Health Domains Research Articles

Pathogen genomics and One Health: A scoping review of current practices in zoonotic disease research

ObjectivesWhole-genome sequencing has revolutionized the field of infectious disease surveillance, enabling near real-time detection of pathogens and tracking how infections may spread. Our study aimed to characterize genomic applications to cross-domain zoonotic pathogen transmission at the human-animal and/or human-environment interfaces. MethodsWe performed a scoping review of studies that have applied genomic epidemiology to zoonotic disease transmission across One Health domains (human, animal, and environment). We identified 114 records published between 2005 and 2022 which reported multi-domain genomic data of zoonotic pathogens integrated into phylogenetic models. ResultsMost studies investigated bacterial pathogens, highlighting key knowledge gaps for other zoonotic agents, particularly arboviruses. Sampling and sequencing efforts varied greatly across domains: the median number and range of pathogen genomes analyzed were highest for humans (23; 1–29,586) and lowest for the environment domain (13; 1–956). Genomics was used to track zoonotic disease outbreaks and cross-domain transmission, to improve pathogen surveillance, and to disentangle evolutionary dynamics driving lineage diversification and virulence. ConclusionsOur study highlights current practices and knowledge gaps to guide future study designs and genomic applications to multi-domain and cross-species transmission of zoonoses, with the potential to identify key infection sources and inform interventions for local and global health security.

The impact of comorbidities on the physical and psychological dimension in heart failure patients

Assessing patients' quality of life is frequently used in medical research. Patients di-agnosed with heart failure (HF) have reduced exercise tolerance and reduced quality of life due to reduced heart pump function. The objectives of the study are (i) to assess quality of life and comorbidities in HF patients; (ii) to compare quality of life in the physical and psychological do-mains according to drug treatment followed and (iii) to identify predictors of the two domains as-sessed. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted between February 2023 and May 2024. A total of 169 patients with HF were included and were distributed into two groups: the HF -S/V group (N=64) who received treatment with sacubitril/valsartan and the HF -CT group (N=105) received treatment with conventional therapy. Two questionnaires were used to assess patients: the World Health Organization's Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). Results: The values determined for physical and psy-chological health were significantly lower for Group HF - S/V (51.391 ± 22.232 vs. 61.79 ± 20.04, p=0.002, respectively 59.203 ± 16.871 vs. 64.933 ± 17.448, p=0.038). Approximately 25% of all re-cruited patients distributed in the 2nd CCI category (CCI score 3-4) have an overall poor and moderately poor perception of quality of life vs. 35.5% of patients distributed in the 3rd CCI cate-gory (CCI ≤ 5); 55% of them belong to the HF - S/V group. A good perception of health status is held by 29 (17.16% of the HF group) of the patients distributed in the 2nd CCI category and 28 (16.56%) have a low and moderate perception. Conclusions: The values for the Physical health domain are moderately low, while the values obtained for the psychological domain show that this domain is less affected. Predictors identified for physical health and psychological well-being are patient age, weight, CCI. Keywords: heart failure; comorbidities; quality of life; physical dimension; psychological dimension

The role of community mobilization in people’s healthcare-seeking behavior during the COVID-19 vaccination journey: select case studies from Madhya Pradesh

The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of community mobilization initiatives on citizens’ health-seeking behavior through the lens of COVID-19 vaccination in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. This study follows a case study approach to understand community mobilization initiatives that led to increased COVID-19 vaccination uptake. The study delineates the process to increase community mobilization to improve the uptake of COVID-19 vaccination. It highlights the key components of community mobilization that were adopted: the involvement of local leadership (at district, block, and village level), support of vaccination/mobilizer team, the role of in-person communication, involvement of influential community heads and social workers, localized strategies and IEC materials, and support from the state administration. Additionally, the key communication themes that played a crucial role in increasing COVID-19 vaccination coverage are identified. The findings of this study will help the policymakers and practitioners in the domains of Health and Medical Humanities, Health Policy and Services, and Social Sciences to clarify the roles of community mobilization activities and initiatives in increasing vaccination coverage. Furthermore, the study provides evidence for the adaptation, integration, and enhancement of these activities based on the four case studies discussed.

Exploring the Connection Between Mental Health and Well-Being for Faculty in Hospitality and Tourism Education: A Thematic Analysis

ABSTRACT There is limited research addressing mental health issues among academic faculty. Considering the profound impact that mental health has on individual well-being, it is important to understand the factors contributing to mental distress and develop appropriate coping mechanisms, accounting for the unique setting of academia. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to critically evaluate the existing literature on mental health and mindfulness practices and their impact on well-being domains for faculty in hospitality and tourism. The paper employs a recursive thematic analysis to identify major topics in the literature and suggest future research directions and policy implications for higher education institutions. The study’s findings help to raise awareness of this critical issue in academia and establish a conceptual framework to evaluate the connection between mental health and well-being domains for faculty members and offer feasible tools to enhance faculty’s mental health and well-being.

Quality of life of patients one month after open heart surgery according to the sf-36 health scale

ABSTRACT Introduction: Quality of life after open heart surgery shows the level of impact on the patients; moreover, it also reflects physical, functional, and psychosocial decline caused by diseases of the entity. This study evaluates the characteristics of quality of life of patients one month after open heart surgery according to the SF-36 health scale at Hue Central Hospital. Methods: This was a cross - sectional descriptive study of 217 patients who underwent open heart surgery at the Cardiovascular Center, Hue Central Hospital, from August 1, 2022, to April 30, 2023. Results: The mean general quality of life score was 64.21 ± 15.71, and the mean physical and mental component summary scores were 69.44 ± 16.08 and 58.98 ± 15.74, respectively. The average of eight health domains scores was physical functioning (84.42 ± 12.21); role physical (86.17 ± 22.41); bodily pain (46.77 ± 20.47); general health (60.38 ± 14.17); vitality (62.05 ± 27.01); role emotional (58.54 ± 11.27); mental health (64.22 ± 12.74); social functioning (51.09 ± 14.51). The mean anxiety disorder and perceived level of social support scores were 9.28 and 65.14, respectively. Conclusion: The quality of life of patients after open heart surgery is quite good, anxiety disorders and perceived levels of social support are high.

Developing a Chatbot to Support Individuals With Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Tutorial.

Families of individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities or differences (NDDs) often struggle to find reliable health information on the web. NDDs encompass various conditions affecting up to 14% of children in high-income countries, and most individuals present with complex phenotypes and related conditions. It is challenging for their families to develop literacy solely by searching information on the internet. While in-person coaching can enhance care, it is only available to a minority of those with NDDs. Chatbots, or computer programs that simulate conversation, have emerged in the commercial sector as useful tools for answering questions, but their use in health care remains limited. To address this challenge, the researchers developed a chatbot named CAMI (Coaching Assistant for Medical/Health Information) that can provide information about trusted resources covering core knowledge and services relevant to families of individuals with NDDs. The chatbot was developed, in collaboration with individuals with lived experience, to provide information about trusted resources covering core knowledge and services that may be of interest. The developers used the Django framework (Django Software Foundation) for the development and used a knowledge graph to depict the key entities in NDDs and their relationships to allow the chatbot to suggest web resources that may be related to the user queries. To identify NDD domain-specific entities from user input, a combination of standard sources (the Unified Medical Language System) and other entities were used which were identified by health professionals as well as collaborators. Although most entities were identified in the text, some were not captured in the system and therefore went undetected. Nonetheless, the chatbot was able to provide resources addressing most user queries related to NDDs. The researchers found that enriching the vocabulary with synonyms and lay language terms for specific subdomains enhanced entity detection. By using a data set of numerous individuals with NDDs, the researchers developed a knowledge graph that established meaningful connections between entities, allowing the chatbot to present related symptoms, diagnoses, and resources. To the researchers' knowledge, CAMI is the first chatbot to provide resources related to NDDs. Our work highlighted the importance of engaging end users to supplement standard generic ontologies to named entities for language recognition. It also demonstrates that complex medical and health-related information can be integrated using knowledge graphs and leveraging existing large datasets. This has multiple implications: generalizability to other health domains as well as reducing the need for experts and optimizing their input while keeping health care professionals in the loop. The researchers' work also shows how health and computer science domains need to collaborate to achieve the granularity needed to make chatbots truly useful and impactful.

Gender differences in the association between transitions in depressive symptoms and oral health among older adults with chronic conditions

BackgroundOral health influences the quality of life of older adults. Further, depression is negatively associated with oral health. However, little is known about this relationship among older adults with chronic health conditions. Additionally, since oral health and depression differ between genders, this study aimed to investigate the effect of transitions in depressive symptoms on oral health among older adults with chronic health conditions by gender. MethodsWe used data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (2020−2022). The study sample comprised 2836 older adults (1104 men; 1732 women). We adopted multiple linear regression to examine the association between depressive symptom transitions and oral health by gender. ResultsThe new onset depression symptoms were significantly associated with the deterioration of oral health in men (β = −5.4308) and women (β = −4.8328). Our study showed a gender-specific association between new onset depressive symptoms and particular domains of oral health. For men, the association was slightly more negative in psychosocial function (β = −2.1177) while women presented lower GOHAI scores in both the physical function domain (β = −1.8800) and the psychosocial function domain (β = −1.8801). LimitationsThe data used in this study were self-reported via a survey; thus, self-report bias may be a relevant concern. ConclusionTo prevent deterioration in oral health, depressive symptoms must be detected and addressed early among older adults with chronic conditions. This study underscores the importance of interventions that consider gender differences in the association between depressive symptoms and psychosocial and physical functioning.

Hypophosphatemia attenuates improvements in vitality after intravenous iron treatment in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

PurposeIron deficiency anemia is common in people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), causing deterioration in quality of life, which can be reversed by treatment that increases iron stores and hemoglobin levels. The present post hoc analyses estimate health state utility values for patients with IBD after treatment with ferric derisomaltose or ferric carboxymaltose and evaluate the health domains driving the changes.MethodsSF-36v2 responses were recorded at baseline and day 14, 35, 49, and 70 from 97 patients enrolled in the randomized, double-blind, PHOSPHARE-IBD trial (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03466983), in which patients with IBD across five European countries were randomly allocated to either ferric derisomaltose or ferric carboxymaltose. Changes in SF-36v2 scale scores and SF-6Dv2 health utility values were analyzed by mixed models.ResultsIn both treatment arms, SF-6Dv2 utility values and all SF-36v2 scale scores, except Bodily Pain, improved significantly (p = < 0.0001). The improvement in SF-6Dv2 utility values showed no significant treatment group difference. The improvement in utility values was completely explained by improvement in Vitality scores. Vitality scores showed significantly larger improvement with ferric derisomaltose versus ferric carboxymaltose (p = 0.026). Patients with the smallest decrease in phosphate had significantly larger improvements in Vitality scores at each time point (p = < 0.05 for all comparisons) and overall (p = 0.0006).ConclusionsUtility values improved significantly with intravenous iron treatment. Improvement in utility values was primarily driven by Vitality scores, which showed significantly greater improvement in the ferric derisomaltose arm. Smaller decreases in phosphate were associated with significantly higher Vitality scores, suggesting that quality of life improvement is attenuated by hypophosphatemia. The utility values can inform future cost-utility analysis.

Person-reported outcomes in registered randomised diabetes trials: A mapping review of constructs.

Recently, efforts have been made to use and report person-reported outcomes (PROs) in randomised clinical trials (RCTs). Here, we aim to (1) assess the status of inclusion of PROs in registered RCTs over 5 years in people with type 1 or 2 diabetes, and (2) map the PRO measures (PROMs) onto predefined domains. The largest trial registries (Clinicatrials.gov, International Clinical Trial Platform and ISRCTN) were systematically searched for RCTs in people with type 1 and/or type 2 diabetes of all ages between 2018 and 2023. Coding of PROs comprised: (1) PRO measure(s) included yes or no; if yes: (2) PRO(s) as primary outcome yes or no; and (3) mapping PROMs onto predefined PRO domains and per type of intervention. N = 1543 trials met our inclusion criteria, of which n = 673 (44%) included PROs, assessed by 545 different measures. Twenty per cent of drug trials (n = 112) and 71% of behavioural interventions (n = 405) included PROs. In 149 trials (9.6%), a PRO was the primary outcome. The psychological functioning domain was most often assessed across all trials (21.6%), specifically in behavioural (44.8%) and medical device interventions (29.7%). In drug trials, the physical functioning and functional health domain was most included (9%). Across all trials, the social and family functioning domain was least assessed (3%). We noticed an increase in the inclusion of PROs in diabetes RCTs. However, PROs are rarely included as primary outcomes in the majority of studies, particularly in drug trials. The heterogeneity of PROMs used in RCTs underscores the need for standardisation of PROs.

Patch-and-amplify Capsule Network for the recognition of gastrointestinal diseases

Deep learning (DL) algorithms require massive amounts of data in diverse variations to attain close to human recognition accuracy. This enables them to perform well on unseen in-distribution viewpoints. However, critical areas such as health face a challenge in generating large data. This is mainly attributed to regulatory policies surrounding the collection of such data. Hence, the domain of health is known to have smaller datasets. This limitation, therefore, requires algorithms that can derive maximum benefit from the small-size dataset. An example of such an algorithm is Capsule Network (CapsNet). Though Capsule Networks perform well on smaller datasets, they attain low performance on datasets consisting of complex real-life images. This challenge is attributed to their weak encoders. This paper, therefore, proposes a feature enhancement technique termed patch-and-amplify to improve the feature extraction task and enhance extracted features in the encoder layer. A model-specific squash function is proposed to enhance the coupling of capsules between the higher and lower capsule layers and reduce the impact of polarization. To evaluate the network's robustness and generalizability, the proposed model was evaluated on CIFAR-10, Fashion-MNIST, and Kvasir-V2 datasets achieving recognition accuracies of 85.50 %, 98.40 %, and 93.40 %. Extensive visualizations were explored to assist in understanding the predictions and internal structure of the network. The proposed model performs well compared with the state-of-the-art in the literature and can serve as a helpful tool in assisting medical practitioners in diagnosing gastrointestinal diseases.

Burden of Disease Associated with Refractory and Unexplained Chronic Cough in Canada: Results from a National Survey.

Chronic cough (persisting for ≥ 8weeks) is a common disorder that includes refractory chronic cough (RCC; cough that persists despite treatment of underlying disease) and unexplained chronic cough (UCC; cough with no identifiable cause). We evaluated self-reported health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) and work/activity impairment associated with RCC/UCC in Canada. Our exploratory study included Canadians in the Leger Opinion Panel with RCC or UCC. Key entry criteria were ≥ 18years of age, cough for ≥ 8weeks, not currently smoking/quit ≥ 1year ago, no serious respiratory disease or lung cancer, and not taking angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. Respondents completed a 30-min online survey with general and cough-specific HR-QoL questionnaires, including the EuroQol (EQ) visual analogue scale (VAS), EQ-5-dimension 5-level (EQ-5D-5L), cough severity VAS, Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ), and Work Productivity and Activity Impairment-Specific Health Problem (WPAI-SPH). Of 49,076 individuals who completed the chronic cough screening questionnaire (July 30-September 1, 2021), 1,620 (3.3%) met entry criteria for RCC/UCC and 1,046 (2.1%) completed the survey. The mean age of respondents was 45years and 61% were female. Respondents reported impairments in global HR-QoL (EQ-VAS 73.8, 61% with anxiety/depression on the EQ-5D-5L) and cough-specific HR-QoL (mean cough severity VAS score 29.7, LCQ index 15.2). Work and non-work activities were reduced by 34% and 30%, respectively, on the WPAI-SPH. RCC/UCC is prevalent in Canada and associated with impaired HR-QoL, particularly in mental health domains. Additional support and management options may be required to fully address this burden.

Interoceptive awareness in a clinical setting: the need to bring interoceptive perspectives into clinical evaluation.

Interoceptive awareness (IA) is crucial to understanding mental health. The Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) scale, available in approximately 30 languages, has gained global recognition for its research applicability. This review highlights the critical importance of integrating IA evaluation in clinical settings, advocating for the MAIA scale's potential as a screening tool. Through an examination of academic databases, including Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, and J-STOR, our analysis spans seven mental health domains: eating disorders (ED), depression, stress, anxiety, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), chronic pain, and suicide ideation (SI). Thirty-eight studies showed links between several dimensions of IA with different disorders. That is, ED was related to Body Trust and Self-Regulation; anxiety to Body Listening, Emotional Awareness, and Self-Regulation; depression to Noticing and Emotional Awareness; ASD to Trusting, Emotional Awareness, and Noticing; chronic pain to Not-Worrying and Self-Regulation; and SI with Trusting. These insights hold profound implications for both clinical practice and mental health research. Integrating IA assessments into standard clinical protocols has the potential to improve our understanding of pathology, enrich patient care, and enhance therapeutic strategies.

Comparison Between Disability, Physical Performance, and Other Biopsychosocial Factors in Full-Duty Career Firefighters Working With and Without Current Low Back Pain.

Low back pain (LBP) is highly prevalent and a top cause of disability-related early retirement in firefighters. Those with a lifetime history of LBP have various deficiencies that are associated with increased injury risk and absenteeism. However, the influence of working with current LBP on disability, physical performance, and other biopsychosocial factors has not been fully characterized in this population. The purpose of this study was to compare anthropometric measures, exercise habits, physical fitness/performance, disability/work ability, and other biopsychosocial factors of firefighters working with and without current LBP. A cross-sectional study was conducted using baseline assessments from 419 full-duty career firefighters without documented work restrictions (age: 37.6 ± 8.8 y; 5 F, 414 M) who were enrolled in a regional wellness initiative in Southern California, USA. Current LBP status was determined by a questionnaire and confirmed by an interview. Anthropometric measures, patient-reported outcomes, and physical fitness tests were used to assess body mass index; body fat %; waist circumference; strengthening, cardiovascular, and flexibility exercise frequency; back and core muscular endurance; functional movement quality, perceived back-related disability, lift and carry ability, and firefighter task ability; sleep quality; and perceptions of fear and fatigue and catastrophic injustice experience. Scores for participants with and without current LBP were compared using analysis of variance and chi-square analysis. The point prevalence of current LBP was 19.81% (83/419). For the entire cohort, those with current LBP had significantly worse scores than those without current LBP for all assessed variables, except core muscular endurance and functional movement quality. These trends held up when analyses were stratified by age and obesity categories, and approximately half of the comparisons retained statistical significance. A significantly greater percentage of participants with current LBP were working with some level of back-related disability and/or perceived physical demand characteristics of work level below the required very heavy job demands. Nearly one-fifth of full-duty career firefighters without documented work restrictions reported having current LBP, and these individuals had deficits in several modifiable biopsychosocial factors across five health domains. These findings can help guide future research and implementation efforts in the fire service designed to improve performance, resiliency, work readiness, recovery, and quality of life, as well as to reduce impairment, disability, and absenteeism and increase presenteeism.

Sedentary Behaviors, Light-Intensity Physical Activity, and Healthy Aging

Sleep duration and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) are associated with healthy aging, but the associations of sedentary behaviors and light-intensity physical activity (LPA) with healthy aging are still unclear. To examine the independent association of sedentary behaviors and LPA with healthy aging, and to estimate the theoretical association of replacing sedentary behavior with LPA, MVPA, or sleep with healthy aging. In this cohort study using data from the Nurses' Health Study, participants aged 50 years or older and free of major chronic diseases in 1992 were prospectively followed up for 20 years. Data were analyzed from January to May 2022. Three measures for sedentary behaviors (hours watching television, sitting at work, and other sitting at home) and 2 measures for LPA (hours of standing or walking around at home [LPA-Home] and at work [LPA-Work]). Healthy aging was defined as survival to at least age 70 years with maintenance of 4 health domains (ie, no major chronic diseases and no impairment in subjective memory, physical function, or mental health). The isotemporal substitution model was used to evaluate the potential impact on healthy aging of replacing 1 hour of 1 behavior with equivalent duration of another. Among 45 176 participants (mean [SD] age, 59.2 [6.0] years), 3873 (8.6%) women achieved healthy aging. After adjustment for covariates including MVPA, each increment of 2 hours per day in sitting watching television was associated with a 12% (95% CI, 7%-17%) reduction in the odds of healthy aging. In contrast, each increase of 2 hours per day in LPA-Work was associated with a 6% (95% CI, 3%-9%) increase in the odds of healthy aging. Replacing 1 hour of sitting watching television with LPA-Home (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.05-1.12), LPA-Work (OR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.07-1.14), or MVPA (OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.23-1.34) was associated with increased odds of healthy aging. Among participants who slept 7 hours per day or less, replacing television time with sleep was also associated with increased odds of healthy aging. In this cohort study, longer television watching time decreased odds of healthy aging, whereas LPA and MVPA increased odds of healthy aging and replacing sitting watching television with LPA or MVPA, or with sleep in those who slept 7 hours per day or less, was associated with increased odds of healthy aging, providing evidence for rearranging 24-hour behavior to promote overall health.

Health correlates of experiential and behavioral avoidance among trauma-exposed veterans

IntroductionAvoidance is a well-documented risk factor for poor mental and physical health outcomes. However, limited research has explored this relationship specifically among trauma-exposed veterans, a population known to be particularly prone to avoidance behavior. Conceptually, avoidance is often divided into two distinct but overlapping constructs – experiential avoidance (resisting distressing internal states) and behavioral avoidance (avoiding or changing experiences that elicit distress). In this exploratory survey study, we examined associations between behavioral and experiential avoidance and mental, physical, and cognitive functioning, as well as quality of life. MethodsVeterans with a trauma history (N = 89) completed a 121-item survey containing validated assessments to examine several mental and physical health and wellness-related variables. Correlations between experiential avoidance and outcome measures, and behavioral avoidance and outcome measures, were explored. Multivariable linear regression analyses were conducted to explore the association between experiential and behavioral avoidance on mental health outcomes. In addition, we conducted exploratory analyses in which we investigated these correlations in those who screened positive for PTSD versus those who did not, and between different types of behavioral avoidance and major outcomes. ResultsExperiential avoidance was moderately correlated with distress from depressive symptoms, distress related to past trauma, and health-related and cognitive dysfunction. Experiential Avoidance was weakly correlated with distress from anxiety symptoms and poorer quality of life. Behavioral avoidance was moderately correlated with distress from depressive and anxiety symptoms, distress related to past trauma, and cognitive dysfunction, and was weakly correlated with health-related dysfunction and poorer quality of life. Results from multivariable analyses revealed that experiential avoidance was associated with greater distress related to depressive symptoms and past trauma, and behavioral avoidance was associated with greater distress related to anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and past trauma. ConclusionsResults suggest that avoidance negatively influences major domains of mental and physical health as well as functioning and health-related quality of life in trauma-exposed veterans. They further indicate that behavioral and experiential avoidance may be differentially linked to mental health outcomes. The results support the idea that avoidance may be an important marker for psychosocial functioning and may serve as a treatment target in trauma-exposed veterans.

The Influence of Maternal Factors on the Incidence of Stunting in Toddlers: A Narrative Review

Stunting, a severe challenge in the global public health domain, significantly impacts efforts to improve children's quality of life worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines stunting as a growth disorder in children's height, based on the height-for-age index with a Z-score of less than -2 standard deviation. This study aims to determine the influence of maternal factors on the incidence of stunting in toddlers. It is a narrative literature review. We studied national and international articles published in ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and PubMed databases within the past ten years (2014 -2024). The keywords used to search for these articles were stunting and maternal factors. Based on the literature review, eight maternal factors contributed to the incidence of stunting in toddlers: maternal education, maternal knowledge, parenting style, maternal nutritional status, anemia during pregnancy, maternal height, maternal age, and birth spacing. There is evidence that improving these factors is essential for preventing stunting. Keywords: Stunting; Maternal Factors; Toddlers

Evaluation of The Implementation of The Laboratory Information System Using the Hot Fit Method in Maxima Clinical Laboratory

Evaluation of information systems in the health domain goes beyond exclusively technological considerations but also includes evaluation of human and organizational dimensions. The information system evaluation model frequently health used is called HOT-Fit (Human Organization Technology-Fit). This model considers the complex interactions between human, organizational, and technological elements in the context of health information systems. This research aims to analyze the implementation of the Laboratory Information System using the HOT Fit method at the Maxima Clinical Laboratory. The research method used is quantitative with a cross-sectional research design using a survey approach. Research subjects include laboratory managers, laboratory staff, information system users, and patients. Primary data was collected through questionnaires and interviews, while secondary data was obtained from related documents. The data analysis technique used is descriptive analysis and Partial Least Square ( PLS ). The research results show that there is a significant influence between system quality (p-value = 0.041), information quality (p-value = 0.003), service quality (p-value = 0.003), and user satisfaction (p-value = 0.041). Research findings can be used as evaluation and improvement material for laboratory managers to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of health services by optimizing the use of information systems.

Autonomous vs. controlling communications about the reduction of heating consumption at home: Spillover to energy-saving intentions and beyond from a self-determination perspective

In the face of looming energy supply threats, public policy aims to minimize household energy consumption. Self-determination theory recommends emphasizing arguments that promote basic needs as opposed to control. Behaviors of others (i.e., descriptive norm) and autonomy support can motivate people to reduce their energy consumption. A French national sample (N = 853) was exposed to a communication combining autonomy support and descriptive norm arguments. Participants had a greater intention to reduce home heating consumption, which was the targeted behavior. However, there was also an intention to implement other energy-saving behaviors, which were non-targeted behaviors. Autonomous motivation to adopt energy-saving behaviors mediated this positive spillover effect. Adherence to a governmental plan promoting energy saving (i.e., spillover on policy support) also increased. Controlling communication based on threatening power cuts yielded no effect. No evidence of spillover was found between the energy and health domains, even both of which were supported by governmental policy. An exploratory analysis has shown that trust in government moderates the impact of communications. Communications that support the basic needs of self-determination encourage energy-saving behaviors and compliance with policy measures within the same domain. These findings have implications for practitioners and public policies that aim to implement and tailor communication interventions with broader impacts within the same domain.

Unlocking the nutritional potential of chickpea: strategies for biofortification and enhanced multinutrient quality.

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a vital grain legume, offering an excellent balance of protein, carbohydrates, fats, fiber, essential micronutrients, and vitamins that can contribute to addressing the global population's increasing food and nutritional demands. Chickpea protein offers a balanced source of amino acids with high bioavailability. Moreover, due to its balanced nutrients and affordable price, chickpea is an excellent alternative to animal protein, offering a formidable tool for combating hidden hunger and malnutrition, particularly prevalent in low-income countries. This review examines chickpea's nutritional profile, encompassing protein, amino acids, carbohydrates, fatty acids, micronutrients, vitamins, antioxidant properties, and bioactive compounds of significance in health and pharmaceutical domains. Emphasis is placed on incorporating chickpeas into diets for their myriad health benefits and nutritional richness, aimed at enhancing human protein and micronutrient nutrition. We discuss advances in plant breeding and genomics that have facilitated the discovery of diverse genotypes and key genomic variants/regions/quantitative trait loci contributing to enhanced macro- and micronutrient contents and other quality parameters. Furthermore, we explore the potential of innovative breeding tools such as CRISPR/Cas9 in enhancing chickpea's nutritional profile. Envisioning chickpea as a nutritionally smart crop, we endeavor to safeguard food security, combat hunger and malnutrition, and promote dietary diversity within sustainable agrifood systems.

Adolescents’ Perceptions About Healthy and Sustainable Diets: A Qualitative School-Based Study in Portugal

ABSTRACT In this qualitative study, we explored Portuguese adolescents’ perceptions of diet, sustainability, and health through six focus group discussions (FGDs). Fifty-five adolescents (10–18 years) participated. FGDs focused on sustainability in food choices and its health impact, with our primary interest in their perceptions. Results showed a limited comprehension of “sustainable/sustainability,” especially among younger participants. Those aware of sustainability recognized its diverse aspects, including health, economic, and ecological domains. Some adolescents recognized the link between health and sustainability in their diets, emphasizing the need for food literacy. These findings emphasize the importance of public health and sustainable policies among Portuguese adolescents.