Living Conditions and Palliative Care Needs among End-of-Life Former Commercial Plasma Donors Affected with HIV/AIDS in Rural Henan of China

Objective China began providing antiretroviral therapy to people living with HIV/AIDS （PLWHA） in 2003. This study was to investigate the living conditions, including quality of life and happiness, and need for palliative care of end-of-life PLWHA in rural Henan. Methods One hundred end-of-life AIDS patients were selected from Weishi, Zhenping and Tanghe counties in Henan, using convenience sampling. The World Health Organization Quality of Life for HIV （WHOQOL-HIV） BREF Chinese Version was used to measure the quality of life and the Memorial University of Newfoundland Scale of Happiness （MUNSH） was employed to measure subjective welfare. Qualitative interviews and focus group discussions were undertaken to learn about the palliative care provided and the specific needs of the end-of-life patients. Results Patients’ overall quality of life was moderate （12.62±1.97）. Highest scores were in the spirituality/religion/personal beliefs, higher than the average scores in the Chinese population （P0.01）, while psychological （13.58±2.06） and environment （12.50±3.28） domain scores were similar to the latter （P0.05）. Both independence （12.15±2.15） and physiological （14.04±3.16） domain scores were lower than the average of the people living with HIV/AIDS in other studies （P0.01）; however, all were in the moderate range. The average MUNSH score was 21.00±6.20, which was also moderate. The in-depth interviews indicated that the Henan Provincial Government’s policy of treatment and care had a beneficial impact on end-of-life AIDS patients, although the care components could be improved. Conclusions Living conditions of the end-of-life AIDS patients were moderate, and the HIV/AIDS palliative care model used was beneficial to them. Care could be improved by assisting the family unit as a whole.

An investigation on the Correlation between Unemployment and Living Conditions in Zambia： A Case Study of Kaunda Square Stage II

Most of the Zambian population, the poor people in affluent society, are enmeshed in the net of poverty. The Zambian government seems to have failed in its contractual obligation to respect and sustain its social contract with the people. There is a seemingly total collapse of social security, increased unemployment rate and consequently decreased living conditions among the youth. This study sets out to investigate the correlation between unemployment and living conditions in Kaunda Square Stage II by analyzing the impact of unemployment and suggests strategic solutions to mitigate the levels of unemployment. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the impact on the living conditions caused by unemployment in Zambia specifically in Kaunda Square Stage II and adopt strategic solutions that will mitigate creation of jobs to improve the living conditions. The study underscores that unemployment is a universal phenomenon, not necessarily a peculiar characteristic of any segment of the society. Reducing poverty, preventing excessive inequality, and generating adequate employment are the three most important goals of a macroeconomic strategy that seeks to improve the living standards of the population. Inequality and employment are each a complex phenomenon and difficult to capture with a single measurement, particularly in a low-income economy undergoing change. It is in this context that the study intends to investigate the correlation between unemployment and living conditions in Kaunda Square Stage II and to provide strategic solutions that may improve living conditions in Kaunda Square Stage II. The study concludes that high unemployment in Kaunda Square Stage II increases poverty which subsequently affects living conditions. Therefore, when, unemployment rates increase the opportunities for earning income decreases which instigate individuals to be poor. The paper closes with reflections on how good strategic solutions can be used to underwrite more employment reduction strategies.

Living Arrangements and Conditions of Older Persons in Namibia

In Africa, ageing is a phenomenon that is just beginning to reveal its shape. Most governments, including the Namibian government, recognize the fact that the number of older persons is on the increase, however, discussing it is still a distant phenomenon and family matter. This paper examines the living arrangements of older adults in Namibia, identifying the existing structure of living arrangements and the nature of family relationships of older people, as well as provides some basic descriptive information on the housing conditions in which older persons live and how they are associated with their socioeconomic and demographic factors. The analysis is based on 1991, 2001 and 2011 Namibia Population and Housing Censuses. The study concluded that living arrangements is constantly changing from extended family pattern to western nuclear family, mainly due to urbanization and decreased fertility rate. Housing conditions had notably improved in rural areas while in urban areas the conditions are affected by the mushrooming of informal settlements. There is need to encourage or conduct focused research on ageing to help coin policies based on evidence and make communities sensitive towards ageing. The study further recommends Government to encourage old people to form organizations that would in turn focus on sensitizing and help championing issues of ageing and aged persons.

Effects of Different Doses of Stereotactic Radiotherapy on Recurrence,Metastasis and Survival of Patients with Lung Cancer

Objective:To investigate the effect of different doses of stereotactic radiotherapy(SBRT)on the recurrence,metastasis and survival of lung cancer patients.Methods:The clinical data of 13 patients with lung cancer who were treated in our hospital from May 2016 to June 2020 and were followed up for one year were retrospectively analyzed.The patients treated with low-dose SBRT were divided into the observation group(7 cases)and the patients treated with high-dose SBRT were divided into the control group(6 cases).The clinical efficacy,recurrence,metastasis,survival status and incidence of adverse reactions were compared between the two groups.Results:There were no significant differences in the clinical total effective rate,1-year recurrence rate,metastasis rate and survival rate between the two groups(P>0.05);The incidence of adverse reactions in the observation group was lower than that in the control group,the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).Conclusion:High dose or low dose SBRT can achieve good curative effect and prognosis in patients with lung cancer,but low dose SBRT has less adverse reactions and higher safety.

The Effect of Wealth Increase on Education and Entertainment Consumption in China

Entertainment and education consumption partly reflects people’s living standards.In order to study the influential factors of entertainment and education consumption of Chinese people in the second decade of the 21st century,this paper uses the data from 2010 to 2018 in China Family Panel Studies(CFPS)and the multiple linear regression analysis in econometrics to evaluate the impact of the increase of total household assets on the consumption of entertainment and education in China through Stata software.The results show that the increase in household assets promotes entertainment and education consumption.However,the promoting effect gradually decreased from 2010 to 2018.In addition,high housing price took in a large amount of family income and impeded the consumption of entertainment and education.The decline in people’s preference for entertainment and education consumption in recent years,to some extent,means a rise in living pressure and a decline in the quality of life in China.