Current Health Condition Research Articles

Use and interest in complementary and alternative medicine among college students seeking healthcare at a university campus student health center

BackgroundThere is growing data on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) preferences among college students. While several studies have focused on undergraduate students, there is limited data on graduate students. Materials and methodsCross sectional analysis of undergraduate and graduate students seeking medical care at the University of California Irvine's Student Health Center (SHC). The survey assessed previous CAM use and preferences for future CAM use and education. ResultsThe majority (67.0%) had used CAM within the last year, 27.0% would use CAM for their current health condition, and 51.9% would consider CAM for their current health condition if they were more knowledgeable. Most respondents desired more CAM education and indicated that they would try CAM modalities if covered under insurance. ConclusionMost college students requested more knowledge to assist in their decisions to use CAM. These findings provide insight for health centers on the preferences of college student patients.

A child's potential claim for negligent misdiagnosis : the case of H v. Fetal Assesment Centre : in practice - medicine and the law

South African law recognises a financial claim against a health provider for negligently failing to advise an expectant mother that she might give birth to a child suffering from a severe health condition or congenital disability. In December 2014, the Constitutional Court handed down a judgment that could lead to financial claims by the child, who was subsequently born with a severe health condition or disability. This judgment thus creates a framework to legally recognise a claim by a child whose current health condition was negligently misdiagnosed before birth. The contents and effects of the judgment are discussed in this article.

A child's potential claim for negligent misdiagnosis: The case of H v Fetal Assessment Centre.

South African law recognises a financial claim against a health provider for negligently failing to advise an expectant mother that she might give birth to a child suffering from a severe health condition or congenital disability. In December 2014, the Constitutional Court handed down a judgment that could lead to financial claims by the child, who was subsequently born with a severe health condition or disability. This judgment thus creates a framework to legally recognise a claim by a child whose current health condition was negligently misdiagnosed before birth. The contents and effects of the judgment are discussed in this article.

Studium przypadku kobiety rodzącej — poród fizjologiczny z zastosowaniem Międzynarodowej Klasyfikacji Praktyki Pielęgniarskiej (ICNP®)

The competence of a midwife as regards the pregnancy care and delivery management result from the Bill on the nurse and midwife profession of July 15. 2011. The pregnant woman has the right to choose the midwife to cooperate with on the delivery plan to specify, among others, the preference on how the childbirth should be organised. The delivery plan can be modyfied by the person taking care of the woman in labour in line with her current health condition. The woman and her partner will expect of the midwife in the labour ward to be professional, which is synonymous with safety. The midwife has an extensive knowledge of delivery distortion factors and should focus on detecting and eliminating the risk factors, early danger detection and solving currently encountered problems. The main goal of midwife care, both during pregnancy as well as in labour and postpartum period, is to safeguard the mother and the child and to prevent from any distortion with their health. The aim can be achieved by the midwife through the nurturing process. The method not only conditions the supervision of the mother in childirth but also makes the regular readings evaluation easier, which influences the change in the supervisory care plan. According to the International Nursing Board Recommendation, a midwife can develop her care plan based on the International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP®), making use of standardised diagnoses and interventions. Research shows that making use of standards and reference terminology improves the care quality and treatment results, also through unification of document management. Nursing Topics 2015; 23 (4): 557–562

The comparison of postural balance in elderly active, sedentary and with vestibulopathy

Introduction: To be sedentary and have any disease with regard to vestibular pathology can compromise the performance of the postural control and increases the risk of falls. Objective: This study aimed to compare the postural control of elderly active, sedentary and vestibular pathology. Methods: The sample consisted of 45 elderly separated according to their current health condition: elderly active, sedentary and with vestibulopathy. The postural balance tests were performed in bipedal support, eyes open and the variables measured by the force platform were the center of pressure and average speeds of postural sway in the directions, anteroposterior (A/P) and medial-lateral (M/L). Results: Elderly with vestibulopathy presented significantly poorer postural balance (P <0.05) that active and sedentary group, with large size effect: in mean d >0.80. Conclusion: Elderly with vestibulopathy have poor postural balance that elderly active and sedentary. These findings have any implications for programs of rehabilitation for vestibular disorders.

Users and utilization of support groups among caregivers of dementia patients : Results of a naturalistic observational study

Caring for patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is frequently associated with an increased burden for the caregiving relatives (CG). While therapeutic options and low threshold assistance offers for a reduction of the burden have become well established, data on the utilization of support groups (SG) are still lacking. In the outpatient neurological and psychiatric routine treatment, AD patients were enrolled with their accompanying CG in a 2-stage study. Firstly, each patient was clinically documented by the treating physician and each CG was asked to fill out a questionnaire on the current care situation at the patient's home. In stage two, each CG was additionally assessed with a standardized interview and screened for depression with the depression screening questionnaire (DSQ). Each CG also rated the current CG burden, life satisfaction and health condition on a visual analogue scale (VAS). Overall, 14.8 % of CGs attended an SG. The CGs who visited an SG showed a tendency to report a severe CG burden more often than CGs who did not (71.9 % vs. 56.3 %, p = 0.060) and more frequently a lower satisfaction with life (33.3 vs. 17.2 %, p < 0.01). They also reported higher rates of verbal and physical aggression by the patients (51.5 % vs. 34.0 %, p < 0.05 and 39.4 % vs. 12.7 %, p < 0.01, respectively) and appraised their health condition to be lower (VAS score 66.0 % vs. 54.0, p < 0.01). Depressive disorders occurred in both groups at similar rates (54.1 % and 42.1 %, p = 0.317). The data suggest that the decision to join an SG is influenced more by behavioral and non-cognitive symptoms of the AD rather than its duration or severity.

Statistical Damage Prognosis for In-Service Civil Structures against Hazards: Formulations and Applications

AbstractThis paper proposes an expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm embedded statistical damage prognosis paradigm for in-service civil structures against natural hazards. Being within the scope of structural health monitoring, damage prognosis examines the future safety performance of existing structures given relevant damage diagnosis results that reveal the current health condition of the structures under investigation. The damage diagnosis results, which constitute a prerequisite for a reasonably accurate damage prognosis, may in reality turn out to be incomplete owing to various on-site or off-site operation issues. Instead of working on measures to help preclude any data missingness event, this study focuses on exploring an innovative approach, namely for the purpose of damage prognosis striving to make the most of the damage diagnosis results that have become incomplete. The proposed EM algorithm embedded damage prognosis paradigm comprises two sets of procedures, i.e., prognosis validation and ...

An Intelligent Prognostic System for Gear Performance Degradation Assessment and Remaining Useful Life Estimation

Gears are widely used in machines to transmit torque from one shaft to another shaft and to change the speed of a power source. Gear failure is one of the major causes for mechanical transmission system breakdown. Therefore, early gear faults must be immediately detected prior to its failure. Once early gear faults are diagnosed, gear remaining useful life (RUL) should be estimated to prevent any unexpected gear failure. In this paper, an intelligent prognostic system is developed for gear performance degradation assessment and RUL estimation. For gear performance degradation assessment, which aims to monitor current gear health condition, first, the frequency spectrum of gear acceleration error signal is mathematically analyzed to design a high-order complex Comblet for extracting gear fault related signatures. Then, two health indicators called heath indicator 1 and health indicator 2 are constructed to detect early gear faults and assess gear performance degradation, respectively, using two individual dynamic Bayesian networks. For gear RUL estimation, which aims to predict future gear health condition, a general sequential Monte Carlo algorithm is applied to iteratively infer gear failure probability density function (FPDF), which is used to predict gear residual lifetime. One case study is investigated to illustrate how the developed prognostic system works. The vibration data collected from a gearbox accelerated life test are used in this paper, where the gearbox started from a brand-new state, and ran until gear tooth failure. The results show that the developed prognostic system is able to detect early gear faults, track gear performance degradation, and predict gear RUL.

Association of hand grip strength with subjective health and work ability. results of the baseline survey of the lidA study

In the BMBF-funded lidA study - leben in der Arbeit - hand grip strength is taken as an objective measure for describing the health of the study population. The aim is to analyse the association of grip strength with characteristics of subjective health and work ability. During the 1(st) investigation in 2011 there were 6 585 interviews with employed persons born in 1959 and 1965 and subject to social insurance contributions. The survey included aspects of employment and health. The maximum isometric hand grip strength was determined with a dynamometer from a series of 4 measurements. The examination refers to 6 195 employed persons who approved the realisation of the grip strength test. The determinants of grip strength are analysed bivariately based on non-parametric methods and examined concerning their relative importance using a multiple linear regression. In the descriptive analyses statistically significant median differences (p<0.05) appear between men and women as well as persons of the younger and older cohort. After excluding implausible values some statistically significant differences in grip strength can be observed between the categories of current health condition, physical and mental work ability and the number of pain localisations. The trend for the larger grip strength occurrences can be noted in the categories of better health and work ability plus a smaller number of pain localisations. From the combined analysis of the explanatory variables of age, BMI, health and work ability within the estimated regression model results a corrected R² of 0.036 for men or, respectively, 0.05 for women. Between the categories of selected health and work ability related variables some statistically significant differences of grip strength (± 0.0-4.0 kg) were observed. However, the variability of grip strength cannot be explained sufficiently by the data used. Although the results obtained support the preliminary assumptions, the relevance of this matter could not be resolved adequately with the data under consideration. Given that analysing grip strength is important in the individual temporal process, the results will be extended by longitudinal analyses to facilitate the analysis of hand grip strength as predictor of the development of individual health.

Support vector machine based estimation of remaining useful life: current research status and future trends

Estimation of remaining useful life (RUL) is helpful to manage life cycles of machines and to reduce maintenance cost. Support vector machine (SVM) is a promising algorithm for estimation of RUL because it can easily process small training sets and multi-dimensional data. Many SVM based methods have been proposed to predict RUL of some key components. We did a literature review related to SVM based RUL estimation within a decade. The references reviewed are classified into two categories: improved SVM algorithms and their applications to RUL estimation. The latter category can be further divided into two types: one, to predict the condition state in the future and then build a relationship between state and RUL; two, to establish a direct relationship between current state and RUL. How- ever, SVM is seldom used to track the degradation process and build an accurate relationship between the current health condition state and RUL. Based on the above review and summary, this paper points out that the ability to continually improve SVM, and obtain a novel idea for RUL prediction using SVM will be future works.

Feasibility Study Innovative "Sand Softball" Campaign Carried out in the Community

Baseball and Softball sport known as "the combination of athletics and wisdom," the development of the overall quality of the body, cultivate unity and sense of cooperation has a positive effect. In this study, the traditional sports game "beanbag" and the combination of modern baseball and softball, tentative development suited to the characteristics of the new forms of community baseball and softball - "sand softball." Articles, literature, experiments, interviews and other research methods, and in accordance with the current health condition of the community and "sand softball" of their own advantages, the feasibility of "sand softball movement" in our community sample experiments were carried out and analysis. That "sand softball" high feasibility in communities, not only to enrich the content of fitness activities, fun exercise to improve fitness and overall development of the community's awareness of people's physical fitness, develop unity and cooperation has great significance.

A Framework for Model-Based Diagnostics and Prognostics of Switched-Mode Power Supplies

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; With electrical power supplies playing an important role in the operation of aircraft systems and sub-systems, flight and ground crews need health state awareness and prediction tools that accurately diagnose faults, predict failures, and project remaining life of these onboard power supplies. Among onboard power supplies, switch-mode power supplies are commonly used where their weight, size, and efficiency make them preferable to conventional transformer-based power supplies. In this paper, we present a framework of diagnostics and prognostics methodology based on an equivalent circuit system simulation model developed from a commercially available switch-mode power supply, and empirical component degradation models. In industrial applications, case-specified modifications can be made according to specific experimental or service conditions of different commercial products. First, the developed simulation model is validated through experimental testing. Then, a series of data are collected from simulation to build the baseline and fault databases under a fixed load profile. Next, promising features are extracted from sensed parameters, and further data analysis are conducted to estimate the current health condition and to predict the remaining useful life of the target system. Some highlights of the work are included but not only limited to the following aspects: first, the methodology is based on electronic system simulation instead of traditional accelerated testing by employing a high-fidelity system simulation model and empirical critical component degradation models; second, efforts are made in this preliminary work to adapt proven prognostics and health management techniques from machinery to electronic health management, with the goal of expanding the realm of electronic diagnostics and prognostics.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

Metabolic control and therapeutic profile of patients with diabetes in Portuguese primary care (TEDDI CP)

AimTo evaluate the metabolic control rate and to characterize the therapeutic profile of patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) from Portuguese primary care of National Health Service. MethodsCross-sectional multicentre study conducted in Portuguese primary health care units between July 2011 and May 2012. A national representative sample of 1528 DM2 patients was selected from 51 units, stratified by region. Socio-demographic, anthropometric, lifestyle, cardiometabolic risk factors, disease status, HbA1c levels and therapeutic information were collected. ResultsPatients’ mean age was 65±10.7 years (50.4% males) and median duration of disease was 7 years: range (0–45 years). Almost 8% were smokers, 80.3% had hypertension, 61.6% hypercholesterolemia and almost 15% cardiovascular disease. Patients’ health condition was classified with a score of 4 or 5 (excellent) for 60.6%. Median HbA1c was 6.6% (min–max: 4.2%–13.4%), 64.8% of the patients had HbA1c<7.0% and 49.2% HbA1c≤6.5%. Oral antidiabetics were used in 94.4% of the patients, antihypertensives in 80.6%, antidyslipidemics in 72.0%, antiplatelet agents in 50.6% and insulin in 8.3%. ConclusionsMetabolic control rate was good according to current guidelines. However, patients with higher HbA1c levels had longer time since diagnosis, worse current health condition, hypertriglyceridemia and were insulin-treated.

Utilizing Conjoint Analysis to Explicate Nurse–Patient Interaction Among Geriatric Incarcerated Individuals

There has been no attempt to explicate elderly patients’ preferences during nurse-patient interaction in the context of a prison setting. A purposive sample of 347 was chosen from a national Philippine prison based on the following inclusion criteria: (a) 55 years old and above, (b) incarcerated, (c) no psychological impairment, and (d) can amply read and write. Via conjoint analysis (CA), 36 from 81 nurse–patient interaction cards were produced according to orthogonal plans, as specified by SPSS. The conjoint analysis model proved to be fit: Pearson R = .993, (p < .05) Kendall's tau = .944 (p < .05), Kendall's tau for holdouts = .799 (p < .05). The use of CA showed the top 3 attributes: language (21.26%), smile (18.49%), and eye contact (14.19%). Overall, the following levels are highly preferred by respondents: “vernacular” language (utility = 1.377, SE = .21.26), “with” smile (utility = 1.198, SE = .082), and “constant” eye-contact/gaze (utility = .919, SE = .082). Significant differences in nurse–patient interaction were noted in age brackets, current health condition, and years of incarceration, except in educational attainment. Overall, geriatric incarcerated individuals preferred nurses who verbally utilize close-ended, nonfrequent, and without follow-up questions, speak vernacular in a low and constant intonation, give encouragement, and praise. When touch is needed, the respondents preferred same gender nurses. Respondents find it more comfortable when nurses utilize ‘friendly’ space during the interaction, smile, and maintain constant eye contact. To achieve more consistent care, nursing actions must be in accordance with these preferences.

To what extent does air pollution affect happiness? The case of the Jinchuan mining area, China

This paper presents a structural equation model of happiness, as influenced by inter alia perceived risk due to (i) intensity of exposure to polluted air, and (ii) hazard of pollutants. In addition, objective risk measured as proximity to the pollution source, is considered. The main finding is that both types of perceived risk negatively and significantly influence people's happiness, although in absolute terms, the total perceived risk effect is less than the (positive) effect of ability, measured by income and education. Other important determinants of happiness are family size, age, proximity to the pollution source, work environment and current health condition. Perceived risk due to intensity of exposure is influenced by environmental knowledge and proximity to the pollution source; perceived risk of hazard by ability, environmental knowledge, family size, family health experience and proximity to the pollution source. Environmental knowledge is found to be a function of age, ability and work environment. On the basis of the findings, we conclude that reducing air pollution is an important policy measure to ameliorate happiness. As environmental knowledge is an important determinant of perceived risk, reduction policies should be accompanied by disclosure of the state of air quality.

헬스 케어를 위한 RDMS 설계

본 논문에서는 헬스 케어 시스템에서 효율적으로 질병을 관리할 수 있는 RDMS(Rough Set Theory based Disease Monitoring System)을 제안한다. RDMS는 DCM(Data Collection Module), RDRGM(RST based Disease Rule Generation Module), HMM(Healthcare Monitoring Module)로 구성된다. DCM은 바이오센서로부터 환자의 생체 정보를 수집하고, 데이터 처리 절차에 따라 RDMS DB에 저장한다. RDRGM은 RST의 코어와 속성의 지지율을 이용하여 질병 규칙을 생성한다. HMM은 DCM에 의해 수집된 환자 정보를 이용하여 환자의 질병에 대한 위험지수뿐만 아니라 질병에 대한 합병증에 관한 위험지수까지 분석함으로써 환자의 질병을 예측하고, 환자의 위험지수에 따라 환자, 주치의 등에 시각화된 환자의 정보를 전달한다. 또한, RDRGM에 의해 생성된 규칙들에 따라 환자의 의료정보, 현재의 환자건강상태, 환자 가족력 등을 비교분석하여 환자의 질병을 예측하고, 예측결과에 따라 환자 맞춤형 의료 서비스와 의료 정보를 신속하고 신뢰성 있게 제공할 수 있다. This paper proposes the RDMS(Rough Set Theory based Disease Monitoring System) which efficiently manages diseases in Healthcare System. The RDMS is made up of DCM(Data Collection Module), RDRGM(RST based Disease Rules Generation Module), and HMM(Healthcare Monitoring Module). The DCM collects bio-metric informations from bio sensor of patient and stores it in RDMS DB according to the processing procedure of data. The RDRGM generates disease rules using the core of RST and the support of attributes. The HMM predicts a patient's disease by analyzing not only the risk quotient but also that of complications on the patient's disease by using the collected patient's information by DCM and transfers a visualized patient's information to a patient, a family doctor, etc according to a patient's risk quotient. Also the HMM predicts the patient's disease by comparing and analyzing a patient's medical information, a current patient's health condition, and a patient's family history according to the rules generated by RDRGM and can provide the Patient-Customized Medical Service and the medical information with the prediction result rapidly and reliably.

It is all in the face: carotenoid skin coloration loses attractiveness outside the face

Recently, the importance of skin colour for facial attractiveness has been recognized. In particular, dietary carotenoid-induced skin colour has been proposed as a signal of health and therefore attractiveness. While perceptual results are highly consistent, it is currently not clear whether carotenoid skin colour is preferred because it poses a cue to current health condition in humans or whether it is simply seen as a more aesthetically pleasing colour, independently of skin-specific signalling properties. Here, we tested this question by comparing attractiveness ratings of faces to corresponding ratings of meaningless scrambled face images matching the colours and contrasts found in the face. We produced sets of face and non-face stimuli with either healthy (high-carotenoid coloration) or unhealthy (low-carotenoid coloration) colour and asked participants for attractiveness ratings. Results showed that, while for faces increased carotenoid coloration significantly improved attractiveness, there was no equivalent effect on perception of scrambled images. These findings are consistent with a specific signalling system of current condition through skin coloration in humans and indicate that preferences are not caused by sensory biases in observers.

Epidemiology of hoarding disorder

Hoarding disorder is typified by persistent difficulties discarding possessions, resulting in significant clutter that obstructs the individual's living environment and produces considerable functional impairment. The prevalence of hoarding disorder, as defined in DSM-5, is currently unknown. To provide a prevalence estimate specific to DSM-5 hoarding disorder and to delineate the demographic, behavioural and health features that characterise individuals with the disorder. We conducted a two-wave epidemiological study of 1698 adult individuals, originally recruited via the South East London Community Health (SELCoH) study. Participants screening positively for hoarding difficulties in wave 1, and who agreed to be re-contacted for wave 2 (n = 99), underwent in-home psychiatric interviews and completed a battery of self-report questionnaires. Current DSM-5 diagnoses were made via consensus diagnostic procedure. In total, 19 individuals met DSM-5 criteria for hoarding disorder at the time of interview, corresponding to a weighted prevalence of 1.5% (95% CI 0.7-2.2). Those with hoarding disorder were older and more often unmarried (67%). Members of this group were also more likely to be impaired by a current physical health condition (52.6%) or comorbid mental disorder (58%), and to claim benefits as a result of these issues (47.4%). Individuals with hoarding disorder were also more likely to report lifetime use of mental health services, although access in the past year was less frequent. With a lower-bound prevalence of approximately 1.5%, hoarding disorder presents as a condition that affects people of both genders and is associated with substantial adversity.

Associations between Birth Health, Maternal Employment, and Child Care Arrangement among a Community Sample of Mothers with Young Children

Although a large body of literature exists on how different types of child care arrangements affect a child's subsequent health and sociocognitive development, little is known about the relationship between birth health and subsequent decisions regarding type of nonparental child care as well as how this relationship might be influenced by maternal employment. This study used data from the Los Angeles Families and Neighborhoods Survey (L.A.FANS). Mothers of 864 children (ages 0–5) provided information regarding birth weight, maternal evaluation of a child's birth health, child's current health, maternal employment, type of child care arrangement chosen, and a variety of socioeconomic variables. Child care options included parental care, relative care, nonrelative care, and daycare center. Multivariate analyses found that birth weight and subjective rating of birth health had similar effects on child care arrangement. After controlling for a child's age and current health condition, multinomial logit analyses found that mothers with children with poorer birth health are more likely to use nonrelative and daycare centers than parental care when compared to mothers with children with better birth health. The magnitude of these relationships diminished when adjusting for maternal employment. Working mothers were significantly more likely to use nonparental child care than nonemployed mothers. Results suggest that a child's health early in life is significantly but indirectly related to subsequent decisions regarding child care arrangements, and this association is influenced by maternal employment. Development of social policy aimed at improving child care service should take maternal and family backgrounds into consideration.

The first contacts between healthcare providers and newly-arrived asylum seekers: a qualitative study about which issues need to be addressed

ObjectivesAsylum seekers have been recognized as having unique and complex health needs which require attention upon arrival in the host country. Not much is known about what issues to address in first contacts with asylum seekers. The purpose of this study is to give insight in the specific issues that healthcare providers need to address in the first contacts with newly arrived asylum seekers. Study designA qualitative study using different types of data in 2007 and 2008. MethodsQuestionnaires (n = 89) were used as input for seven group interviews with Dutch care providers (n = 46) working with asylum seekers in the Netherlands, were qualitatively analysed, using a framework method. ResultsHealthcare providers identified four issues they aimed to address in first contacts with asylum seekers: (1) assessing the current health condition; (2) health risk assessment; (3) providing information about the healthcare system of the host country; and (4) health education. ConclusionThe first contacts between healthcare providers and asylum seekers serve different goals, especially assessing health problems and risks, and providing health information. These issues may, however, be addressed differently by different healthcare providers, across different host countries, dependent on the way healthcare and medical insurance for asylum seekers are organized.