Evaluation Of Population Health Research Articles

Remote sensing and citizen science to characterize the ecological niche of an endemic and endangered Costa Rican poison frog

Abstract Habitat encroachment can have devastating effects upon biodiversity, especially amphibians. Phyllobates vittatus is an endemic frog from Costa Rica, where land cover has seen significant changes over recent decades. Here we use remote sensing to create a land cover map of the region and carry out ecological niche modelling to identify the main abiotic factors associated to the distribution of this species. We have informed our models based on our own field observations, those from other researchers, and citizen science participants to obtain a comprehensive database of P. vittatus occurrences. Elevation, forest percentage, distance to lakes and rivers, annual temperature range and precipitation variables were found to shape the ecological niche of P. vittatus, which is mostly located within protected areas. Prior knowledge of the habitat of the species was key to interpret the model output. We identify populations that might be isolated, and areas where presence has not yet been verified or that have not been occupied by the species, thus, identifying potential areas for reintroductions. We also calculated the area of occupancy and recommend that P. vittatus’ status be adjusted to “Endangered”. Future surveys and evaluation of population health and connectivity would help to better ensure the protection of the species in the long-term.

Entitlements to continued life and the evaluation of population health

We analyze the implications of axioms formalizing entitlements to continued life for the evaluation of population health, when combined with basic structural axioms. A straightforward implication of our analysis is that if the scope of equal entitlements to continued life is not limited, concerns for morbidity are dismissed in the evaluation of population health. Nevertheless, with axioms formalizing a more limited scope of equal entitlement to continued life, we provide several characterization results of focal population health evaluation functions, ranging from lifetime utilitarianism to generalized healthy years equivalent utilitarianism.

Professional competencies and public health content in the human nutrition and dietetics degree program: A qualitative study based on experts' consensus.

To gather consensus on professional competencies and basic public health content for the degree program in Human Nutrition and Dietetics (HND). In 2018, the Fifth Meeting of University Public Health Professors took place in Zaragoza (Spain). Fourteen lecturers in the HND degree program participated from 11 Spanish universities. They identified competencies and basic content for training for the HND degree using group dynamics and consensus strategies. The professors identified 51 basic competencies, distributed in the areas of "evaluation of population health needs" (n = 20), "development of health policies" (n = 23), and "guaranteeing provision of health care services" (n = 8). In order to reach these competencies, 35 topics were proposed organized into six thematic blocks: foundations of public health, nutritional epidemiology, health problems and diet and nutrition strategies, food security, health in all policies and health promotion and education. The consensus reached serves as a reference to orient and update public health education as a part of the HND degree.

Age distribution and longevity in a breeding population of Swainson’s Hawks, Buteo swainsoni

Age structure of breeding populations may be important in the evaluation of population health and may indicate when populations are susceptible to decline. However, few long-lived species have well understood age distributions. We investigated the breeding age distribution in a long-lived species, the Swainson’s Hawk, in a population that was monitored for 40 years and whose population has grown fourfold over the course of the study. We observed 279 known-aged Swainson’s Hawks 1315 times during our study. The average age of breeding Swainson’s Hawks in the Butte Valley across all surveyed years was 8.3 ± 4.3 years. The oldest known-aged individual in our population was 26 years old and the average age at death (individuals presumed dead) was 9.2 ± 5.5 years old (n = 160). There was no difference in longevity between males (mean ± SE; 9.7 ± 0.6 years old, n = 85) and females (9.0 ± 0.7 years old, n = 69). The proportion of subadults breeding (n = 56) was related to population growth, with a greater proportion of subadults breeding when the growth rate was higher.

The medical sociological evaluation of population health in ecological bio-climatic conditions of the Primorskii Kraii

The article presents the results of medical sociological evaluation of population health in ecological bio-climatic conditions of the Primorskii Kraii. The purpose of study is to establish patterns of formation of population health exemplified by three systems of organism (respiratory organs, urogenital system, skin). The questionnaire technique was applied to study impact of factors of life-style, diet behavior, skin and urogenital system according official statistics data F12 in 2007-2011. The technique of such multi-dimensional analysis as P.V. Terentiev correlation pleiades was applied. The medical sociological study established input of social factors in formation of population health in the ecological bio-climatic conditions of the Primorskii Kraii. The results of study permit determining main directions of medical activities and to develop address programs of prevention.

PopHR: a knowledge-based platform to support integration, analysis, and visualization of population health data.

Population health decision makers must consider complex relationships between multiple concepts measured with differential accuracy from heterogeneous data sources. Population health information systems are currently limited in their ability to integrate data and present a coherent portrait of population health. Consequentially, these systems can provide only basic support for decision makers. The Population Health Record (PopHR) is a semantic web application that automates the integration and extraction of massive amounts of heterogeneous data from multiple distributed sources (e.g., administrative data, clinical records, and survey responses) to support the measurement and monitoring of population health and health system performance for a defined population. The design of the PopHR draws on the theories of the determinants of health and evidence-based public health to harmonize and explicitly link information about a population with evidence about the epidemiology and control of chronic diseases. Organizing information in this manner and linking it explicitly to evidence is expected to improve decision making related to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of population health and health system interventions. In this paper, we describe the PopHR platform and discuss the architecture, design, key modules, and its implementation and use.

EQ-5D-3L derived population norms for health related quality of life in Sri Lanka.

BackgroundHealth Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) is an important outcome measure in health economic evaluation that guides health resource allocations. Population norms for HRQoL are an essential ingredient in health economics and in the evaluation of population health. The aim of this study was to produce EQ-5D-3L-derived population norms for Sri Lanka.MethodA population sample (n = 780) was selected from four districts of Sri Lanka. A stratified cluster sampling approach with probability proportionate to size was employed. Twenty six clusters of 30 participants each were selected; each participant completed the EQ-5D-3L in a face-to-face interview. Utility weights for their EQ-5D-3L health states were assigned using the Sri Lankan EQ-5D-3L algorithm. The population norms are reported by age and socio-economic variables.ResultsThe EQ-5D-3L was completed by 736 people, representing a 94% response rate. Sixty per cent of the sample reported being in full health. The percentage of people responding to any problems in the five EQ-5D-3L dimensions increased with age. The mean EQ-5D-3L weight was 0.85 (SD 0.008; 95%CI 0.84-0.87). The mean EQ-5D-3L weight was significantly associated with age, housing type, disease experience and religiosity. People above 70 years of age were 7.5 times more likely to report mobility problems and 3.7 times more likely to report pain/discomfort than those aged 18-29 years. Those with a tertiary education were five times less likely to report any HRQoL problems than those without a tertiary education. A person living in a shanty was 4.3 more likely to have problems in usual activities than a person living in a single house.ConclusionThe population norms in Sri Lanka vary with socio-demographic characteristics. The socioeconomically disadvantaged have a lower HRQoL. The trends of population norms observed in this lower middle income country were generally similar to those previously reported in high income countries.

Evaluation of population health among bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) at the United States Navy Marine Mammal Program

To evaluate health indicators for a population of bottlenose dolphins in the US Navy Marine Mammal Program (MMP) by use of data acquired from 1988 through 2007. Retrospective cohort study. 167 bottlenose dolphins. The following indicators were used to evaluate the health of dolphins during the 20-year period: 5-year age structure, median survival age, annual survival rates, mortality rates, and neonatal and calf survival and mortality rates. Limitations of these population measurements as health indicators for dolphins were assessed. Crude mortality rates of dolphins for 1988 through 1992, 1993 through 1997, 1998 through 2002, and 2003 through 2007 were 3.1%, 4.7%, 3.6%, and 2.4%, respectively; during these same 4 study periods, median survival ages were 14.3, 14.4, 17.7, and 26.1 years, respectively, and mean survival rates were 0.98, 0.97, 0.97, and 0.99, respectively. From 1988 through 1997, 1998 through 2002, and 2003 through 2007, neonatal mortality rates were 4 of 16, 5 of 20, and 2 of 14 neonates, respectively. During these 3 study periods, mean annual survival rates for calves < 3 years old (excluding neonates that died at < 30 days old) were 0.97, 0.92, and 0.99, respectively. Although there were limitations to the measurement of some health indicators, use of multiple methods indicated that the health of dolphins in the MMP population was comparable to, if not better than, that published for other dolphin populations. The MMP population of dolphins may provide useful reference values of health indicators for use in assessment of other managed dolphin populations.

Biological Effects of the Chernobyl nuclear Accident Influence on the Population of the Republic of Moldova

Stress factors action on the population health evaluation, especially on the emergency workers remains one of the most important problems of the contemporary medicine. In this line the Chernobyl nuclear accident (CNA) that took place on the 26th April 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power station (NPS) is an eloquent example. Radioactive substances produced in the result of CNA fell out in a significant part of the Europe, including the Republic of Moldova territory, affecting more than 5,000,000 persons. Approximately 3500 inhabitants from the Republic of Moldova took part in the Chernobyl nuclear accident consequences liquidation /1/. Study objective comprises the determination of clinical, immunological and cytogenetic features in PDCCNA from the Republic of Moldova and their descendants. Between 1996 and 2005 period 850 patients – participants in removal of consequences of Chernobyl nuclear accident (PRCCNA) with the nervous, heart-vascular and gastric-intestinal systems morbidity and their children were investigated, the investigation including the clinical, immunological and cytogenetic analysis. The clinical investigations indicate that the PRCCNA compared to patients from the control group, were more susceptible to infectious and non-infectious diseases, with the prevalence of large polymorphism of nervous, heart-vascular and gastric-intestinal system, accompanied by the circulatory disorder of the vegetative nervous system. The immunological analysis elucidates alterations in the immune system of the PRCCNA expressed through the increase of the activity of humoral indices of immunity and decrease of the cell immune system expressed through the decrease of total T-lymphocytes and B-lymphocytes. The correlation and simple regression analysis demonstrated the linear negative dependence between some immunological indices and dose level, r=-0, 54. The hyper compensatory intensity of humoral immunity and natural resistance and obvious tendency to T-cell immunity insufficiency are revealed with monoclonal antibodies to CD-19, CD-3, CD-4, CD-8, and CD-16 and rosette forming reaction. Cytogenetic research of the lymphocyte cultures of peripheral blood of PRCCNA and their children, living in the Republic of Moldova during the 19-20 years after the accident, elucidated the deterioration of the hereditary system, being expressed through high level of genomic, chromosomal, and chromatid type aberration. At the adult populations there dominated the chromosomal type of aberrations and at children, there prevailed the chromatid type. 1. I.Bahnarel, L.Coreţchi, M.Moldovan Medical and biological aspects of the Chernobil nuclear accident influence on the population of the Republic of Moldova, Chisinau, ISFEP Tipografia centrala, 2006.- 160 P.

Some Psycho-Physiological Features in Persons Expose to “Safe” Methilmercury Levels

P-411 Abstract: About 17000 villagers live now in the zone of contamination Angara’s reservoir by technogenic mercury. Accumulation of methilmercury in fish in amount, exceeding standard in 2–4 times is noted. Hairs of villagers contained methilmercury in average 2,11±0,3 mg/kg (background level –1,0 mg/kg). Urine concentration of poison was above background level in 77,9%, permissible – in 10,5% surveyed. Fixed levels are “safe” by WHO recommend, because criterion of danger mercury for fertile women is 9 mg/kg and 30 mg/kg for other adult. The nervous system is the first reacting to influence of harmful factors and psycho-neurological disturbances can be parameters of influence even such levels methilmercury which are considered safe. Computer-aided system intended on application of the Bayes algorithm for quantitative estimation risks of general pathological syndromes and psychological features had been studied in 105 persons having potential mercury loading and 15 villagers with the same share of women and man, who didn’t use fish in food (control group). All lived in their settlements about 20,0 years and graduated secondary school. The mercury loading estimated on the chronic exposition caused entering of mercury with food. Frequency risk of borderline mental disorder was 30% among exposed persons and correlated with methilmercury loading (Pirson’s correlation coefficient 0.22, p<0.05). The integrated risk of the general pathological syndromes in persons with potential mercury loading increases with the years on 62%, in control group - only on 17%. Risks of neurologic diseases, arterial hypertensia, borderline mental disorder, endocrine diseases are prevailed in exposed population. The more higher mercury loading and the more higher risk levels of these diseases are fixed in 27% surveyed. High levels of situational (33,9±6,2%) and personal (53,9±6,2%) anxiety are fixed. The reduced ability to logical and abstract thinking had 92,7±2,8%. The weakened attention, expressed weariness, absent-mindedness is revealed. More then 80% have concrete-effective mentation. They are not ability for complicated analogues and logical conclusions and distinguishing for abstract relations. The disturbances of verbal temporal memory in 81,0±9,5%, long-term verbal memory - in 72,0±10,9% were determinateThe study demonstrated memory increasing, psycho-emotional unbalance confirmed conclusion about functional disturbances in central nervous system. It will be related with influence “safe” methilmercury doses. The investigation have been carried out with support of RFH grant No 05-06-06111a “Evaluation of population health in influence of technogenic mercury”.