Health Watch Research Articles

Monitoring environmental change and human health: Planetary Health Watch

Monitoring environmental change and human health: Planetary Health Watch

Global Health Watch 5: An Alternative World Health Report

Global Health Watch 5: An Alternative World Health Report

Planetary health: from concept to decisive action

Planetary health: from concept to decisive action

Role of the nurse coordinator in geriatric oncology

Cancers currently affect one third of people over the age of 75. According to the French Health Watch Institute, by 2050, 50% of cancers will affect this category of the population. The difficult of treating elderly people is that the initial symptoms are not always obvious: anorexia, asthenia, irregular bowel movements, etc. The nurse coordinator in geriatric oncology provides specific care to elderly people with cancer.

Finding Health-Based Optimal Thresholds in Extreme Weather Watch Warning Systems

During the last 15 years, many countries established heat-health watch and warning systems (HHWWS) in order to prevent large amounts of death or hospitalization due to extreme heat. These systems consists in emergency measures launched whenever a heat indicator crosses a predetermined thresholds. Therefore, it is critical to accurately choose the threshold to avoid, either missing important heat events, either triggering too much alerts which would reduce their impact. Because of the usefulness of HHWWS, it is also of interest to extend them to other extreme weather events such as cold spells. However, the methodologies used around the world to set the threshold in the case of heat are highly subjective and do not extend to other weather events or locations. In the present work, we propose objective and data-based methodologies to determine thresholds from a health issue and weather indicators. These methodologies are proposed with the objective of finding a “bump” in the relationship between the health issue and the weather indicators. For this, the machine learning techniques of decision trees and bump hunting are adapted to the case of optimal threshold finding. These methods have the advantage of needing only few subjective decisions from the public health authorities, being efficient with a large number of variables and being flexible enough to be adapted to a large number of variables and locations. Applying them to the common heat-related overmortality case shows that they are able to be more accurate than methods found in the literature to predict overmortality events. These methods are then expected to be useful for improve current thresholds and establish health watch and warning systems for other extreme weather events.

Health Care Versus Illness Care: How Nurses Can Change It

<p class=MsoNormal style=margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:normal;mso-mirror-indents:yes> Abstract <p class=MsoNormal style=margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:normal;mso-mirror-indents:yes> Statement of the Problem: Our nation has been trying to solve the “Health care crisis” for decades. Part of this drive is to address the ever rising cost of American “Health Care”. An examination of our “Health Care” reveals it is actually illness care. Even with the current “Preventative Care” mandate of the Affordable Health Care Act it is not preventative care. Essentially the preventative care clause only provides for screenings to find signs of potential problems. The current system does very little for prevention. The screening is a step in the right direction to prevent complications, but really is not preventing the disease. Another system must be employed to truly provide preventative care and curb the rising cost of health care in America. <p class=MsoNormal style=margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:normal;mso-mirror-indents:yes> Purpose of Study: To explore the diseases that can be prevented with lifestyle changes, and find methods to assist patients in self-care to prevent disease. It will explore real “Health Care” that can result in decreased “Health Care” costs and a healthier nation. <p class=MsoNormal style=margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:normal;mso-mirror-indents:yes> Methodology: A search using CINAHL, alt Health Watch, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition databases using keywords obesity, preventable disease, motivating the unmotivated, and health care costs. A literature review of these articles then conducted. <p class=MsoNormal style=margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:normal;mso-mirror-indents:yes> Findings: <span style=font-size: 10.0pt;font-family: times= new= roman,serif;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1=> Most diseases, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, strokes, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea and breathing problems, mental illness, fatty liver, kidney disease, and obesity are largely preventable with simple lifestyle changes. The interventions that prevent these diseases are well known, but not employed in our current “Health Care” system. <span style=font-size:10.0pt; line-height:107%;font-family: times= new= roman,serif;mso-fareast-font-family:= calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;color:black;mso-themecolor:text1;= mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa=>Conclusion: Our current “Illness care system” needs to be replaced by a true “Health Care” system to prevent disease instead of treat disease. Nurses need have the training and knowledge to effect that change and improve the health care of our nation.

Planetary Health Watch: integrated monitoring in the Anthropocene epoch

Planetary Health Watch: integrated monitoring in the Anthropocene epoch

The use of nutritional supplements to induce ketosis and reduce symptoms associated with keto-induction: a narrative review.

BackgroundAdaptation to a ketogenic diet (keto-induction) can cause unpleasant symptoms, and this can reduce tolerability of the diet. Several methods have been suggested as useful for encouraging entry into nutritional ketosis (NK) and reducing symptoms of keto-induction. This paper reviews the scientific literature on the effects of these methods on time-to-NK and on symptoms during the keto-induction phase.MethodsPubMed, Science Direct, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Alt Health Watch, Food Science Source and EBSCO Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection electronic databases were searched online. Various purported ketogenic supplements were searched along with the terms “ketogenic diet”, “ketogenic”, “ketosis” and ketonaemia (/ ketonemia). Additionally, author names and reference lists were used for further search of the selected papers for related references.ResultsEvidence, from one mouse study, suggests that leucine doesn’t significantly increase beta-hydroxybutyrate (BOHB) but the addition of leucine to a ketogenic diet in humans, while increasing the protein-to-fat ratio of the diet, doesn’t reduce ketosis. Animal studies indicate that the short chain fatty acids acetic acid and butyric acid, increase ketone body concentrations. However, only one study has been performed in humans. This demonstrated that butyric acid is more ketogenic than either leucine or an 8-chain monoglyceride. Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) increase BOHB in a linear, dose-dependent manner, and promote both ketonaemia and ketogenesis. Exogenous ketones promote ketonaemia but may inhibit ketogenesis.ConclusionsThere is a clear ketogenic effect of supplemental MCTs; however, it is unclear whether they independently improve time to NK and reduce symptoms of keto-induction. There is limited research on the potential for other supplements to improve time to NK and reduce symptoms of keto-induction. Few studies have specifically evaluated symptoms and adverse effects of a ketogenic diet during the induction phase. Those that have typically were not designed to evaluate these variables as primary outcomes, and thus, more research is required to elucidate the role that supplementation might play in encouraging ketogenesis, improve time to NK, and reduce symptoms associated with keto-induction.

Insecticide susceptibility of Aedes albopictus and Ae. aegypti from Brazil and the Swiss-Italian border region

BackgroundAedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus are two highly invasive mosquito species, both vectors of several viruses, including dengue, chikungunya and Zika. While Ae. aegypti is the primary vector in the tropics and sub-tropics, Ae. albopictus is increasingly under the public health watch as it has been implicated in arbovirus-transmission in more temperate regions, including continental Europe. Vector control using insecticides is the pillar of most control programmes; hence development of insecticide resistance is of great concern. As part of a Brazilian-Swiss Joint Research Programme we set out to assess whether there are any signs of existing or incipient insecticide resistance primarily against the larvicide Bacillus thuringiensis svar. israelensis (Bti), but also against currently applied and potentially alternative insecticides in our areas, Recife (Brazil) and the Swiss-Italian border region.MethodsFollowing World Health Organization guidelines, dose-response curves for a range of insecticides were established for both colonized and field caught Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. The larvicides included Bti, two of its toxins, Cry11Aa and Cry4Ba, Lysinibacillus sphaericus, Vectomax CG®, a formulated combination of Bti and L. sphaericus, and diflubenzuron. In addition to the larvicides, the Swiss-Italian Ae. albopictus populations were also tested against five adulticides (bendiocarb, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, malathion, permethrin and λ-cyhalothrin).ResultsShowing a similar dose-response, all mosquito populations were fully susceptible to the larvicides tested and, in particular, to Bti which is currently used both in Brazil and Switzerland. In addition, there were no signs of incipient resistance against Bti as larvae were equally susceptible to the individual toxins, Cry11Aa and Cry4Ba. The field-caught Swiss-Italian populations were susceptible to the adulticides tested but DDT mortality rates showed signs of reduced susceptibility.ConclusionsThe insecticides currently used for mosquito control in Switzerland and Brazil are still effective against the target populations. The present study provides an important reference as relatively few insecticide susceptibility surveys have been carried out with Ae. albopictus.

Is there a role for modified probiotics as beneficial microbes: a systematic review of the literature.

Our objective was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis for the use of modified (heat-killed or sonicated) probiotics for the efficacy and safety to prevent and treat various diseases. Recent clinical research has focused on living strains of probiotics, but use in high-risk patients and potential adverse reactions including bacteremia has focused interest on alternatives to the use of live probiotics. We searched MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, Alt Health Watch, Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, from inception to February 14, 2017 for randomised controlled trials involving modified probiotic strains. The primary outcome was efficacy to prevent or treat disease and the secondary outcome was incidence of adverse events. A total of 40 trials were included (n=3,913): 14 trials (15 arms with modified probiotics and 20 control arms) for the prevention of diseases and 26 trials (29 arms with modified probiotics and 32 control arms) for treatment of various diseases. Modified microbes were compared to either placebo (44%), or the same living probiotic strain (39%) or to only standard therapies (17%). Modified microbes were not significantly more or less effective than the living probiotic in 86% of the preventive trials and 69% of the treatment trials. Modified probiotic strains were significantly more effective in 15% of the treatment trials. Incidence rates of adverse events were similar for modified and living probiotics and other control groups, but many trials did not collect adequate safety data. Although several types of modified probiotics showed significant efficacy over living strains of probiotics, firm conclusions could not be reached due to the limited number of trials using the same type of modified microbe (strain, daily dose and duration) for a specific disease indication. Further research may illuminate other strains of modified probiotics that may have potential as clinical biotherapeutics.

Potential of structuring and polishing with fiber laser on homogeneous metals

Conventional processes to polish metallic surfaces are usually manual or semiautomatic processes and offer very good results. However, these solutions are limited by the part geometry which can have angles or edges to preserve. Moreover, these solutions are time consuming for the operator and consumable parts have to be replaced frequently due to erosion. Lasers, on the other hand, offer a good alternative to polish and smooth metal surfaces, preserving the edges, and solving the accessibility problems. Fiber lasers are perfectly adapted to industrial applications because they are low cost, with high efficiency, high reliability, and can easily melt metals. In this paper, we report on the latest developments in structuring and polishing metals by surface remelting with common fiber lasers. We focus our work on polishing low and high surface roughness. Laser treatment of high roughness surfaces can considerably reduce processing time compared to conventional processes and offers prepolishing approach from 100 to 200 s/cm2. High reflective parts can be made from lower surface roughness to create bright appearance or medical instruments (from 20 to 90 s/cm2). In terms of results, we mostly concentrate our process optimization efforts on the solidification defaults, the structure modifications and reduction of Heat Affected Zone. Thus, laser polishing can be used for industrial solutions in polishing molds with applications in health care, watch industry, aeronautics, and many more. Commonly such patterns are created by laser ablation but this process uses more expensive lasers, with lower efficiency and reliability, and with longer processing time. Moreover, metal becomes matt finished. With high power laser, depending on the laser power and scanning strategy on the metal, the melting pool can be moved to create complex patterns. Experiments have shown that we can obtain a pattern with around 200 μm height at 40 s/cm2. Thus, creating patterns can be up to 30 times faster than for laser ablation processes. The created surface is, in this case, smooth with polished surface finish.

Clinical Evaluation of the Measurement Performance of the Philips Health Watch: A Within-Person Comparative Study.

BackgroundPhysical inactivity is an important modifiable risk factor for chronic diseases. A new wrist-worn heart rate and activity monitor has been developed for unobtrusive data collection to aid prevention and management of lifestyle-related chronic diseases by means of behavioral change programs.ObjectiveThe objective of the study was to evaluate the performance of total energy expenditure and resting heart rate measures of the Philips health watch. Secondary objectives included the assessment of accuracy of other output parameters of the monitor: heart rate, respiration rate at rest, step count, and activity type recognition.MethodsA within-person comparative study was performed to assess the performance of the health watch against (medical) reference measures. Participants executed a protocol including 15 minutes of rest and various activities of daily life. A two one-sided tests approach was adopted for testing equivalence. In addition, error metrics such as mean error and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) were calculated.ResultsA total of 29 participants (14 males; mean age 41.2, SD 14.4, years; mean weight 77.2, SD 10.2, kg; mean height 1.8, SD 0.1, m; mean body mass index 25.1, SD 3.1, kg/m2) completed the 81-minute protocol. Their mean resting heart rate in beats per minute (bpm) was 64 (SD 7.3). With a mean error of −10 (SD 38.9) kcal and a MAPE of 10% (SD 8.7%), total energy expenditure estimation of the health watch was found to be within the 15% predefined equivalence margin in reference to a portable indirect calorimeter. Resting heart rate determined during a 15-minute rest protocol was found to be within a 10% equivalence margin in reference to a wearable electrocardiogram (ECG) monitor, with a mean deviation of 0 bpm and a maximum deviation of 3 bpm. Heart rate was within 10 bpm and 10% of the ECG monitor reference for 93% of the duration of the protocol. Step count estimates were on average 21 counts lower than a waist-mounted step counter over all walking activities combined, with a MAPE of 3.5% (SD 2.4%). Resting respiration rate was on average 0.7 (SD 1.1) breaths per minute lower than the reference measurement by the spirometer embedded in the indirect calorimeter during the 15-minute rest, resulting in a MAPE of 8.3% (SD 7.0%). Activity type recognition of walking, running, cycling, or other was overall 90% accurate in reference to the activities performed.ConclusionsThe health watch can serve its medical purpose of measuring resting heart rate and total energy expenditure over time in an unobtrusive manner, thereby providing valuable data for the prevention and management of lifestyle-related chronic diseases.Trial RegistrationNetherlands trial register NTR5552; http://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/admin/rctview.asp?TC=5552 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6neYJgysl)

Comparing Generational Differences in Persons With Down Syndrome

AbstractDue to advances in care and medical treatment there has been a steady improvement in the life expectancy and quality of life for persons with Down syndrome (DS). It is not known if the increase in longevity will also mean that age‐dependent diseases in a younger generation of adults with DS will occur at a later age. Comparing two generations of adults can give us insight into the different health aspects experienced by adults with DS. Methods: A prospective longitudinal DS study cohort was set up, consisting of participants at a DS outpatient clinic. This clinic provides a yearly multidisciplinary DS Health Watch program. Since its inception, 141 persons have agreed to participate in a longitudinal prospective study, the “Health Watch study.” They visited the outpatient clinic annually from 2007 to 2015, a mean follow‐up of about 5 years (0.1–8.4 years). The mean age of the participants was 33.9 years (18–70 years). Of those, 25% were younger than 20 and 25% were older than 44. Cross‐sectional data were used to compare the generations. Results: Findings are baseline data of this longitudinal “Health Watch study.” The results show a discrepancy in health conditions and functional characteristics between those in the age category of 44 years and older and those below the age of 20 years. Conclusion: This study suggests that differences observed between the generations are possible predictors of a healthier state and longer life expectancy for a younger generation of adults with DS. Only a longitudinal follow‐up can confirm these findings.

A systematic review of yoga interventions as integrative treatment in breast cancer.

Breast cancer is a significant public health problem all over the world. The treatment of breast cancer has many side effects. Yoga has been suggested as an integrative form of therapy for breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to systematically review yoga interventions for breast cancer and determine the efficacy of these interventions as integrative modalities of treatment in altering various outcomes related to breast cancer. Studies were included if (1) exclusively targeted breast cancer patients; (2) published between 2013 and May 2016; (3) written in the English language; (4) published in a peer-reviewed journals indexed in MEDLINE (PubMed), CINAHL, ERIC and Alt Health Watch; (5) they used any type of yoga as a part of or the whole intervention; and (6) utilized a quantitative design for evaluation. A total of 23 interventions met the inclusion criteria. Majority of the studies had been done in USA (n=9), followed by Germany (n=3), India (n=3) and Turkey (n=2). One study each was from Australia, Canada, Iran, Taiwan, Poland, and UK. Twenty-two of the 23 interventions had statistically significant changes in studied outcome measures. Despite the limitations of wide variabilities in sample size, lack of standardized approach in conducting yoga, multiplicity of outcome measures, varying durations of interventions and lack of using behavioral theories, yoga as an integrative form of therapy for breast cancer is a promising approach. More interventions utilizing yoga need to be tested.

An Energy Aware Trust Based Intrusion Detection System with Adaptive Acknowledgement for Wireless Sensor Network

Today modern and innovative applications for health care environment based on Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) are being developed in the commercial sector. The emerging sensor networks are rapidly becoming a fundamental part of medical solutions due to increase in accessibility for healthcare professionals/patients and ultimately leading to reduced healthcare costs. Health watch is becoming popular, however securing data becomes critical as privacy issues are a major concern in wireless systems. Finding threats and blocking them without affecting the network is essential without increasing the processing overheads and energy. In this paper, a Trust Based Adaptive Acknowledgment (TRAACK) Intrusion-Detection System for WSN based on number of active successful deliveries, and Kalman filter to predict node trust is proposed. In TRAACK the entire route based trust strength for multi hop sensor networks is reverted to nodes acting as Security Agent. Based on trust value of entire route, Acknowledgement is initiated on select packets to decrease control overhead. It is observed that the packet delivery ratio for the proposed TRAACK method improves even when malicious nodes are present, the proposed technique TRAACK is able to detect malicious nodes and avoid them in the route discovery process. Simulations show improved performance in the presence of malicious nodes without compromise in energy.

Cohort Profile: Health Watch-a 30-year prospective cohort study of Australian petroleum industry workers.

Health Watch was established in 1980 at the University of Melbourne to ‘explore possible links between occupational experience in the [petroleum] industry’ and subsequent mortality and cancer incidence. There was concern that occupational exposure to fossil fuels could result in occupational cancers and it was anticipated that ‘well designed epidemiological studies, and carefully planned data bases’ were ‘capable of confirming or refuting such association’ rather than relying on clinician recognition of clusters. Health Watch was ‘designed to operate as a general health surveillance system’ comparable to a contemporary USA study funded by the American Petroleum Institute. Later reports expanded the aim to be ‘a prospective epidemiological study with the capacity to test specific hypotheses regarding the possible health consequences of occupationally determined exposure to hydrocarbon and other chemical substances’. This follows efforts by the industry’s occupational hygienists to link descriptive job categories to an index of hydrocarbon exposure. The main aims of tracking mortality and cancer incidence in the cohort have not changed over time, but subanalyses have been included e.g. for tanker drivers and for a group of men at a particular refinery. After an excess of lympho-haematopoetic (LH) cancer was identified, a case-control study was instituted to investigate whether benzene exposure was associated with this increased risk. This study was followed up in 2008 with a pooled analysis to identify which subtypes of LH cancer might be most strongly associated with benzene exposure. The industry has reduced benzene exposure over the period of the cohort. In 1999, the custodianship of the cohort was transferred to the University of Adelaide and then in 2005 to Monash University’s Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health in the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, where it currently resides. The Australian Institute of Petroleum (AIP) has funded the relevant universities, including Monash University, to implement the study with funds from their member companies in the Australian petroleum industry. The study has an advisory committee that meets regularly and includes the relevant university investigators and trades union and company representatives. The committee is chaired by a representative of the participating companies on a rotating basis and the AIP provides the secretariat.

An alternative method to characterize the surface urban heat island.

An urban heat island (UHI) is a relative measure defined as a metropolitan area that is warmer than the surrounding suburban or rural areas. The UHI nomenclature includes a surface urban heat island (SUHI) definition that describes the land surface temperature (LST) differences between urban and suburban areas. The complexity involved in selecting an urban core and external thermal reference for estimating the magnitude of a UHI led us to develop a new definition of SUHIs that excludes any rural comparison. The thermal reference of these newly defined surface intra-urban heat islands (SIUHIs) is based on various temperature thresholds above the spatial average of LSTs within the city’s administrative limits. A time series of images from Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) from 1984 to 2011 was used to estimate the LST over the warm season in Montreal, Québec, Canada. Different SIUHI categories were analyzed in consideration of the global solar radiation (GSR) conditions that prevailed before each acquisition date of the Landsat images. The results show that the cumulative GSR observed 24 to 48 h prior to the satellite overpass is significantly linked with the occurrence of the highest SIUHI categories (thresholds of +3 to +7 °C above the mean spatial LST within Montreal city). The highest correlation (≈0.8) is obtained between a pixel-based temperature that is 6 °C hotter than the city’s mean LST (SIUHI + 6) after only 24 h of cumulative GSR. SIUHI + 6 can then be used as a thermal threshold that characterizes hotspots within the city. This identification approach can be viewed as a useful criterion or as an initial step toward the development of heat health watch and warning system (HHWWS), especially during the occurrence of severe heat spells across urban areas.

A systematic review of the use and effectiveness of social media in child health.

BackgroundSocial media use is highly prevalent among children, youth, and their caregivers, and its use in healthcare is being explored. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review to determine: 1) for what purposes social media is being used in child health and its effectiveness; and 2) the attributes of social media tools that may explain how they are or are not effective.MethodsWe searched Medline, CENTRAL, ERIC, PubMed, CINAHL, Academic Search Complete, Alt Health Watch, Health Source, Communication and Mass Media Complete, Web of Knowledge, and Proquest Dissertation and Theses Database from 2000–2013. We included primary research that evaluated the use of a social media tool, and targeted children, youth, or their families or caregivers. Quality assessment was conducted on all included analytic studies using tools specific to different quantitative designs.ResultsWe identified 25 studies relevant to child health. The majority targeted adolescents (64%), evaluated social media for health promotion (52%), and used discussion forums (68%). Most often, social media was included as a component of a complex intervention (64%). Due to heterogeneity in conditions, tools, and outcomes, results were not pooled across studies. Attributes of social media perceived to be effective included its use as a distraction in younger children, and its ability to facilitate communication between peers among adolescents. While most authors presented positive conclusions about the social media tool being studied (80%), there is little high quality evidence of improved outcomes to support this claim.ConclusionsThis comprehensive review demonstrates that social media is being used for a variety of conditions and purposes in child health. The findings provide a foundation from which clinicians and researchers can build in the future by identifying tools that have been developed, describing how they have been used, and isolating components that have been effective.

Social media interventions for diet and exercise behaviours: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

ObjectivesTo conduct a systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) examining the use of social media to promote healthy diet and exercise in the general population.Data sourcesMEDLINE, CENTRAL, ERIC, PubMed,...

Public Health Watch

Public Health Watch