Evaluation of the Living Conditions and Health Perceptions of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Handlers in the Informal Sector in Dakar

Electrical and electronic devices are becoming an increasingly important part of our society. In Africa, and in Senegal in particular, the handling and management of electronic and electrical equipment (EEE) that has reached the end of its life is mainly informal. This professional environment is characterized by the disintegration of the sector and the social heterogeneity that can be found there. The objective of this study is to assess the standard of living of electrical and electronic equipment waste handlers in the Dakar region, as well as their perception of their health. A survey was used to obtain information on sociodemographic background, living arrangements, perception of health status, and good practices to be implemented in case of work-related health problems. Life style, perception of general health and health problems were ranged as excellent, very good, good, average and poor. Informal recyclers in the Dakar region lived mainly in rooms and buildings as tenants (49.1%), or in family homes (48.4%) before starting this activity, and 51.2% continue to live in rooms and buildings as tenants compared to 41.4% who still live in a family home. The perception of health status ranged from poor to excellent, and 4.9% believe that they are limited in work due to a disability or health problem. Informal work is a heterogeneous phenomenon that makes research and policymaking particularly complex. There are several external factors within informal WEEE re-cyclers that can cause health problems or functional disability. However, the living conditions and the perception they have of their state of health are contradictory to the working conditions and the social environment to which they belong. A biomedical approach would consolidate these achievements by confirming or invalidating them.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is not associated with a lower health perception

AIM: To examine the association between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and general health perception.METHODS: This cross sectional and prospective follow-up study was performed on a cohort of a sub-sample of the first Israeli national health and nutrition examination survey, with no secondary liver disease or history of alcohol abuse. On the first survey, in 2003-2004, 349 participants were included. In 2009-2010 participants from the baseline survey were invited to participate in a follow-up survey. On both baseline and follow-up surveys the data collected included: self-reported general health perception, physical activity habits, frequency of physician’s visits, fatigue impact scale and abdominal ultrasound. Fatty liver was diagnosed by abdominal ultrasonography using standardized criteria and the ratio between the median brightness level of the liver and the right kidney was calculated to determine the Hepato-Renal Index.RESULTS: Out of 349 eligible participants in the first survey, 213 volunteers participated in the follow-up cohort and were included in the current analysis, NAFLD was diagnosed in 70/213 (32.9%). The prevalence of 'very good' self-reported health perception was lower among participants diagnosed with NAFLD compared to those without NAFLD. However, adjustment for BMI attenuated the association (OR = 0.73, 95%CI: 0.36-1.50, P = 0.392). Similar results were observed for the hepato-renal index; it was inversely associated with 'very good' health perception but adjustment for BMI attenuated the association. In a full model of multivariate analysis, that included all potential predictors for health perception, NAFLD was not associated with the self-reported general health perception (OR = 0.86, 95%CI: 0.40-1.86, P = 0.704). The odds for 'very good' self-reported general health perception (compared to 'else') increased among men (OR = 2.42, 95%CI: 1.26-4.66, P = 0.008) and those with higher performance of leisure time physical activity (OR = 1.01, 95%CI: 1.00-1.01, P < 0.001, per every minute/week) and decreased with increasing level of BMI (OR = 0.91, 95%CI: 0.84-0.99, P = 0.028, per every kg/m2) and older age (OR = 0.96, 95%CI: 0.93-0.99, P = 0.033, per one year). Current smoking was not associated with health perception (OR = 1.31, 95%CI: 0.54-3.16, P = 0.552). Newly diagnosed (naive) and previously diagnosed (at the first survey, not naive) NAFLD patients did not differ in their self-health perception. The presence of NAFLD at the first survey as compared to normal liver did not predict health perception deterioration at the 7 years follow-up. In terms of health-services utilization, subjects diagnosed with NAFLD had a similar number of physician’s visits (general physicians and specialty consultants) as in the normal liver group. Parameters in the fatigue impact scale were equivalent between the NAFLD and the normal liver groups.CONCLUSION: Fatty liver without clinically significant liver disease does not have independent impact on self-health perception.

Leisure Activities, Happiness, Life Satisfaction, and Health Perception of Older Korean Adults

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between types of leisure activities and happi-ness,life satisfaction,and health perception of older Korean adults during the COVID-19 era.Using snowballing and purposive sampling methods,123 respondents participated in the study.The results show that participation in outdoor activities and home-based activities served as a strong predictor of happiness,life satisfaction,and health perceptions among older Korean adults.Thesefindings suggest that engaging in outdoor activities and home-based activities is likely to increase the psychological and mental health of older Korean adults during the COVID-19 era.

Effectiveness of traffic light system on Brazilian consumers perception of food healthfulness

Front-of-package(FOP)nutrition labelling schemes were developed to improve consumer’s comprehension about the food nutrients associated with non-communicable diseases(NCDs).Several FOPs have already been developed,and Brazil is in the process of evaluating a scheme to introduce in the products.The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of TLS,the scheme proposed by the food industry,on the product healthfulness perception.A study with 141 participants was carried out.A conjoint task was designed considering three categories and levels:types of dairy products(light yogurt,prato cheese,and chocolate flavoured milk),Traffic Light System(yes vs.no)and brand(well-known vs.unknown).The effect of TLS on perceived healthfulness was evaluated using a 9-point scales(1:not healthy;9:very healthy).Results showed that the inclusion of TLS did not influence the perceived healthfulness of the products by consumers,even among consumers with higher interest in healthy eating.These findings suggest that the proposal supported by the food industry does not seem to be the most appropriate,being recommended the development of further studies to compare the efficacy of TLS and other FOP schemes.

Analysis of Health Workers’ Perceptions on Medical Waste Management in Tanzanian Hospitals

This paper presents the perceptions of health workers (HWs) on medical waste management (MWM) issues in Tanzanian hospitals. The perceived total waste generation rates were lower than the actual measurements. Administrators perceived lower rates than implementers. The results indicated three categories of medical waste which are given due attention, that is, sharps waste, pathological and infectious waste. Other wastes like radioactive, chemical, pharmaceutical, pressurized containers receive very little attention. Container colour coding and labelling was negligible, while improvised containers are still in use. Medical waste is transported within hospitals manually, with little efforts on mechanized transportation. Poor waste storage was observed, while the prominent medical waste treatment technologies are medium temperature incinerators. Off-site transportation of medical waste is practiced, where the waste is finally dumped or buried. The hospitals are currently utilizing public-private partnership schemes for MWM in only one aspect of off-site transportation. Three main problems which require high attention include: Weaknesses in hospital management, poor MWM infrastructure, and lack of skills and knowledge on MWM among HWs. Knowledge and awareness among HWs on health hazards associated with poor MWM is low (with exception of cholera, HIV and typhoid). Few PPE types are supplied and used in the hospitals, leading to poor diseases prevention. There is also low knowledge among HWs on administrative issues related to MWM in Tanzanian hospitals.