Status Of Health Professionals Research Articles

Factors associated with mental health service use during the pandemic: Initiation and barriers.

Scarce are the studies focusing on initiation of new mental health service use (MHSU) and distinguishing individuals who have sought services but have been unsuccessful in accessing these. Assessing the factors associated with initiating new MHSU as compared to no MHSU due to self-reported no need, no MHSU due to health system and personal barriers and MHSU using resources already in place. The sample included participants (n = 16,435) in the five established regional cohorts of the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow's Health (CanPath) who responded to the CanPath COVID-19 health surveys (May-December 2020 and January-June 2021). Multinomial regression analyses were carried out to study MHSU since the pandemic (March 2020) as a function of predisposing, enabling and need factors. Analyses were carried out in the overall sample and restricted to those with moderate and severe symptoms (MSS) of depression and/or anxiety (n = 2,237). In individuals with MSS of depression and/or anxiety, 14.4% reported initiating new MHSU, 22.0% had no MHSU due to barriers and personal reasons and 36.7% had no MHSU due to self-reported no need. Age, living alone, lower income, a decrease in income during the pandemic and health professional status were associated with MHSU. Younger adults were more likely to initiate MHSU during the pandemic than older adults who reported not being comfortable to seek mental health care or self-reported no need. Individuals living alone and with lower income were more likely to report not being able to find an appointment for mental health care. Awareness campaigns focusing on older adults that explain the importance of seeking treatment is needed, as well as sensitising health professionals as to the importance of informing and aiding individuals at risk of social isolation and lower socio-economic status as to available mental health resources and facilitating access to care.

"The understanding and attitude toward epilepsy in the Souss-Massa region of Morocco".

Sociocultural beliefs about epilepsy impede medical treatment and social acceptance of people with epilepsy. These barriers can lead to disability and contribute to the stigmatization of people with epilepsy. Assessing knowledge, myths, and attitude about epilepsy and associated factors among adults in Souss-Massa, Morocco. We conducted a cross-sectional study in which data were collected from a sample of 385 individuals in the Souss-Massa region of Southern Morocco. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire. The analysis of the collected questionnaires was processed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26. 385 responses were included in the analysis. The results reveal a lack of knowledge, an unfavorable attitude, and the persistence of myths and misunderstandings about epilepsy. The findings of this study suggest that good knowledge was significantly associated with sociodemographic factors: the age range of more than 54 years and health professional status. In addition, the favorable attitude toward epilepsy correlates with the sociodemographic factors: male gender and urban residential area. The main finding of this study indicates insufficient knowledge, the persistence of myth, and an unfavorable attitude about epilepsy. Therefore, the application of public awareness programs about epilepsy in urban and rural areas is necessary.

What Are the Predictors of Self-Assessed Health in Lithuanian Health Professionals?

Scientific evidence indicates that patient safety and access to health care is linked to the well-being of health professionals. The self-assessed health status has been widely used as a health measure in different surveys. The aim of this study was to examine and determine the factors related to the self-assessed health status of health professionals. The cross-sectional questionnaire surveys of nurses and physicians were carried out in randomly selected hospitals. A total of 1025 health professionals (739 nurses and 286 physicians) from 3 hospitals of different size located in 1 geographical region of Lithuania participated in the survey. The response rate among the nurses and the physicians was 89.2% and 52.5%, respectively. The overall response rate was 74.7%. The data on self-assessed health, demographic factors, anthropometric data, blood pressure, cholesterol level in blood, personal history of diseases, smoking, and alcohol consumption were gathered with the help of the questionnaire. About two-thirds (64.1%) of the health professionals reported good or quite good health, and only 1.5% of the respondents reported quite poor or poor health. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the SAH status of health professionals was dependent on age (odds ratio [OR], 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-1.05 [Model 1]; OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.02-1.06 [Model 2]), diseases (OR, 7.32; 95%, 5.18-10.35), heart diseases (OR, 12.09; 95% CI, 2.9-50.35), hypertension (OR, 2.53; 95% CI, 1.55-4.14), cancer (OR, 6.19; 95% CI, 1.27-30.13), gastrointestinal (OR, 3.54; 95% CI, 1.59-7.86) and musculoskeletal diseases (OR, 3.21; 95% CI, 1.71-6.02), smoking (OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.28-3.45 [Model 1]; OR, 2.00; 95% CI, 1.26-3.16 [Model 2]), and occupation (OR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.04-2.07 [ Model 1]; OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.11-2.16 [Model 2]). Diseases are the main predictors of self-assessed health in health professionals. Advancing age and smoking also contribute to poorer self-assessed health.

Managing Health(-Care Systems) Using Information Health Technologies

This study aims to compare and contrast how specific information health technologies (IHTs) have been debated, how they have proliferated, and what they have enabled in Germany’s and England’s healthcare systems. For this a discourse analysis was undertaken that specifically focussed on future-scenarios articulated in policy documents and strategy papers released by relevant actors from both healthcare systems. The study reveals that the way IHTs have been debated and how they have proliferated depends on country-specific regulatory structures, their respective values, actors’ and institutions’ organized interests, and the status of health professionals. These conditions have enabled IHTs to promote a new and similar concept of patienthood in both countries, although they tend to affect practitioners’ practices more dramatically in England. The conclusion is drawn that with the usage of IHTs, healthcare systems reproduced existing patterns of health provision while also enabling a sort of convergence. Future research should investigate whether the new concept of patienthood emerging in both welfare states actually suits patients and professionals needs and requirements.

Cognitive dissonance towards the smoking habit among nursing and physiotherapy students at the University of Balearic Islands in Spain

To estimate the prevalence of tobacco smoking among physiotherapy and nursing students at the University of the Balearic Islands in Spain and to describe their perceptions, attitude and behaviour towards smoking and towards the Spanish Smoking Prevention Act. Active smoking is the first avoidable cause of death in the world while passive smoking is the third. The tobacco epidemic kills 5.4 million people a year from lung cancer, heart disease and other related illnesses. In Europe, around one-third of the Community population are smokers, with about 650,000 smoking-related deaths per year in the Community. In Spain, 56,000 people a year are estimated to die from tobacco-related illnesses. An observational, cross-sectional, descriptive study, with a sample of 345 out of 645 students (53.5% participation rate) who completed an anonymous, self-administered, standardized survey devised by the World Health Organization. The study revealed a 26.1% prevalence of tobacco smoking (26.9% among women and 22.6% among men), which is similar to percentages of students at other Spanish universities. Smokers and non-smokers reported many differences in attitude and behaviour, some of which have potential repercussions in their career, such as in estimating the harmful effects of tobacco smoke or the status of health professionals as role models in the society they serve. The results of this study will contribute to develop an anti-smoking programme at the university and to establish smoking-prevention campaigns.

An investigation on current status of general practitioners-in-charge in three large cities of China

Objective To study current status of health professionals before and after promotion to general practitioners (GPs)-in-charge to provide evidence for related policy decision-making. Methods From November 2007 to March 2008, 524 general practitioners-in-charge who passed national qualification examinations of medium-level health professionals were interviewed with questionnaire, as well as by focus group discussion, in cities of Tianjin, Nanjing and Wuhan during 2001 to 2007. Results One hundred and thirty-three of 524 respondents (25.4%) registered at local health bureaux as GPs to practise medicine, and 52 left their original clinical positions and 21 of 52 moved to administration positions. Forty of them left primary-care hospitals, township hospitals, community health-care service centers or hospitals and clinics affiliated to enterprises, where they originally worked with. Eleven of them left state-owned institutions. Conclusion At present, the number of GPs registered for permit to practice medicine decreased and workforce of GPs drained out seriously appearing in unstable status. Key words: Questionnaires; Interviews; Data collection; General practitioner

Reproductive Risk Factors, Pregnancy Characteristics and Obstetric Outcome in Female Doctors

High rates of elective caesarean delivery for pregnant medical practitioners are reported in the United Kingdom and South Africa, apparently reflecting concern over the risk of perineal damage from vaginal delivery and its consequences. This retrospective study compared maternal risk factors, the course of pregnancy, and outcomes in 331 female physicians and 656 teachers who gave birth to a singleton fetus at a tertiary-level perinatal center. The reference group included 21,997 women in the general obstetrical population. Maternal ages averaged 29 to 32 years. The three groups had comparable maternal risk factors with certain exceptions: more women in the doctor and teacher groups were older than 35 years; fewer had previous pregnancy terminations; and, compared with the population controls, fewer women in these groups smoked more than 5 cigarettes a day. Pregnancy characteristics and the details of delivery were similar in all groups, except preeclampsia was significantly less frequent in the physicians than in the other two groups. Between 47% and 53% of cesarean deliveries in all groups were elective. Mean birth weights were similar in women in all groups who delivered after 37 gestational weeks. On logistic regression analysis to adjust for maternal risk factors, low birth weight, small-for-gestational-age births, prematurity, fetal distress at delivery, and the need for neonatal intensive care did not vary significantly among the three groups of women. These findings suggest that the previously noted association between health professional status and operative delivery does not hold for all populations. Possibly this reflects differences in counseling or management. It is fortunate if obstetricians managing these pregnancies do not alter their plan for physicians, perform unneeded fetal monitoring, or respond solely to personal convenience. Such management could readily mitigate the benefits of evidence-based prenatal care.