Community-based Platforms Research Articles

Impact of early primary care physician follow-up on hospital readmission following gastrointestinal cancer surgery.

We sought to examine the association between primary care physician (PCP) follow-up on readmission following gastrointestinal (GI) cancer surgery. Patients who underwent surgery for GI cancer were identified using the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. Multivariable regression was performed to examine the association between early PCP follow-up and hospital readmission. Among 60 957 patients who underwent GI cancer surgery, 19 661 (32.7%) visited a PCP within 30-days after discharge. Of note, patients who visited PCP were less likely to be readmitted within 90 days (PCP visit: 17.4% vs. no PCP visit: 28.2%; p < 0.001). Median postsurgical expenditures were lower among patients who visited a PCP (PCP visit: $4116 [IQR: $670-$13 860] vs. no PCP visit: $6700 [IQR: $870-$21 301]; p < 0.001). On multivariable analysis, PCP follow-up was associated with lower odds of 90-day readmission (OR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.50-0.55) (both p < 0.001). Moreover, patients who followed up with a PCP had lower risk of death at 90-days (HR: 0.50, 95% CI: 0.40-0.51; p < 0.001). PCP follow-up was associated with a reduced risk of readmission and mortality following GI cancer surgery. Care coordination across in-hospital and community-based health platforms is critical to achieve optimal outcomes for patients.

The Cost and Cost-Effectiveness of Integrating Wasting Prevention Into Screening in Facility- and Community-Based Platforms in Burkina Faso and Mali

The Cost and Cost-Effectiveness of Integrating Wasting Prevention Into Screening in Facility- and Community-Based Platforms in Burkina Faso and Mali

Penguatan Implementasi Kurikulum Merdeka Setelah Masa Post Covid Pada Guru Ekonomi MGMP Provinsi Jawa Tengah

This article aims to support the government's policy regarding the implementation of the Freedom Curriculum, which is provided to the Council of Economics Subject Teachers in Central Java Province as an additional option for the recovery of learning during 2022-2024. In this service, workshops and training related to the implementation of the Freedom Curriculum are conducted, with a focus on utilizing technology and community-based strategies and platforms. These are being developed for the implementation of the Freedom Curriculum. The outcome of this dedication is that each teacher can comprehend the concept of the Freedom Curriculum implementation well. Therefore, it is expected that all stakeholders involved in this implementation can optimize its utilization as an effort for post-pandemic learning recovery.

Esrar Kullanım Bozukluğu Tedavisinde Kullanılan İnternet Tabanlı Psikososyal Müdahale Programları: Bu Programların Etkinlikleri ve Sınırlılıkları

This review focuses on the internet-based psychosocial intervention methods used in the treatment of cannabis use disorder, reviewing their effectiveness and limitations in light of the available information. Cannabis use disorder contributes to both physical and mental health issues, as well as high healthcare costs. In recent years, various internet-based psychosocial interventions have been developed for treating this condition. These interventions can be categorized into three main groups: self-help and educational programs, mobile applications and gamified interventions, and peer support with community-based platforms. Studies indicate that these internet-based psychosocial interventions could be an effective alternative for the treatment of cannabis use disorder. Their strengths include the potential to reduce the frequency and amount of cannabis use, their flexible and accessible nature, and the ability to reach a broad user base. However, limitations such as technological access and digital literacy issues, data security and privacy concerns, discrepancies in demographic and cultural diversity, and challenges in long-term follow-up and sustainability are evident, particularly in cases of severe psychological disorders or situations requiring immediate intervention. While the results of relevant research are promising, there have been a limited number of randomized controlled trials conducted. Keywords: Cannabis, Cannabis use disorder, Internet-based psychosocial interventions.

Interaction of Acinetobacter sp. RIT 592 induces the production of broad-spectrum antibiotics in Exiguobacterium sp. RIT 594.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most alarming global public health challenges of the 21st century. Over 3 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur in the United States annually, with nearly 50,000 cases being fatal. Innovations in drug discovery methods and platforms are crucial to identify novel antibiotics to combat AMR. We present the isolation and characterization of potentially novel antibiotic lead compounds produced by the cross-feeding of two rhizosphere bacteria, Acinetobacter sp. RIT 592 and Exiguobacterium sp. RIT 594. We used solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by liquid chromatography (LC) to enrich antibiotic extracts and subsequently mass spectrometry (MS) analysis of collected fractions for compound structure identification and characterization. The MS data were processed through the Global Natural Product Social Molecular Networking (GNPS) database. The supernatant from RIT 592 induced RIT 594 to produce a cocktail of antimicrobial compounds active against Gram-positive and negative bacteria. The GNPS analysis indicated compounds with known antimicrobial activity in the bioactive samples, including oligopeptides and their derivatives. This work emphasizes the utility of microbial community-based platforms to discover novel clinically relevant secondary metabolites. Future work includes further structural characterization and antibiotic activity evaluation of the individual compounds against pathogenic multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria.

The effect of social commerce attributes on customer engagement: an empirical investigation

PurposeSocial commerce (s-commerce) offers community-based platforms that facilitate customer-to-customer interactions and the development of customers' social shopping-based experience. While prior research has addressed the role of customer engagement (CE) in boosting s-commerce-based sales and performance, insight into the effect of s-commerce attributes on CE remains tenuous. Addressing this gap, this study examines the role of specific s-commerce attributes (i.e. community, collaboration, interactivity and social dynamics) on CE, which is, in turn, proposed to impact customers' repurchase- and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) intention.Design/methodology/approachA web-based survey was deployed to target users of a popular s-commerce platform, Etsy.com. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was, then, used to analyze the survey data collected from 390 users.FindingsThe results reveal that the four examined attributes positively affect CE. The findings also demonstrate CE's positive effect on customers' repurchase- and eWOM intention.Originality/valueThough CE has been identified as a key s-commerce performance indicator, little remains known about the role of specific s-commerce attributes in driving CE, as, therefore, explored in this research. Specifically, the authors examine the role of s-commerce-based community, collaboration, interactivity and social dynamics on CE. Their analyses also corroborate that CE, in turn, drives customers' post-purchase (i.e. repurchase/eWOM) intention. Managerially, our findings can be used to develop more engaging s-commerce platforms.

Inherently unstable? Scaling, mission drift, and the comparative performance of community-based platforms in the sharing economy

Digital platforms have enabled sharing among strangers as a means to satisfy economic needs. This development was expected to allow traditional, community-based sharing to be taken to a much larger scale, providing a mechanism to address a variety of societal and environmental concerns. However, this early optimism seems misguided, as commercial sharing economy platforms are increasingly criticized for their negative societal consequences and ambiguous environmental impact. Testing claims made in the literature, we investigate whether this mission drift in community-based platforms can indeed explain this shift towards an increasingly commercial orientation in the sharing economy. Building on a comprehensive geographical mapping, the quantitative analysis of our granular dataset does not support these claims. Rather, we find that community-based platforms perceive increased scaling potential while avoiding mission drift. By complementing these quantitative findings with an in-depth case study, we explain the underlying mechanisms allowing for this alternative scaling strategy of community-based platforms.

Duplicate question detection in community-based platforms via interaction networks

Duplicate question detection in community-based platforms via interaction networks

Integrating and coordinating programs for the management of anemia across the life course.

Anemia is a major global public health concern with a complex etiology. The main determinants are nutritional factors, infection and inflammation, inherited blood disorders, and women's reproductive biology, but the relative role of each varies between settings. Effective anemia programming, therefore, requires evidence-based, data-driven, contextualized multisectoral strategies, with coordinated implementation. Priority population groups are preschool children, adolescent girls, and pregnant and nonpregnant women of reproductive age. Opportunities for comprehensive anemia programming include: (i) bundling interventions through shared delivery platforms, including antenatal care, community-based platforms, schools, and workplaces; (ii) integrating delivery platforms to extend reach; (iii) integrating anemia and malaria programs in endemic areas; and (iv) integrating anemia programming across the life course. Major barriers to effective anemia programming include weak delivery systems, lack of data or poor use of data, lack of financial and human resources, and poor coordination. Systems strengthening and implementation research approaches are needed to address critical gaps, explore promising platforms, and identify solutions to persistent barriers to high intervention coverage. Immediate priorities are to close the gap between access to service delivery platforms and coverage of anemia interventions, reduce subnational coverage disparities, and improve the collection and use of data to inform anemia strategies and programming.

Enhancing social capital and reciprocity through community news media during COVID-19: a study of video volunteers

PurposeThis article attempts to highlight the defining role that community media engagements play during times of the pandemic. It is argued that the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic forced community news media houses to reinvent their news reporting practices to cover issues pertaining to the marginalized and underprivileged sections of the society. It explores the role of community media in engaging and empowering the citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachCentral to our study is the analysis of the news model of “Video Volunteers” (henceforth VV), an independent community-based online news platform based in India. To understand the level of citizen participation and engagement in the making and dissemination of news during the pandemic, the authors conducted 13 interviews with different stakeholders of VV, including founders and news audiences.FindingsIt seeks to reveal that when the mainstream media have failed to represent the issues of a local community, it is the independent media platforms like VV which function as a veritable source of information and sharing of knowledge. Most importantly, this paper emphasizes that the communicative model of independent community-based online platforms has been most successful in the coverage of the pandemic and the level of engagement with the citizenry.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the aspects of reciprocity and collaborative journalism in community news media and its potential impacts on news creation and dissemination.

Perspectives of patients on technology-supported community-based rehabilitation: a qualitative study

Introduction: The study's primary aim is to explore the perspectives and experiences of patients regarding technologysupported community-based rehabilitation in the Philippines. The secondary aim is to ascertain the utilization of technologysupported community-based rehabilitation based on the participants' responses. Methods: In this qualitative phenomenological study, purposive sampling for recruitment was utilized. Online focus group discussions were conducted with patients who have received rehabilitation in a technology-supported community-based rehabilitation setting. The recorded discussions were transcribed and coded using NVivo 12 software. The study employed an inductive approach of thematic analysis to extract significant themes. Continuous refinement and data analysis were done for data saturation. Results: Five themes emerged using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis: accessibility in technology-supported community-based rehabilitation, primary device and platforms used in technologysupported community-based rehabilitation, limitations of technology-supported community-based rehabilitation, perceived usefulness of technology in community-based rehabilitation, and patient satisfaction. Discussion: The facilitators and barriers found in the study affect the participants’ access and perceived usefulness of technology-based community-based rehabilitation which contributes to patient satisfaction. The study also found that patients perceived technology useful in community-based rehabilitation because it facilitates learning of exercises and enhances adherence to home exercise programs.

PROMOTING CHILD-FRIENDLY EDUCATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE: A COMMUNITY SERVICE PERSPECTIVE

Child-friendly education is an important program that provides children from various socio-cultural and ethnic backgrounds with safe, comfortable, and nonviolent learning activities at the family, school, and community. This community service-based article aims to describe (1) the fundamental reasons for revitalizing child-friendly education and (2) the critical principles and elements that allow children to develop their potential in the digital age fully. This program used a dialogic approach to deliver the topic under discussion, involving twenty participants, including parents and teenagers, in Mlese, Klaten Regency, Central Java Province, Indonesia. The dialogic interaction takes the form of (1) presenting material related to child-friendly education in the digital age, (2) investigating problems in small groups based solely on subtopics, and (3) openly discussing solutions to such problems. The results of data analysis from this interactive dialogue affirmed that human-to-human oral interactions enable problem-solving. Children can develop essential values of honesty, dignity, respect, and safety when key ideas and components of child-friendly education are incorporated into their school, schools and community-based platforms.

VIRTUAL POWER PLANT SOLUTION FOR KENYA RURAL ENERGY NEEDS

A Virtual Power Plant system is an advanced power distributing and trading platform, that acts as a smart grid system unlike the existing conventional methodology of power allocation. The system is known to facilitate the connection of renewable energy sources to the national grid from a specific region, it is made up of Energy Storage System, Distributable Energy Resources, and Control System. Energy sources are classified as Distributable Energy Resources and various assets can be linked to the platform such as small-scale microgrids or community-based power platforms with demand-side management portfolios. A Virtual Power Plant platform has the power-distributing capability and an evolutionary trading platform (Peer to Peer trading). It has also proven to cut down carbon emissions as more renewables find their way to the grid. Additionally, data analytics and forecasting tools on the Virtual Power Plant are used to give information to the end-users on their storage, demand, and expected future generation, the user can interact with the system through a Human Machine Interface that has easy to use dashboard. Currently, the VPP systems have been implemented as pilot programs in countries such as Sweden, Norway, Belgium, and the USA. The potential application of the system can be extended as a case study and futuristic smart grid system for Kenya, as the National grid is substantially fed from renewable energy sources, and the vast majority of rural areas can benefit from cheap and affordable energy. Finally, Virtual Power Plants are proven to be reliable systems, and power outages and delays can be minimized.

Community-based approaches to support the anchoring of climate-smart agriculture in Tanzania

We assess the impact of community-based approaches to promote adoption of integrated climate smart agriculture (CSA) practices based on soybean cultivation combined with mulching, intercropping, crop rotation, manure application and rhizobium inoculation methods. We use quasi-experimental data of farmers participating in Farmer Field Business Schools (FFBS) and Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) in Iringa region of Tanzania. Farmers received technical training and financial support for the initial adoption of soybean production, and women's empowerment supported household's continuous involvement in CSA practices. We find a positive effect for farmers participating in the trainings provided by the FFBSs and receiving microfinance services from VLSA members on the adoption rates of several CSA practices, and this effect became more pronounced for households with higher scores on women empowerment. Farm-level improvement in soybean production and market-level incentives for soybean sales should also strengthen household income, consumption and nutrition levels to maintain CSA practices. Community-based platforms create critical external conditions for introducing CSA practices, but women's empowerment is indispensable for intrinsic incentives for anchoring their adoption.

PROVOKE: Toxicity trigger detection in conversations from the top 100 subreddits

Promoting healthy discourse on community-based online platforms like Reddit can be challenging, especially when conversations show ominous signs of toxicity. Therefore, in this study, we find the turning points (i.e., toxicity triggers) making conversations toxic. Before finding toxicity triggers, we built and evaluated various machine learning models to detect toxicity from Reddit comments.Subsequently, we used our best-performing model, a fine-tuned Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) model that achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) score of 0.983 to detect toxicity. Next, we constructed conversation threads and used the toxicity prediction results to build a training set for detecting toxicity triggers. This procedure entailed using our large-scale dataset to refine toxicity triggers' definition and build a trigger detection dataset using 991,806 conversation threads from the top 100 communities on Reddit. Then, we extracted a set of sentiment shift, topical shift, and context-based features from the trigger detection dataset, using them to build a dual embedding biLSTM neural network that achieved an AUC score of 0.789. Our trigger detection dataset analysis showed that specific triggering keywords are common across all communities, like ‘racist’ and ‘women’. In contrast, other triggering keywords are specific to certain communities, like ‘overwatch’ in r/Games. Implications are that toxicity trigger detection algorithms can leverage generic approaches but must also tailor detections to specific communities.

MITIGATION OF SOIL-TRANSMITTED HELMINTHIASES RESURGENCE IN THE ERA OF COVID-19 DISRUPTION: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Highlights: 1. Prolonged interruptions and delays that accompany the COVID-19 pandemic have further increased the spread of STH in high-transmission areas.2. Adaptations carried out in the context of a pandemic are able to strengthen efforts to sustain deworming programs based on primary health facilities and their integration into community-based platforms.3. Community-based WASH activities must be continued by adjusting WASH messages to focus on preventing the transmission of COVID-19. Abstract: Background: Interruptions and postponements are influencing people’s desire for soil-transmitted helminthiases (STH) services as all countries are fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. The risk of spreading STH in high-transmitting areas increases with increased disturbance. Indonesia is a compatible host country for STH because it is a tropical country. The STH impacts the population’s nutrient status and disturbs their cognitive processes. Objective: To describe the issue and how best efforts had been made to mitigate the possibility of a resurgence of intestinal worms during the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Material and Method: Search for the most recent articles in a database of research in January 2022 on Google Scholar, Science Direct, and PubMed. Qualifying articles were then extracted and synthesized qualitatively. Discussion: The interference and postponement of the deworming control program due to COVID-19 had a tentative effect on the progress of achieving the elimination of STH as a public health problem by 2030. Conclusion: Best practices show that revitalization efforts to control STH by strengthening integrated interventions and collaborations through the expansion of POPM, PHBS, and STBM in line with COVID-19 prevention efforts with mitigation innovations shifting from controlling morbidity to terminate the transmission of STH.

Socio-psychological factors influencing farmers’ willingness to continue participating in collaborative activities of community-based innovation platforms in eastern Uganda

This study employed an extended theory of planned behaviour to assess the socio-psychological factors influencing farmers’ willingness to continue participating (WTCP) in collaborative activities of community-based innovation platforms (CB-IPs). Using a structured questionnaire, data were obtained from a random sample of 231 farmers who had participated in collaborative activities of the CB-IPs. Data were analyzed using partial least squares-structural equation modelling. Findings showed that although farmers’ past-experience did not directly influence their WTCP in collaborative activities of CB-IPs, it was positive and significant when mediated by attitudes and perceived behavioural control (t-value = 6.840; p-value = 0.000). Therefore, it can be concluded that farmers’ WTCP in collaborative activities of CB-IPs is enhanced by three socio-psychological factors: favourable past-experience, positive attitudes towards collaborative activities of CB-IPs, and farmers’ perceived capacity to participate. Hence, conveners of collaborative activities of CB-IPs ought to improve farmers’ attitudes through organizing beneficial activities and building their capacity to participate. This study contributed to the body of knowledge by using a behavioural perspective to examine the socio-psychological factors that influence farmers’ continued participation in collaboration activities of CB-IPs.

Validation of community health worker identification of maternal puerperal sepsis using a clinical diagnostic algorithm in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

BackgroundPuerperal sepsis (PP sepsis) is a leading cause of maternal mortality globally. The majority of maternal sepsis cases and deaths occur at home and remain undiagnosed and under-reported. In this paper, we present findings from a nested case-control study in Bangladesh and Pakistan which sought to assess the validity of community health worker (CHW) identification of PP sepsis using a clinical diagnostic algorithm with physician assessment and classification used as the gold standard.MethodsUp to 300 postpartum women were enrolled in each of the 3 sites 1) Sylhet, Bangladesh (n = 278), 2) Karachi, Pakistan (n = 278) and 3) Matiari, Pakistan (n = 300). Index cases were women with suspected PP Sepsis as diagnosed by CHWs clinical assessment of one or more of the following signs and symptoms: temperature (recorded fever ≥38.1°C, reported history of fever, lower abdominal or pelvic pain, and abnormal or foul-smelling discharge. Each case was matched with 3 control women who were diagnosed by CHWs to have no infection. Cases and controls were assessed by trained physicians using the same algorithm implemented by the CHWs. Using physician assessment as the gold standard, Kappa statistics for reliability and diagnostic validity (sensitivity and specificity) are presented with 95% CI. Sensitivity and specificity were adjusted for verification bias.ResultsThe adjusted sensitivity and specificity of CHW identification of PP sepsis across all sites was 82% (Karachi: 78%, Matiari: 78%, Sylhet: 95%) and 90% (Karachi: 95%, Matiari: 85%, Sylhet: 90%) respectively. CHW-Physician agreement was highest for moderate and high fever (range across sites: K = 0.84-0.97) and lowest for lower abdominal pain (K = 0.30-0.34). The clinical signs and symptoms for other conditions were reported infrequently, however, the CHW-physician agreement was high for all symptoms except severe headache/ blurred vision (K = 0.13-0.38) and reported “lower abdominal pain without fever” (K = 0.39-0.57).ConclusionIn all sites, CHWs with limited training were able to identify signs and symptoms and to classify cases of PP sepsis with high validity. Integrating postpartum infection screening into existing community-based platforms and post-natal visits is a promising strategy to monitor women for PP sepsis - improving delivery of cohesive maternal and child health care in low resource settings.

Assessment of disaster management strategies employed by oil companies and government agencies towards oil pipeline vandalism in selected states in Niger Delta Region

The study was carried out to assess disaster management strategies employed by oil companies and government agencies towards oil pipeline vandalism in selected states in the Niger Delta region. The study made use of cross sectional research design, the simple random sampling method was used in selecting the sample for the study. Using this technique, the three states was selected for the study. From among the selected states (3), three LGAs and two communities each was also selected. For this study, eighteen (18) communities representing nine (9) local government areas from three (3) states of the study Area was used for the study. Questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. A total of 400 respondents were used for the study, this was achieved from using the Taro Yamane formula for sample size determination, hence 400 copies of questionnaire which is the major source of data collection were administered to the respondents using the proportionate sampling technique. The study found amongst others that there have been cases of pipeline vandalism on oil companies’ infrastructure; however, they are unaware of prevent/mitigation means used by the oil corporations to prevent/mitigate the occurrence of pipeline vandalism, on the prevention/mitigation and preparedness activities engaged by government agencies, security engagement was perceived as the most adopted strategies. Activation of emergency spill response team is the response strategy adopted by government and its agencies followed by arrest of vandals/victim and medical treatment of victims. Among various strategies adopted by government and its agencies for recovery/rehabilitation, community arrest of vandals was perceived as the most adopted strategy. The study recommended that oil multinationals should synergize with credible formal community-based platforms to work out a grassroots approach to pipelines surveillance and protection.

The Community PrEP Study: a randomized control trial leveraging community-based platforms to improve access and adherence to pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV among adolescent girls and young women in South Africa\u2014study protocol

BackgroundHIV incidence among South African adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) remains high, but could be reduced by highly effective pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Unfortunately, AGYW report significant barriers to clinic-based sexual and reproductive health services. Even when AGYW access PrEP as an HIV prevention method, poor prevention-effective use was a serious barrier to achieving its optimal HIV prevention benefits. Determining the acceptability and feasibility of community-based platforms to increase AGYW’s access to PrEP, and evaluating behavioural interventions to improve prevention-effective use of PrEP are needed.MethodsWe propose a mixed-methods study among AGYW aged 16–25 years in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. In the first component, a cross-sectional study will assess the acceptability and feasibility of leveraging community-based HIV counselling and testing (CBCT) platforms to refer HIV-negative, at-risk AGYW to non-clinic-based, same-day PrEP initiation services. In the second component, we will enrol 480 AGYW initiating PrEP via our CBCT platforms into a three-armed (1:1:1) randomized control trial (RCT) that will evaluate the effectiveness of adherence support interventions to improve the prevention-effective use of PrEP. Adherence will be measured over 24 months via tenofovir-diphosphate blood concentration levels. Qualitative investigations will explore participant, staff, and community experiences associated with community-based PrEP services, adherence support activities, study implementation, and community awareness. Costs and scalability of service platforms and interventions will be evaluated.DiscussionThis will be the first study to assess the acceptability and feasibility of leveraging CBCT platforms to identify and refer at-risk AGYW to community-based, same-day PrEP initiation services. It will also provide quantitative and qualitative results to inform adherence support activities and services that promote the prevention-effective use of PrEP among AGYW. By applying principles of implementation science, behavioural science, and health economics research, we aim to inform strategies to improve access to and prevention-effective use of PrEP by AGYW.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.govNCT03977181. Registered on 6 June 2019—retrospectively registered.