Poor Awareness Research Articles

Knowledge, attitude, and hygiene practices of food handlers related to food safety in Al-Suwaira City, Wasit Province in Iraq

Background and Aim: Food safety and hygiene are global health concerns, particularly in underprivileged nations, due to the increased incidence of foodborne diseases (FBDs) and associated mortality. This study aimed to evaluate the food handlers’ knowledge, attitude, and hygiene practices toward food safety in Al-Suwaira City, Wasit governorate, Iraq. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, researchers interviewed 130 food handlers to assess their knowledge, attitude, and hygiene regarding food safety in Al-Suwaira, Wasit governorate, Middle Eastern Iraq, from October 2022 to March 2023. The data regarding their age, sex, place of residence, education, employment history, marital status, and monthly income were collected through a questionnaire, as were details on their knowledge, attitudes, and hygiene habits about food safety. Results: Overall, most participants demonstrated poor knowledge of food hygiene and preservation but showed good knowledge of personal hygiene. Knowledge gaps were identified about the healthy ways to clean and use cooking utensils (35.38%), storage of food in the refrigerator (33.85%), and the possible exposure to foodborne pathogens when utensils are reused to cook vegetables and meat (12.31%). Nearly all participants in this study had positive attitudes toward food safety. Most participants (n = 100, 76.7%) agreed that separating raw and cooked food is the best way to avoid spreading germs. Moreover, 109 respondents (83.85%) agreed that washing hands before preparing food efficiently reduces the spread of FBDs. Furthermore, 117 participants (90%) disagreed that disposing of expired perishable foods is necessary, while 91.54% disagreed that monitoring meals for cleanliness and health is important. Our findings showed that 57.15% of the participants had low-to-intermediate competence in food safety procedures, such as avoiding cross-contamination, checking food temperatures, and washing hands thoroughly before and after handling food. Conclusion: The participants in this study exhibited poor compliance and awareness of food safety procedures and practices, respectively. Therefore, educational opportunities and training are necessary to enhance their knowledge, attitudes, and cleanliness levels. Keywords: food handlers, food safety, Iraq, knowledge, attitude, and hygiene practices, Wasit province.

Elderly awareness and perception of neck femur fracture in Saudi Arabia.

Femoral neck fractures are prevalent and make up the highest per cent of proximal femur fractures. The femoral neck is the most common location for a hip fracture. This study aims to assess elderly awareness and perception of neck femur fracture in Saudi Arabia. A descriptive cross-sectional web-based study was conducted targeting all persons aged 60 years or above. An online questionnaire was developed by the study researchers based on literature review and after consultation of the field experts. The anonymous questionnaire was published using the social media platforms from October 2022 to January 2023 by the researchers and their families. A total of 410 elderly completed the study questionnaire. Elderly age ranged from 60 to 89 years with mean age of 68.2 ± 10.9 years old. A total of 44 (10.7%) of the study elderly had an overall good awareness regarding NFF. The most reported sources were physician (61.7%), social media (41.2%), mass media (33.4%) and books and magazines reading (20.5%). In conclusion, elderly awareness regarding femur neck fracture was very low especially among male elderly and those with no history of trauma. Poor awareness for clinical presentation and complications of NFF was reported.

Research on the Application of Suning Cloud Commerce Company's Cash Flow Statement

This article is based on research on cash flow both domestically and internationally, with Suning Yunshang as the cornerstone. The enterprise cash flow management materials introduce the cash flow situation of business, investment, and financing activities, identify some problems in the company, and analyze the corresponding reasons: poor awareness of cash flow management, incomplete comprehensive budget system, and long cash turnover cycle. Propose cash flow management and other optimization solutions to promote the company's development.

Self-awareness of hepatitis C infection in the United States: A cross-sectional study based on the National Health Nutrition and Examination Survey.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a global health issue with an estimated prevalence of 2.4 to 3 million people in the US and 58 million worldwide. Previous reports from the US have shown that close to half of those with the infection are unaware of their status. Although the current therapy for HCV is very effective, the primary barrier has been the inability to diagnose a large fraction of those infected. We studied public awareness of HCV in the US using National Health Nutrition and Examination Survey data from 2013 to 2020. Our aim was to measure awareness of infection in individuals with HCV and identify possible barriers to diagnosis. In total, 206 individuals with HCV were included in the weighted analysis. The weighted awareness of infection was 60.1%, suggesting that over 0.8 million are unaware nationally. Awareness was significantly low in the Mexican American and Asian populations. Non-US citizens and non-US-born individuals also had poor awareness. The transaminases were more elevated in those unaware of the infection, suggesting their higher risk of liver fibrosis. Although the proportion of infected people aware of their illness has been rising, over 0.8 million are still unaware of their infection and their risk of liver damage. We believe policy measures focused on further intense screening and educational campaigns, particularly in high-risk groups, are vital in realizing the World Health Organization's goal of eliminating HCV as a global health threat.

Nesidioblastosis with delayed diagnosis and post-operative complications in a patient with complex psychiatric history.

Nesidioblastosis is a rare condition of organic persistent hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia, with fewer than 100 cases since it was first recorded. However, an increasing prevalence suggests previous underdiagnosis due to poor knowledge and awareness. This case describes the presentation, clinical decision-making and unique challenges in diagnosis and care of a 21-year-old female with nesidioblastosis and extensive psychiatric comorbidities. She was repeatedly misdiagnosed until 2021, despite having presented to emergency departments with hypoglycaemic symptoms for over 7 years. Her symptoms were often misattributed to behaviours secondary to restrictive anorexia nervosa and borderline personality disorder. Even after appropriate diagnosis and management, she suffered a complicated post-operative course. Patients with psychiatric comorbidities are at higher risk of distress, communication difficulties and inadequate social support, all of which could be better managed with increased multidisciplinary collaboration between endocrine, surgery, psychiatry, pain management and social work. This study highlights the importance of well-rounded patient care that addresses all facets of patient health. This approach not only improves quality of care, but also reduces overall readmissions, revisions, morbidity and mortality.

Transforming Parkinson's Care in Africa (TraPCAf): protocol for a multimethodology National Institute for Health and Care Research Global Health Research Group project

BackgroundParkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder and, according to the Global Burden of Disease estimates in 2015, was the fastest growing neurological disorder globally with respect to associated prevalence, disability, and deaths. Information regarding the awareness, diagnosis, phenotypic characteristics, epidemiology, prevalence, risk factors, treatment, economic impact and lived experiences of people with PD from the African perspective is relatively sparse in contrast to the developed world, and much remains to be learned from, and about, the continent.MethodsTransforming Parkinson’s Care in Africa (TraPCAf) is a multi-faceted, mixed-methods, multi-national research grant. The study design includes multiple sub-studies, combining observational (qualitative and quantitative) approaches for the epidemiological, clinical, risk factor and lived experience components, as appropriate, and interventional methods (clinical trial component). The aim of TraPCAf is to describe and gain a better understanding of the current situation of PD in Africa. The countries included in this National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Global Health Research Group (Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania) represent diverse African geographies and genetic profiles, with differing resources, healthcare systems, health and social protection schemes, and policies. The research team is composed of experts in the field with vast experience in PD, jointly led by a UK-based and Africa-based investigator.DiscussionDespite the increasing prevalence of PD globally, robust data on the disease from Africa are lacking. Existing data point towards the poor awareness of PD and other neurological disorders on the continent and subsequent challenges with stigma, and limited access to affordable services and medication. This multi-site study will be the first of its kind in Africa. The data collected across the proposed sub-studies will provide novel and conclusive insights into the situation of PD. The selected country sites will allow for useful comparisons and make results relevant to other low- and middle-income countries. This grant is timely, as global recognition of PD and the public health challenge it poses builds. The work will contribute to broader initiatives, including the World Health Organization’s Intersectoral global action plan on epilepsy and other neurological disorders.Trial registrationhttps://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN77014546.

Philosophy of Sports: Analyzing Sports Effects for Leadership Excellence

Abstract Leadership effectiveness is one of the significant concerns in the business world. While attaining goals, leaders offer direction, encouragement, and inspiration. They aid in creating a vision and uniting people behind a common goal. The literature on leadership has shown that leaders are less effective, affecting organizations, the environment, and society. This ineffectiveness is believed to be due to their rigidity, arrogance, narcissism, and ill-being. The research on leadership has shown that, among other factors, stress is one of the leading causes of this inefficiency, affecting leaders’ well-being, attitude, relationships, and organizational productivity. As a result, leaders have poor awareness of how their environment is evolving. For that reason, stress management and a leader’s well-being (mental and physical fitness) become the primary concern for business organizations. Leaders are the frontrunner of organizations, leading organizational objectives such as profit maximization, continuous improvement, employee management, and stakeholder satisfaction. In order to manage the corporate goal and workplace stress, they must ensure their well-being (mental and physical fitness). This paper proposes sports to enhance leaders’ well-being and team-building ‘we’ attitudes, which help leaders to improve the organizational productivity. This paper employs content analysis methodology to justify how sports enhance leadership effectiveness. The time has come to understand the philosophy of sports, which has several benefits that guide practitioners to maintain a balance in their professional and personal life. This paper highlights sport as a vehicle for social change and personal development in leadership effectiveness.

Barriers to hepatitis B virus screening of pregnant women in primary healthcare centers in Nigeria: health workers’ perspective

BackgroundHepatitis B virus (HBV) screening is an important component of antenatal care for pregnant women in Nigeria. However, the screening rates remain low, particularly at primary healthcare centers (PHCs). The objective of this study was to identify the barriers affecting antenatal HBV screening in PHCs in Nigeria from the perspective of health workers.MethodsWe conducted a survey among 30 health workers from 30 PHCs (one per PHC) across three states (Akwa Ibom, Anambra, and Kaduna) in Nigeria. An open-ended questionnaire was used to obtain written responses on the perceived barriers limiting antenatal HBV screening in PHCs and their recommended solutions to the identified barriers. The data were analyzed using an inductive thematic approach.ResultsThe perceived barriers exist at patient, provider and health system levels. They included: lack of test kits, unaffordability of HBV test, shortage of trained personnel, poor awareness among pregnant women, knowledge of HBV among health workers, high cost of antiviral treatment, and unavailability of HBV vaccine. The recommended solutions to the identified barriers were: making test kits and vaccines available and free, creating awareness about HBV, and capacity-building interventions for health workers.ConclusionsHBV screening of pregnant women attending PHCs in Nigeria appears to be affected by multilevel barriers. As the country continues to work towards eliminating HBV, these highlighted barriers at the patient, provider and health system levels must be addressed through effective and sustainable interventions.

From Research in the Lab to Pedagogical Practices in the EFL Classroom: The Case of Task-Based Pronunciation Teaching

Input and context-related factors identified by research as key success variables in L2 pronunciation development in immersion contexts play a very modest role in instructed foreign language (FL) learning environments. Scarce L2 exposure and use and L1-accented input make pronunciation learning extremely challenging. Current L2 speech learning models attribute difficulties in L2 speech acquisition to L2-to-L1 perceptual sound mappings guided by L1-based perception and poor phonological awareness and noticing of cross-language phonetic differences, which are typically not adequately addressed in instruction through pedagogic tasks. Explicit and incidental pronunciation teaching methods have been found effective at improving learners’ pronunciation, but ways to integrate them into communicative approaches to language teaching are still largely unexplored. Thus, language education practices currently lack a research-informed pedagogical approach that incorporates principles of L2 speech learning and task-based language teaching (TBLT) into pronunciation instruction. This article (1) presents an outline of new avenues for research and practice in L2 pronunciation instruction and (2) reports on the findings of an empirical study that implemented a task-based pronunciation teaching (TBPT) approach to teaching a difficult L2 vowel contrast through computerized collaborative map tasks that could be easily integrated into communicative FL classrooms.

Improving the diagnosis of endometriosis in Asia-Pacific: Consensus from the Asia-Pacific Endometriosis Expert Panel for Endometriosis.

Endometriosis should be diagnosed as early as possible in the continuum of care; but substantial delays of approximately 6-8 years between symptom onset and endometriosis diagnosis have been widely reported. With the purpose of improving the prompt diagnosis of endometriosis, the Asia-Pacific Endometriosis Expert Panel (APEX) sought to address the reasons for diagnostic delays across the region, and formulate a multi-pronged approach to overcoming these challenges. In the first instance, clinical diagnosis is preferable to surgical diagnosis, in order to facilitate earlier empirical treatment and minimize the negative sequelae of undiagnosed/untreated disease. There should be a high clinical index of suspicion in women presenting with cyclical symptoms, including those involving extrapelvic organs. Diagnostic delays in Asia-Pacific countries are attributable to a variety of patient, physician, and healthcare factors, including poor awareness, normalization/trivialization of pain, individual/cultural attitudes toward menstruation, default use of symptom-suppressing treatments, misdiagnosis, and a lack of diagnostic resourcing or adequate referral pathways in some areas. Suggested initiatives to reduce diagnostic delays are geared toward improving public awareness, improving clinical diagnostic skills, streamlining multidisciplinary care pathways for timely referral, updating and implementing diagnostic guidelines, lobbying policymakers and insurance companies for endometriosis support, and increasing efforts to bridge data gaps and perform further research in this field. Formulating specific action plans and gathering traction are the responsibility of individual countries within local parameters. The APEX group advocates for any initiatives and policies that support the unmet needs of women with endometriosis, to improve patient experience and outcomes.

Poor Cervical Cancer Knowledge and Awareness among Women and Men in the Eastern Cape Province Rural Community.

Cervical cancer knowledge and awareness is low among South Africans despite high cervical cancer prevalence. This study aimed to investigate knowledge about the symptoms, signs, risk factors, and methods of prevention of cervical cancer among women and men in the rural Eastern Cape province, South Africa. This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in the rural community of the OR Tambo municipality in the Eastern Cape province. 252 women and men aged ≥ 25 years were randomly recruited. Data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires. A knowledge score was categorized as "good" if it was ≥65%. The majority of participants (69.8%) were women. Only a proportion of 25.6% (51/199) of the participants had good overall knowledge about cervical cancer, and the majority of these (84.3%) were women. Women previously screened for cervical cancer had a significantly higher median cervical knowledge score than those who had never been screened (p = 0.002). Only among women, good knowledge about cervical cancer was associated with a tertiary education level (OR: 3.17, 95% CI: 1.08-9.57, p = 0.044) and high household income (OR: 3.40, 95% CI: 1.24-9.75, p = 0.027). Both women and men in rural Eastern Cape had limited knowledge about the risk factors and prevention methods of cervical cancer. Public health strategies to improve knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer among both men and women are necessary.

Anticipated time to seek medical advice for possible ovarian cancer symptoms and perceived barriers to early presentation among Palestinian women: a national cross-sectional study

BackgroundSeveral factors contribute to delayed presentation with ovarian cancer (OC) symptoms including poor symptom awareness and barriers to seeking help. This study explored the anticipated time to seek medical advice for possible OC symptoms and its association with OC symptom awareness. In addition, it examined perceived barriers that may delay help-seeking among Palestinian women.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among adult women (≥ 18 years) recruited from hospitals, primary healthcare centers, and public spaces in 11 Palestinian governorates. A modified version of the OC awareness measure was used to collect data in face-to-face interviews. The questionnaire comprised three sections: sociodemographic details, awareness of 11 OC symptoms and time to seek medical advice, and barriers to early presentation.ResultsOf 6095 participants approached, 5618 completed the OCAM (response rate = 92.1%). The proportion of participants who would immediately seek medical advice for a possible OC symptom varied based on the symptom’s nature. For OC symptoms with pain, the proportion that reported immediate seeking of medical advice ranged from 7.9% for ‘persistent low back pain’ to 13.6% for ‘persistent pain in the pelvis’. For non-specific potential OC symptoms, the proportion that reported immediate seeking of medical advice ranged from 2.3% for ‘feeling full persistently’ to 15.8% for ‘increased abdominal size on most days’. Good OC symptom awareness was associated with higher likelihood of seeking medical advice within a week from recognizing 10 out of 11 OC symptoms.Emotional barriers were the most common barriers with ‘feeling scared’ as the most reported barrier (n = 1512, 52.4%). Displaying good OC symptom awareness was associated with a lower likelihood of reporting ≥ 4 emotional barriers (OR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.38–0.98).ConclusionParticipants with good OC symptom awareness were more likely to seek medical advice earlier and to display fewer emotional barriers. Establishing educational interventions to raise OC awareness may help in promoting earlier help-seeking and, thus, facilitate earlier diagnosis and improved prognosis.

Cervical cancer awareness and risk factors among women residing in an urban slum in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.

Poor awareness of cervical cancer and high prevalence of its risk factors may be responsible for the large burden of cervical cancer in low-income countries. This study assessed awareness of cervical cancer and prevalence of risk factors among women residing in a slum in Lagos, Nigeria. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out amongst 305 women of reproductive age (15-49 years) in Idi-Araba, a slum in Urban Lagos. Data were collected using interviewer administered questionnaires. Analysis was done with SPSS 20 software. Mean age of respondents was 33.5(9.0) years. Only 12.8% of the respondents had heard of cervical cancer. Ninety-five percent of respondents were sexually active and 56.2% had more than one lifetime sexual partner. Close to half (47.3%) of respondents had their first sexual intercourse before the age of 20. One in five (22.2%) had 5 or more children. Half of the respondents (54.8%) had had abnormal vaginal discharge. Awareness of cervical cancer among the women was poor and prevalence of risk factors of cervical cancer was high. Campaigns aimed at increasing awareness of cervical cancer, and screening should be carried out by governmental and charitable organizations for women residing in slums.

Awareness and use of tranexamic acid in the management of postpartum hemorrhage among health care professionals in Enugu, Nigeria.

This study was conducted to determine the knowledge, practice, and barriers regarding the use of tranexamic acid (TXA) for the prevention and treatment of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) among health care providers in Enugu, Nigeria. A cross-sectional study was conducted among health professionals (doctors, pharmacists, and nurses) in two Nigerian tertiary teaching hospitals (one federal and one state). A total of 220 questionnaires were distributed and 207 were returned (response rate: 94%) and analyzed using SPSS for inferential statistics with a level of significance of P < 0.05. Only 23.7% of the respondents had good knowledge of TXA use in PPH (P < 0.001), and awareness of the recent World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation on the use of TXA for PPH was low (19.8%, P < 0.001). The majority of the respondents had neither prescribed nor dispensed TXA (30%, P < 0.001). Very few respondents used TXA for all cases of PPH (16.4%, P < 0.001). Barriers against its use include nonawareness of the latest WHO recommendation, preference for other uterotonics, and cost of the drug. There was poor knowledge of TXA, poor awareness of its recommendation, and low use for PPH among different cadres of health care providers.

Effectiveness of Organized Teaching Program on awareness regarding substance abuse among students

Background: Substance use among college students is associated with numerous negative outcomes including lower academic performance, a higher probability of un-employment after graduation, and increased risk of committing and experiencing sexual assault6.Worldwide, more than a quarter of all people aged 15-19 years are current drinkers, amounting to 155 million adolescents aged 15-19 years was 13.6% in 2016, with males most at risk. Objective: Evaluate the effectiveness of organized teaching programme on awareness regarding substance abuse among students in selected colleges. Methodology: A pre-experimental study was conducted among adolescents in selected colleges, Kochi. Sixty samples were selected by convenient sampling technique. Tools were prepared to collect sociodemographic proforma and a semi-structured questionnaire was prepared to evaluate the awareness on substance abuse. Result: the study revealed that out of 60 samples 36 respondents (60%) have average awareness score, 3 (5%) gained good awareness score and 21(35%) had poor awareness score. The sociodemographic variables such as age and gender were significantly influencing the awareness regarding substance abuse and the organized teaching program is found to be effective in creating awareness among students. Conclusion: Majority of the participants were not aware about substance abuse and organized teaching program helps to create awareness among the participants

Barriers to preschool aged children's participation in swimming lessons in New South Wales, Australia.

To understand barriers to uptake of subsidised swimming lessons by children aged 3-6 years old ('preschool aged children'), including from priority populations, in New South Wales (NSW). A thematic analysis of 4191 qualitative responses from parents/carers of preschool aged children describing barriers that resulted in their child's non-participation in subsidised swimming lessons in the past 12 months was conducted. Data, including parent/carer sociodemographic variables, were collected through registrations for the NSW Government's First Lap voucher program. Seven overarching barriers to participation were identified: (1) child's disability or health needs; (2) swimming lesson affordability; (3) family or personal circumstances; (4) lack of or poor availability of swimming lessons; (5) parent/carer availability, including to fulfil participation requirements; (6) COVID-19 and (7) deprioritisation of formal swimming lessons due to parent/carer perceptions relating to its importance. These may limit the uptake of swimming lessons in preschool aged children, particularly those who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, living with a disability, from low socioeconomic families and living in regional and remote areas. Structural barriers must be addressed to increase uptake of swimming lessons in preschool aged children, particularly in priority populations, to reduce drowning risk. SO WHAT?: Evidence-based policy initiatives, with robust evaluation, should seek to address the availability and flexibility of swimming lessons, including for priority populations; complexities associated with supervision requirements; poor awareness of parents/carers of the importance of swimming for preschool aged children and the lack of continuity of swimming for children in out of home care.

Perception and Risk Factors Associated with Tuberculosis in the Manyara Region, Tanzania

Tuberculosis (TB) results from infection with members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) and represents a major global public health concern. We here sought to assess the perceptions of human and animal TB and the prevalence of circulating MTBCs lineages and associated risk factors through a cross-sectional survey of 335 individuals presenting with symptoms of pulmonary or extrapulmonary TB in the Manyara region of Tanzania. After the enrollment of participants, a questionnaire survey was conducted, samples were collected for bacterial culture, and real-time multiplex PCR was performed to differentiate amongst primary animal and human MTBC lineages. The results show poor TB awareness: 31.6% of the participants were not aware of human TB; 82.4% were unaware of animal TB and 95.2% lacked awareness of zoonotic TB (zTB) transmission. A total of 18 recovered specimens (5%; 95% CI: 3–8%) were positive by culture, all of which were typed as M. tuberculosis sensu stricto using a lineage-specific PCR assay. While no single risk factor was significantly associated with MTBC culture positivity, the survey revealed considerable self-reported high-risk practices for contracting zTB. Together, the results show that Manyara residents have poor knowledge of diseases caused by MTBCs and high evidence of risky practices for contracting zTB.

Investigation of the chronic respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function of adult residents in Hongtong County, Shanxi Province

Objective: To investigate the chronic respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function of adult residents in 3 towns of Hongtong County, Shanxi Province, and to explore their risk factors. Methods: The investigation of chronic respiratory symptoms and lung function status of adult residents in Hongdong County is based on the regional population of the entire county in Hongdong County. The project was initiated by the Science and Technology Department of Linfen City and coordinated by the Hongdong County Government. The investigation will be conducted in 3 townships in Hongdong County, Linfen City, Shanxi Province from April to November 2021: Demographic characteristics, respiratory symptoms, smoking dust exposure and other personal history were collected through questionnaires. Physical examination, routine blood tests and lung function tests were also performed on each individual. SPSS 22.0 software was used to conduct t test, χ2 test, ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis test for statistical analysis of the collected information. Results: 10 945 subjects aged 18-102 years were included in the analysis, of whom 3 754 (34.3%) were male, 1 222 (11.2%) had a history of dust exposure, 7 164 (65.5%) had used straw and firewood as cooking fuel, and 3 296 (30.1%) had a history of smoking. Among the participants, 394 (3.6%), 339 (3.1%), and 1 543 (14.1%) had respiratory symptoms such as chronic cough, sputum, and dyspnea. Statistics showed that the population with chronic respiratory symptoms was more elderly and had a smoking history, and the incidence of chronic respiratory symptoms was higher in those who smoked more than 40 packs a year (all P<0.05). Men with a history of dust exposure were more likely to suffer from chronic cough and expectoration, while emaciation and biofuel use for more than 40 years were more likely to suffer from chronic expectoration and dyspnea (all P<0.05). The median values of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC) and FEV1/FVC in 1 second were 2.19 L/s, 3.24 L and 69.16%, respectively. Among them, the lung function of 5 801 (53.0%) respondents was lower than the expected value. The median FEV1/FVC decreased with the increase of age. The FEV1/FVC of people over 40 years old with smoking history was lower, the dust exposure history of people with decreased lung function was more than that of people with normal lung function, and the incidence of chronic expectoration and dyspnea was higher in people with decreased lung function (all P<0.05). The absolute value and ratio of eosinophils in patients with decreased ventilation function over 60 years old were significantly higher than those with normal ventilation function, but the level of body mass index (BMI) was lower (all P<0.05). Conclusion: In Hongdong County, Shanxi Province, grassroots residents have poor medical awareness, low lung function examination rate, chronic respiratory symptoms and lung function decline are associated with more risk factors. Primary medical institutions need to formulate prevention strategies and carry out lung function detection according to the actual situation, focusing on monitoring and follow-up of high-risk groups to achieve early and timely prevention, diagnosis and treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Perceptions Associated with Noncompliance to Community-Wide Mass Drug Administration for Soil-Transmitted Helminths.

Mass drug administration (MDA) is a key strategy for the control of soil-transmitted helminths (STHs). Within MDA programs, poor and non-random compliance threaten successful control of STHs. A case-control study was conducted comparing perceptions among non-compliant participants with compliant participants during a community-wide MDA (cMDA) with albendazole in southern India. Common reasons cited for non-compliance were that the individual was not infected with STH (97.4%), the perception that he/she was healthy (91%), fear of side-effects (12.8%), and dislike of consuming tablets (10.3%). Noncompliance was associated with poor awareness of intestinal worms (odds ratio [OR]: 9.63, 95% CI: 2.11-43.84), the perception that cMDA was only required for those with worms (OR: 2.14, 95% CI: 1.06-4.36), and the perception that the drug is not safe during pregnancy (OR: 2.19, 95% CI: 1.18-4.07) or when on concomitant medications (OR: 3.14, 95% CI: 1.38-7.15). Understanding of perceptions driving noncompliance can provide valuable insights to optimize participation during MDA for STHs.

Sex differences impact ergonomic endoscopic training for gastroenterology fellows

Background and AimsEndoscopic related injuries (ERI) for gastroenterologists are common and can impact longevity of an endoscopic career. This study examines sex differences in the prevalence of ERIs and ergonomic training during gastroenterology (GI) fellowship. MethodsA 56-item anonymous survey was sent to 709 general and advanced endoscopy GI fellows at 73 United States (US) training programs between May and June 2022. Demographic information was collected along with questions related to endoscopic environment, ergonomic instruction, technique, equipment availability, and ergonomic knowledge. Responses of female and male GI fellows were compared using Chi-square and Fisher exact tests. ResultsOf the 236 respondents (response rate 33.9%), 113 (44.5%) were female and 123 (52.1%) were male. Female fellows reported on average smaller hand sizes and shorter heights. More female fellows reported endoscopic equipment was not ergonomically optimized for their use. Additionally, more female fellows voiced preference for same gender teachers and access to dial extenders and well-fitting lead aprons. High rates of post-endoscopy pain were reported by both sexes, with significantly more females experiencing neck and shoulder pain. Trainees of both sexes demonstrated poor ergonomic awareness with an average score of 68% on 5-point knowledge-based assessment. ConclusionPhysical differences exist between male and female trainees, and current endoscopic equipment may not be optimized for smaller hand sizes. This study highlights the urgent need for formal ergonomic training for trainees and trainers with consideration of stature and hand size to enhance safety, comfort, and equity in the training and practice of endoscopy.