Modern Health Research Articles

Integrating Indigenous and Western Health Practices as Synergy for African Development in the Globalization Era: The Nigerian Example

The health policy of colonial rule precipitated structural and institutional changes in the healthcare system of the colonized Africans, as Western medicine was imposed across Africa as a better system of health management. This development fundamentally altered the professional and practical acceptability of indigenous medicine even beyond the colonial era. The much-acclaimed theoretical incompatibility of western and indigenous medical systems is one of the major causes of the strain in the levels of acceptance between indigenous medicine and western medicine in post-colonial Africa. In the case of Nigeria, a majority of the populace, especially in the rural areas, still consult the indigenous medical care providers. This consultation is arguably as a result of some factors, including the people’s thin financial resources,the mythical belief in the therapeutic efficacy of indigenous medicine, and closeness of the indigenous healthcare centres to the patients, among others. Given this, it becomes imperative to explore the historical development and value of Adepoju Adewale Toyin and Onagun Rasheed: Integrating Indigenous and… 415 indigenous healthcare practices in Nigeria and determine the possibility of its integration with western medicine. Towards accomplishing this, we explore historical-analytic method, using primary and secondary sources to examine the current state of indigenous traditional health practice in Nigeria, identify the factors that drive (mis)communication between patient and practitioner, and suggest solutions that can be implemented to address existing challenges. In addition, with illustrations drawn from successful examples of integration of indigenous and modern health practices in developing countries, the paper argues in the context of globalization that an advantageous synergy between indigenous and western health practices is feasible as a development strategy for Africa.

Pandangan Masyarakat Terhadap Dukun Sebagai Pengobatan Kesehatan Dalam Perspektif Aqidah Islam Studi Kasus Pada Kabupaten Tapanuli Selatan

The background of this research is treatment by traditional healers, as an alternative for people who find it difficult to access modern medicine. People in Pargarutan Julu Village seek alternative traditional medicine because they are faced with health problems that are difficult to solve medically, indicating dissatisfaction or unmet needs in the modern health system. The purpose of the study is to find out the community's views on the practice of traditional healers as a form of health treatment has become a subject of complex debate, especially in the context of Islamic aqeedah. This paper investigates people's views on shamans as a form of health treatment, focusing on the perspective of Islamic aqidah. The research method is a qualitative approach and literature analysis. The results show that people's views on traditional healers are influenced by cultural factors, traditions, and lack of understanding of Islamic teachings. The informant mentioned that taking treatment from a shaman is part of shirk treatment. Therefore, there is a need for a better educational approach and religious understanding in the community to overcome the wrong perception of shamans and increase understanding of the correct Islamic aqidah in the context of health treatment.

Multi-module attention-guided deep learning framework for precise gastrointestinal disease identification in endoscopic imagery

The automated classification of gastrointestinal endoscopy images holds immense importance in modern health care. It streamlines the diagnostic process by enabling faster and more accurate identification of gastrointestinal diseases. While the existing automated methods have demonstrated promising performance, there still remains a gap in consistently achieving high accuracy. This is due to reason that endoscopy images suffer from inter-class similarities and intra-class differences, which complicates the classification task. To address these problems, we propose a framework for endoscopy image classification. In general, the proposed framework comprises three essential modules. The first module is the Local-Global Convolutional Neural Network (LG-CNN) which aims to extract both local fine-grained features and captures global context, second module is the Endoscopy-Lesion Attention Module (ELA) that enables the framework to emphasize more crucial regions and filter out noises and other irreverent information. Finally, the last module, Gastrointestinal Endoscopy CNN (GE-CNN) leverages the above two modules in a effective way to classify the input image into various categories. We evaluate the performance of proposed framework on two publicly available challenging datasets, namely, Kvasir, and HyperKvasir. Based on the experimental results, we illustrate the efficacy of the proposed framework in effectively classifying endoscopy images.

Psychotherapy works – An inclusive and affirming view to a modern mental health treatment

Psychotherapy is a highly collaborative and individualized mental health practice developed in (post-) modern societies. The mental health outcomes of psychotherapy cover a broad range of psychological factors including the reduction of suffering/symptoms as well as the promotion of well-being, personal values, and personal strengths. There is extensive meta-analytic evidence that legitimate psychotherapy works remarkably well and robustly for most common mental disorders. In addition, there is a large body of meta-analytic evidence supporting the potential relevance of transdiagnostic relationship principles and transtheoretical psychotherapy factors. Based on this ongoing empirical evidence, we propose four relevant implications for future training and practice in transdiagnostic psychotherapy: 1) the development of a transtheoretical legal framework for psychotherapeutic treatments, 2) the formulation of evidence-based transtheoretical interpersonal skills, 3) an orientation toward transtheoretical therapeutic factors, and 4) the exploration of comprehensive psychotherapy outcomes. We conclude with some more general guidance for future directions.

Six in ten female youths in low-income East African countries had problems in accessing health care: a multilevel analysis of recent demographic and health surveys from 2016–2021

BackgroundAccess to health care services is a basic human right, and an individual’s health and overall quality of life may suffer as a result of barriers to accessing health services. Access to comprehensive and quality health care is fundamental for promoting and maintaining health, preventing and treating diseases, and reducing premature deaths. However, only half of the African population has access to modern health services. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the health care access and associated factors among female youths in low-income East African countries.MethodsThis study used secondary data from 2016 to 2021 demographic and health surveys of 7 low-income East African countries. A total weighted sample of 51,064 youths was included. A multilevel binary logistic regression was employed to identify the associated factors of access to health care since the data has a hierarchical structure. Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) at a p-value less than 0.05 was used to measure the association of variables whereas Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), Median Odds Ratio (MOR), and proportional change in variance (PCV) were used to measure random effects.ResultThe overall magnitude of access to healthcare among female youths in low-income East African countries was 38.84% (95% CI: 38.41, 39.26). Youth’s educational level, rich wealth status, media exposure, and community level education were the positive while higher youth’s age and rural residence were the negative predictors of access to healthcare among female youths. Besides, living in different countries compared to Burundi was also an associated factor for accessing healthcare in low-income East African countries.ConclusionAbout six in ten female youths were not accessing health care in low-income East African countries. Therefore, to increase healthcare access, health managers and policymakers needed to develop strategies to improve the poor household wealth index, and redistribution of health services for rural residents. The decision-makers and program planners should also work on increasing access to education and media exposure for youths. Further research including health system and quality of service-related factors for accessing healthcare should also be considered by researchers.

Interprofessional socialization of first-year medical and midwifery students: effects of an ultra-brief anatomy training

BackgroundInterprofessionalism is considered a key component in modern health profession education. Nevertheless, there remains ongoing debate about when and where to introduce interprofessional trainings in the curriculum. We identified anatomy, a subject commonly shared among health professionals, as a practical choice for initiating early intergroup-contact between first-year medical and midwifery students. Our study examined the effects of a four-hour block course in anatomy on interprofessional socialization and valuing, as well as long-term effects on intergroup contact.MethodsBased on different concepts and theories of learning, we implemented 12 interprofessional learning stations. Several measures were taken to foster group cohesion: (1) self-directed working in interprofessional tandems on authentic obstetric tasks, (2) competing with other tandems, (3) creating positive interdependencies during task completion, and (4) allowing room for networking. In a pre-post design with a three-month follow-up, we assessed the outcomes of this ultra-brief training with qualitative essays and quantitative scales.ResultsAfter training, both groups improved in interprofessionalism scores with strong effect sizes, mean difference in ISVS-21 = 0.303 [95% CI: 0.120, 0.487], P < .001, η² = 0.171, while the scales measuring uniprofessional identity were unaffected, mean difference in MCPIS = 0.033 [95% CI: -0.236, 0.249], P = .789. A follow-up indicated that these positive short-term effects on the ISVS-21 scale diminished after 12 weeks to baseline levels, yet, positive intergroup contact was still reported. The qualitative findings revealed that, at this initial stage of their professional identity development, both medical and midwifery students considered interprofessionalism, teamwork and social competencies to be of importance for their future careers.ConclusionThis study advocates for an early implementation of interprofessional learning objectives in anatomical curricula. Young health profession students are receptive to interprofessional collaboration at this initial stage of their professional identity and derive strong advantages from a concise training approach. Yet, maintaining these gains over time may require ongoing support and reinforcement, such as through longitudinal curricula. We believe that an interprofessional socialization at an early stage can help break down barriers, and help to avoid conflicts that may arise during traditional monoprofessional curricula.

From Bytes to Best Practices: Tracing ChatGPT-3.5's Evolution and Alignment With the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® Guidelines in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Management.

Artificial intelligence continues to play an increasingly important role in modern health care. ChatGPT-3.5 (OpenAI, San Francisco, CA) has gained attention for its potential impact in this domain. To explore the role of ChatGPT-3.5 in guiding clinical decision-making specifically in the context of pancreatic adenocarcinoma and to assess its growth over a period of time. We reviewed the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN) Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma and formulated a complex clinical question for each decision-making page. ChatGPT-3.5 was queried in a reproducible fashion. We scored answers on the following Likert scale: 5) Correct; 4) Correct, with missing information requiring clarification; 3) Correct, but unable to complete answer; 2) Partially incorrect; 1) Absolutely incorrect. We repeated this protocol at 3-months. Score frequencies were compared, and subgroup analysis was conducted on Correctness (defined as scores 1-2 vs 3-5) and Accuracy (scores 1-3 vs 4-5). In total, 50-pages of the NCCN Guidelines® were analyzed, generating 50 complex clinical questions. On subgroup analysis, the percentage of Acceptable answers improved from 60% to 76%. The score improvement was statistically significant (Mann-Whitney U-test; Mean Rank = 44.52 vs 56.48, P = .027). ChatGPT-3.5 represents an interesting but limited tool for assistance in clinical decision-making. We demonstrate that the platform evolved, and its responses to our standardized questions improved over a relatively short period (3-months). Future research is needed to determine the validity of this tool for this clinical application.

Functioning of healthcare entities as learning organisations in Poland on the example of Podlaskie voivodeship

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; The article aims to present issues regarding learning organisations in the context of the functioning of healthcare entities as examples of such organisations in Poland. A literature review was conducted, and the research problem and two research questions were formulated for verification. The subject of the study is public healthcare entities functioning as learning organisations in Poland, using the example of the Podlaskie voivodeship. In order to gather literature for the article, the desk research method was used, using scientific databases: Google Scholar and ScienceDirect. The literature on the subject covers the years 2015–2023. Firstly, the literature was reviewed, defining a learning organisation. Next, methods and tools used in organisational learning were listed. Lastly, the validity of medical entities as learning organisations was discussed. The next part of the article presented therapeutic entities from Podlaskie voivodeship as learning organisations in 2016–2022. The general criteria of the “Learning Organization” Competition were presented, followed by a discussion on the awarded therapeutic entities. In the end, the limitations of the article were discussed, and conclusions and practical implications were formulated. It was emphasised that changing and responding to market trends is essential for modern health organisations to sustain themselves in a turbulent market. The ability to constantly improve knowledge and search for it is crucial here. Therefore, in healthcare entities such as learning organisations, constant access to knowledge, not strictly medical, is crucial for medical and administrative staff. Helpful in the pursuit of this knowledge accumulation are various methods and tools that support the organisational learning and experience process.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

The first modern health communication campaign in Europe: explicit and implicit strategic intents

PurposeThe main aim of this article is to broaden the notion of strategic intent in public relations. It also develops an understanding of the social value of what can be defined as the first modern health communication campaign in Europe based on strategic intents and the development of modernity.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on both historical research and empirical material from the Norwegian tuberculosis campaign from 1889 up to 1913, when Norwegian women achieved suffrage. The campaign is analysed in the framework of modernity and social theory. The literature on lobbying and social movements is also used to develop a theoretical framework for the notion of strategic intent.FindingsThe study shows that strategic intent can be divided into two layers: (1) the implicit strategic intent is the real purpose behind the communication efforts, whereas (2) the explicit intent is found directly in the communication efforts. The explicit intent may be presented as a solution for the good of society at the right political moment, giving an organisation the possibility to mobilise for long-term social changes, in which could be the implicit intent.Originality/valueThe distinction between explicit and implicit strategic intent broadens our understanding on how to make long-term social changes as well as how social and political changes occur in modern societies. The article also gives a historical account of what is here defined as the first modern health communication campaign in Europe and its social value.

Assessment of modern maternal health care usage in Ethiopia

  Ethiopia, like many developing nations, has struggled with the problem of low utilization of maternal healthcare services. The main objective of this study is to investigate the awareness and application of modern maternal healthcare usage and to identify the determinant factors that affect the usage of modern maternal healthcare services in Ethiopia. A quantitative approach to the survey questionnaire was employed. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 240 respondents from a sample of women aged between 18 and 49. Using statistical software, the collected data were analyzed using categorical variable tests and binary logistic regression. The findings showed that, from the total of 240 respondents, some of the respondents had not attended Antenatal care,  delivery care, and postnatal care.  Therefore, from the findings of the study, the researchers have concluded that to increase health care utilization, the concerned bodies should be expanding access to health services, improving the quality of antenatal care services, conducting awareness-raising promotions, and providing training for health workers to increase their skills and professional ethics. Keywords:  Health care; maternity;  modern health care service; women.

Impact of Electronic Health Record Use on Cognitive Load and Burnout Among Clinicians: Narrative Review.

The cognitive load theory suggests that completing a task relies on the interplay between sensory input, working memory, and long-term memory. Cognitive overload occurs when the working memory's limited capacity is exceeded due to excessive information processing. In health care, clinicians face increasing cognitive load as the complexity of patient care has risen, leading to potential burnout. Electronic health records (EHRs) have become a common feature in modern health care, offering improved access to data and the ability to provide better patient care. They have been added to the electronic ecosystem alongside emails and other resources, such as guidelines and literature searches. Concerns have arisen in recent years that despite many benefits, the use of EHRs may lead to cognitive overload, which can impact the performance and well-being of clinicians. We aimed to review the impact of EHR use on cognitive load and how it correlates with physician burnout. Additionally, we wanted to identify potential strategies recommended in the literature that could be implemented to decrease the cognitive burden associated with the use of EHRs, with the goal of reducing clinician burnout. Using a comprehensive literature review on the topic, we have explored the link between EHR use, cognitive load, and burnout among health care professionals. We have also noted key factors that can help reduce EHR-related cognitive load, which may help reduce clinician burnout. The research findings suggest that inadequate efforts to present large amounts of clinical data to users in a manner that allows the user to control the cognitive burden in the EHR and the complexity of the user interfaces, thus adding more "work" to tasks, can lead to cognitive overload and burnout; this calls for strategies to mitigate these effects. Several factors, such as the presentation of information in the EHR, the specialty, the health care setting, and the time spent completing documentation and navigating systems, can contribute to this excess cognitive load and result in burnout. Potential strategies to mitigate this might include improving user interfaces, streamlining information, and reducing documentation burden requirements for clinicians. New technologies may facilitate these strategies. The review highlights the importance of addressing cognitive overload as one of the unintended consequences of EHR adoption and potential strategies for mitigation, identifying gaps in the current literature that require further exploration.

Role of Pradhmana (Churna) Nasya and Shirolepa in Ardhavabhedaka w.s.r to Migraine - A Clinical Pilot Study

Ardhavabhedak is one of the Shiroroga which can be correlated with migraine in modern health care system. It is a type of Headache characterized by moderate to severe throbbing pain, generally associated with nausea, photophobia and phonophobia. Its cardinal feature is 'half sided headache' which is also explained by commentator Chakrapani as Ardha Mastaka Vedana. According to International headache society, Migraine constitutes 16% of the primary headache and affects about 10-20% of the general population. As per Acharya Sushruta Ardhavabhedaka occur due to vitiation of Tridosha. While Acharya Charaka had mentioned that vitiated Vata/Vata - Kapha are involved in manifestation of the disease, while Acharya Vagbhatta believed it occurs due to vitiated Vata. Till now there is no effective management present in modern science as they provides the symptomatic treatment. But Ayurveda acts on roots of the disease, it does Samprapti Vighatan and cures the disease. Nasya Karma (Errhine Therapy) is considered as the best therapeutic intervention in Shirogata Roga by Acharya Charaka. In present pilot study, an attempt is made to treat the patient of Ardhavabhedaka with Pradhmana Nasya along with Shirolepa.

Criminal Liability for Intentionally Transmitting the COVID-19 Virus to Others in the UAE Law

This study explores the alignment of the noble Islamic Sharia's emphasis on preserving human life and safety with international conventions and national legislation, particularly in the context of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Grounded in the principles of Islamic Sharia, which prioritizes the preservation of the soul, the study employs a qualitative analysis of the UAE's health policies and legislative measures against the pandemic, guided by the World Health Organization's recommendations and supported by a review of the UAE Constitution and global COVID-19 statistics. Findings reveal that the UAE's comprehensive health and legislative measures to combat the pandemic align with Islamic Sharia and international health guidelines, highlighting the effectiveness of integrating religious principles with modern health policies for pandemic preparedness and response. This study offers valuable insights into enhancing public health crisis management through integrating religious principles and modern legislative measures, underscoring the importance of strengthening legislative and healthcare systems in controlling communicable diseases.

Primary palliative care in the ICU.

Despite the best efforts of modern health care and critical care providers, many patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) will still die each year. The need for palliative care services in the ICU is common. Although specialty palliative care services provide excellent care and are a tremendous resource, every critical care provider should be able to provide the basics of palliative care themselves through the model of primary palliative care. Although it may be uncomfortable for the critical care provider at first, providing palliative care to our ICU patients can be a very rewarding experience. In this article, I discuss best practices for handling difficult conversations with patients and their families, helping patients and families make difficult decisions regarding the goals of care, and managing symptoms at the end of life.

1082 Creation of a Spine Healthcare Resource Utilization Grouping (SHRUG) to Complement Patient-reported Outcome Measurements in Assessing Surgical Success

INTRODUCTION: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROs) are increasingly utilized to assess surgical success. However, when taken as the sole measure of surgical success they have limitations due to the requirement of collection time and infrastructure, response bias, and inherently subjective nature. The large volume of digital data generated by modern health systems may instead offer a method to track healthcare utilization and surgical outcome. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed a consecutive patients undergoing elective surgery to the cervical and lumbar spine for degenerative pathologies at our institution. Pre- and post-operative 12-month change in PROMIS Global Health was collected. Post-operative measures of healthcare utilization included clinic visits, inpatient encounters, telephone encounters, opioid use, physical therapy, injections, and imaging. A SHRUG metric was then constructed through latent profile analysis. RESULTS: A total of 8039 surgeries were included in our analysis. Four utilization groups were identified: 1) low utilizer group, representing 53.9% of all patients; 2) moderate utilizer group (13.2%); 3) heterogenous utilizer group (25.2%); and 4) high utilizer group (7.7%). Patients were placed into one of four groups with high average probability (97%, 92%, 95%, 93% respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our study developed a novel method for defining surgical outcomes based on healthcare utilization. These groupings have the potential to add an objective measure of operative success to supplement the use of PROs clinically. SHRUG can approximates PROMIS, nonbiased, provides new insight on outcome and healthcare utilization, and finally clinically feasible to implement.

Design of Environmental Monitoring and Alarm System Based on Microcontroller

With the development of society, the improvement of science and technology, and the continuous optimization of production and life, people's living standards are also constantly improving. Therefore, people are starting to pay more and more attention to the comfort level of indoor environment. Housing is not only a place for family reunion and living, but also an important material guarantee for people's lives. However, with the rampant use of decoration materials and the increasing popularity of daily necessities, the hidden dangers of the living environment have greatly increased. Indoor environmental pollution has become one of the serious killers affecting modern human health, seriously affecting people's production and life. Therefore, it is particularly important to monitor the indoor environment, which not only needs to sensitively detect the concentration of various harmful gases, but also has an alarm function to constantly remind of dangers. The main functions of this design include: Connecting the microcontroller with temperature, humidity, and gas sensors to achieve real-time collection and reading of indoor temperature and humidity values, as well as monitoring gas concentration, and achieving the expected results. The display circuit was designed using LCD. The buzzer alarm function was used to automatically alarm when the gas concentration and temperature/humidity values exceeded the set standard values. When the temperature and humidity exceed the limit, the LCD display can immediately prompt and combine with LED alarm. When the gas concentration exceeds the limit, LED alarm is used.

Work With ChatGPT, Not Against: 3 Teaching Strategies That Harness the Power of Artificial Intelligence.

Technological advances have expanded nursing education to include generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT. Generative AI tools challenge academic integrity, pose a challenge to validating information accuracy, and require strategies to ensure the credibility of AI-generated information. This article presents a dual-purpose approach integrating AI tools into prelicensure nursing education to enhance learning while promoting critical evaluation skills. Constructivist theories and Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development framework support this integration, with AI as a scaffold for developing critical thinking. The approach involves practical activities for students to engage with AI-generated content critically, thereby reinforcing clinical judgment and preparing them for AI-prevalent health care environments. Incorporating AI tools such as ChatGPT into nursing curricula represents a strategic educational advancement, equipping students with essential skills to navigate modern health care.

Directions of modernization of professional training of future specialists in physical culture and sports in conditions of martial law

The professional training of future specialists in physical education and sports in institutions of higher education (hereinafter referred to as higher education institutions) in the conditions of martial law is an urgent problem today. Despite the large number of works devoted to the study of various aspects of the training of future specialists, it is worth stating that the study of the professional training of future specialists in physical culture and sports in the conditions of martial law requires special attention of scientists and practitioners.&#x0D; The purpose of the work: revealing the peculiarities of the professional training of future specialists in physical culture and sports in the conditions of martial law, highlighting the main directions of modernization of this process.&#x0D; Research has proven that modern requirements for physical culture and sports specialists are significantly different from those that existed a few years ago. Curricula as well as work programs for educational disciplines need to be updated in the aspect of increased attention to modern health systems, various innovative forms of physical activity, in particular, national-patriotic sports and folk games among schoolchildren and students.&#x0D; The article reveals the conceptual apparatus of the researched topic, the structure and content of the professional training of future specialists in physical culture and sports, identifies and characterizes the directions of its modernization. It has been established that the process of training future specialists in physical culture and sports under martial law needs not only renewal, but also modernization. The areas of modernization of the professional training of future teachers of physical education are highlighted and characterized: conducting effective career orientation work; update of educational and methodical literature on educational disciplines for higher education applicants in specialty 017 Physical culture and sport; introduction of innovative forms and methods of education into the educational process.

Building the First Czechoslovak Republic’s Modern Health System during the First Years of its Existence from a Legislative and Organisational-political Perspective

The submitted study analyses the legislative and organisational-political framework in building up a health system in Czechoslovakia, specifically in the historical lands (Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia) in the first decade of its existence using unpublished and published sources and academic publications. Not only did the Czechoslovak health system build on its predecessor in the Habsburg Monarchy, but in addition almost immediately following the establishment of the new state in 1918, adopted legislation began the construction of a modern and respected healthcare system in terms of both organisation and funding.

Analysis of problems and potentials for increasing pandemic resilience in public health administrations in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany—a mixed-methods approach

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance of resilient, modern, and well-equipped public health administrations from national to communal levels. In Germany, the surveillance, contact tracing, and local adaptions went...