined with machine learning(ML)and deep learning(DL)techniques,have shown potential for early detection of epidemic outbreaks.This review discusses the current state of SM-based surveillance methods for early epidemic outbreaks and the role of ML and DL in enhancing their performance.Since,every year,a large amount of data related to epidemic outbreaks,particularly Twitter data is generated by SM.This paper outlines the theme of SM analysis for tracking health-related issues and detecting epidemic outbreaks in SM,along with the ML and DL techniques that have been configured for the detection of epidemic outbreaks.DL has emerged as a promising ML technique that adaptsmultiple layers of representations or features of the data and yields state-of-the-art extrapolation results.In recent years,along with the success of ML and DL in many other application domains,both ML and DL are also popularly used in SM analysis.This paper aims to provide an overview of epidemic outbreaks in SM and then outlines a comprehensive analysis of ML and DL approaches and their existing applications in SM analysis.Finally,this review serves the purpose of offering suggestions,ideas,and proposals,along with highlighting the ongoing challenges in the field of early outbreak detection that still need to be addressed.