Status Satisfaction Research Articles

Psychosocial experiences of involuntary definitive childless women: a comparative study based on reproductive status.

Do involuntary definitive childless women have lower psychosocial adjustment levels than women with infertility diagnoses actively trying to conceive and presumably fertile women? Involuntary definitive childless women have lower levels of sexual functioning than infertile women actively trying to conceive and presumably fertile women, and higher levels of depression than presumably fertile women. Involuntary definitive childless defines those who wanted to become parents but were unable to do so. Studies have provided evidence about infertility and its psychosocial consequences, but there is a lack of knowledge about the impact of involuntary definitive childlessness, namely on sexual function, social support, marital satisfaction, and psychological adjustment. This associative study was conducted between July 2021 and January 2022 for involuntary definitive childless women and between July 2016 and February 2018 for women with an infertility diagnosis actively trying to conceive as well as presumably fertile women. An online questionnaire announced in social media and gynaecology and fertility clinics was used. The inclusion criteria for all participants were being childless, in a heterosexual relationship and cohabiting for at least 2 years. Specific inclusion criteria for involuntary definitive childless women were: trying to conceive for at least 2 years; not achieving pregnancy because of biological and medical constraints; and not undergoing fertility treatment or being a candidate for adopting a child at time of the study. For women with an infertility diagnosis the inclusion criteria were: actively trying to conceive (naturally or through fertility treatments); having a primary fertility diagnosis; and aged between 22 and 42 years old. For presumably fertile women, the inclusion criteria were: having a parenthood wish in the future; and not knowing of any condition that could prevent them from conceiving. Out of 360 women completing the survey, only 203 were eligible for this study (60 involuntary definitive childless women, 78 women with an infertility diagnosis actively trying to conceive, and 65 presumably fertile women). All participants completed a questionnaire including sociodemographic and clinical data, the Female Sexual Function Index, the 2-Way Social Support Scale, the Relationship Assessment Scale, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Binary logistic regression was performed to assess the relation between sexual function, social support, marital satisfaction, anxiety, depression, and reproductive status, adjusting for age, and cohabitation length. Presumably fertile women were used as a reference group. Women were 34.31 years old (SD = 5.89) and cohabited with their partners for 6.55 years (SD = 4.57). The odds ratio (OR) showed that involuntary definitive childless women had significantly lower sexual function than infertile women actively trying to conceive (OR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.79-0.99) and presumably fertile women (OR = 34.89, 95% CI = 1.98-614.03), and higher depression levels than presumably fertile women (OR = 99.89, 95% CI = 3.29-3037.87). Women with an infertility diagnosis actively trying to conceive did not differ from presumably fertile women in sexual function, social support, marital satisfaction, anxiety, and depression. The majority of childless women underwent fertility treatments, and childlessness for circumstantial reasons owing to lack of a partner was not included, therefore these results may not reflect the experiences of all women with an involuntary childless lifestyle. There was a time gap in the recruitment process, and only the definitive childlessness group filled out the questionnaire after the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. We did not ask participants if they self-identified themselves with the groups' terminology they were assigned to. Our results emphasize the importance of future research to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the adjustment experiences of childless women and an awareness of the poor adjustment they might experience, highlighting the need to keep following women after unsuccessful treatments. Clinical practitioners must attend to these dimensions when consulting involuntary definitive childless women who might not have gone through treatments but also experience these adverse outcomes. This study was partially supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. N/A.

The Importance of Job Satisfaction in Dubai Police and Influencing Factors

Purpose: Government employees, like persons in the private sector, spend a lot of their time in public service. Consequently, employee satisfaction is essential for safeguarding long-term effectiveness and efficiency in both private and public sector organizations. Creating satisfactory working environments improves employees’ work-life balance, thus higher satisfaction levels. Every year, job satisfaction levels are measured throughout all the UAE public sector institutes. This is done through a survey sent by the Dubai Government Excellence Program (DGEP) to the employees every year. With the United Arab Emirates being heralded as one of the leading countries to create ideal work environments for employees, this study aims at determining the underlying factors that affect employee satisfaction in Dubai Police traffic department.
 Methodology: The study adopted descriptive research design. The research applied a purposive simple random sampling technique and probabilistic sampling technique. Data was collected on Dubai police traffic department employees. A quantitative and qualitative data analysis was conducted for the current research based on the collected data from the questionnaires circulated within the employees of police traffic department. Data were then analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS-15) for statistical analysis. The results were presented in form of tables.
 Findings: While the socio-demographic factors could be considered factors explaining job satisfaction, age and marital status are the only factors that strongly explain the relationship due to their significant result. Additionally, for the nine environmental factors, using factor analysis to determine variables that strongly explain the dependent variables, the variable under “my work directly contributes towards organization’s goals” efficiently explains the status of job satisfaction. Furthermore, execution of mandates informed by the ability of the company to address public complaints and safe work environment influences job satisfaction levels.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Although salary and work directly contribute towards an organization’s goals, companies can ensure that job levels are acquired in the right way. This way, the organization can efficiently address public complaints and promote a safe and healthy working environment. , these findings will inform further studies on behavioral management and workplace productivity in organizations

Occupational perceptions of physiotherapists and physiotherapy students in Turkey: A comparative study.

The social position, perceived prestige and image of a profession are often of interest to members of that profession, and physiotherapy is no exception. The aim of this study was to examine the perceived occupational prestige and image of physiotherapists and physiotherapy students in Turkey. 235 physiotherapy students and 465 physiotherapists were included in the study. A survey questioning occupational image, job satisfaction and prestige of the profession according to eight occupations was completed by the participants online. In terms of prestige, physiotherapy students ranked their profession fourth among eight undergraduate professions, while physiotherapists ranked their profession fifth. Compared to physiotherapists, physiotherapy students had more positive perceptions about their children becoming physiotherapists, the image of the profession in the eyes of the society, and job satisfaction (p < 0.05). Professional expectations of physiotherapists were higher than students. In addition, physiotherapists working for more than ten years had more positive perceptions about their children becoming physiotherapists, the public image of the profession, income level, and social standing, although perceived job satisfaction and need status were lower compared to physiotherapists with less than ten years of experience (p < 0.05). While physiotherapy students in Turkey perceived the prestige of the physiotherapist profession at a moderate level compared to other undergraduate professions, physiotherapists had a slightly lower perception of professional prestige compared to students. More comprehensive studies are needed on this subject.

Quantitative Inquiry on Employees' Mental Health Status, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment of a State University in Central Luzon, Philippines

The study aimed to determine the job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and mental health status of employees of a state university. More so, it sought to assess the significant difference in the employees' level of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, mental health status according to their profile. In addition, the relationship of these variables was also analyzed. The study utilized a descriptive quantitative approach to identify the level of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and mental health status of the 384 conveniently selected employees of a state university in Central Luzon, Philippines. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed in analyzing the collected data through Statistical Package Social Science (SPSS) version 23 software. The study found out the employees of a state university differ on their job satisfaction, organizational commitment and mental health status, when grouped according to their profile. The study also inferred that there is an inverse correlation between the employees’ mental health status and their satisfaction; and on the employees’ organizational commitment and their mental health status. Conversely, the study implied that as satisfaction of employees increases, their organizational commitment also increases.

Users’ Access, Utilization, and Satisfaction with Library Resources, Services, and Facilities in a Selected Academic Library

The study sought to evaluate the status of access, utilization, and satisfaction with the library resources, services, and facilities. Likewise, it ascertained if utilization has a significant relationship with satisfaction. A sample size of 351, representing 20% of the population, was selected through random sampling. The respondents were the 31 faculty members and 320 students who have visited the library. An online survey using a Google Form questionnaire was used. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean score, and Pearson's r. The study results showed that almost all faculty and student respondents have accessed the library's resources, services, and facilities. This effort resulted in a very high utilization and satisfaction level. Notedly, faculty members visit the library, avail varied services, and utilize resources in various formats as their primary tool, particularly in developing their course outline, preparing lectures, searching a topic for giving assignments/projects, preparing handouts for students, looking for supplementary reading material and knowing the variety of material available in the library to guide students. The library's high utilization and satisfaction rating create an excellent reputation attributed to its good service philosophy, relevant and appropriate physical set-up, and sufficient collection in quantity, depth, diversity, format, and currency to support the research and teaching mission of the institution.

Effect of thermal insulation on preventing hypothermia during laparoscopic radical resection for colorectal cancer.

To evaluate the effect of thermal insulation nursing in the operating room on preventing hypothermia during laparoscopic radical resection of colorectal cancer. Sixty colorectal cancer patients undergoing laparoscopic radical resection from June 2022 to August 2023 were included. The research group received thermal insulation nursing interventions using medical heaters and infusion heaters, while the control group received routine nursing measures. Clinical data including vital signs, intraoperative and postoperative complications, recovery time, nursing satisfaction, and psychological and sleep status were compared between the two groups. Thirty minutes after skin incision, both groups showed decreased body temperature, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared to pre-surgery levels, with no significant difference between groups (P > 0.05). However, the research group exhibited lower rates of intraoperative hypothermia, postoperative infection, and other complications, as well as shorter postoperative recovery times, hospital stays, anxiety, and depression scores compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Additionally, the research group demonstrated higher comfort scores, shorter sleep latency, longer actual sleep time, and higher nursing satisfaction rate (P < 0.05). Thermal insulation nursing intervention in the operating room during laparoscopic radical resection of colorectal cancer contributes to maintaining vital signs, preventing intraoperative hypothermia, reducing postoperative complications, expediting recovery, and improving psychological well-being and sleep quality. This intervention enhances patient comfort and nursing satisfaction in perioperative care.

Identifying the most crucial factors associated with depression based on interpretable machine learning: a case study from CHARLS.

Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses among middle-aged and older adults in China. It is of great importance to find the crucial factors that lead to depression and to effectively control and reduce the risk of depression. Currently, there are limited methods available to accurately predict the risk of depression and identify the crucial factors that influence it. We collected data from 25,586 samples from the harmonized China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), and the latest records from 2018 were included in the current cross-sectional analysis. Ninety-three input variables in the survey were considered as potential influential features. Five machine learning (ML) models were utilized, including CatBoost and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), Gradient Boosting decision tree (GBDT), Random Forest (RF), Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM). The models were compared to the traditional multivariable Linear Regression (LR) model. Simultaneously, SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) were used to identify key influencing factors at the global level and explain individual heterogeneity through instance-level analysis. To explore how different factors are non-linearly associated with the risk of depression, we employed the Accumulated Local Effects (ALE) approach to analyze the identified critical variables while controlling other covariates. CatBoost outperformed other machine learning models in terms of MAE, MSE, MedAE, and R2metrics. The top three crucial factors identified by the SHAP were r4satlife, r4slfmem, and r4shlta, representing life satisfaction, self-reported memory, and health status levels, respectively. This study demonstrates that the CatBoost model is an appropriate choice for predicting depression among middle-aged and older adults in Harmonized CHARLS. The SHAP and ALE interpretable methods have identified crucial factors and the nonlinear relationship with depression, which require the attention of domain experts.

The marital satisfaction status and its related factors in pregnant women in semnan, Iran: A cross-sectional study

The marital satisfaction status and its related factors in pregnant women in semnan, Iran: A cross-sectional study

Human resource management and artificial intelligence integration development and innovation

Abstract Artificial Intelligence is one of the important tools to realize the effective management of human resources. The article firstly investigates and finds out the problems of the current salary satisfaction status of the employees of column A of a news center, designs the job salary prediction model based on a collaborative filtering algorithm and the separation prediction model based on standard Logistic regression based on the results of the questionnaire, and finally calculates the economic benefits of the employees of column A of the news center. The performance bonus of column A of the news center in 2019 showed a steady upward trend as a whole, with 107,908 yuan in January and 198,320 yuan in December. The market value of column A of the news center increased steadily in 2020, reaching 171,134 yuan in January and 230,370 yuan in December. In 2021, the performance bonus of column A of the news center in January ~ June has not changed much, which is 112,099 yuan in January and 122,076 yuan in June. It can be concluded that the salary prediction model proposed in this paper has high accuracy in predicting the performance bonus of the news center A column, and the market value shows an increasing trend year by year. It can be seen from the analysis of the economic benefits of the news center A column after operating the salary and separation prediction model proposed in this paper the financial benefits after performance management have been changed for the better.

Đánh giá sự hài lòng của người bệnh khám ngoại trú tại khoa khám bệnh Bệnh viện Quân dân Y 16, năm 2023

The study aimed to evaluate the satisfaction of outpatients at the Department of Examination - Military Hospital 16 in 2023. The design of a cross-sectional descriptive study was collected on 147 outpatients by quantitative interview method, using the checklist of the Ministry of Health according to Decision 3869/QD-BYT. Research results show that the average overall satisfaction score is 4.09 ± 0.71 points, with 78.9% satisfied (including very satisfied and satisfied). Satisfaction results according to the following aspects: Accessibility (74.15%), Medical examination and treatment procedures (80.14%), Medical examination and treatment facilities (75.94%), Thai Behavior and professional capacity of medical staff (89.29%), Service delivery results (81.29%). Some factors related to satisfaction indicated in the study are female gender, using health insurance and average personal income ≥5 million/month, the difference is statistically significant with p&lt;0.05. Research results show that the satisfaction status of outpatients at the Outpatient Department is lower than the hospital's expectations and compared with other studies, especially in terms of Accessibility and Medical examination and treatment facilities.

Reliability and validity test and application of the Chinese version of the Feeling of Satisfaction with Inhaler.

Inhaler satisfaction is an important factor affecting inhaler adherence and the efficacy of inhalers in chronic airway diseases. Using a scientific and effective method to assess patients' satisfaction with inhalers is of great significance for improving clinical outcomes. The Feeling of Satisfaction with Inhaler-10 (FSI-10) is specifically designed to assess patients' inhaler satisfaction in chronic airway diseases, but the application research on this scale is not available in China. This study aims to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of FSI-10, describe the current status of inhaler satisfaction and discuss the associated variables in Chinese patients with chronic airway disease. Based on the English version of FSI-10, items of the Chinese version of FSI-10 were determined after forward⁃backward translation and cultural adaption. Totally, 322 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma were enrolled from the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from June to October 2022. We collected associated clinical variables and inhaler satisfaction using the Chinese version of FSI-10. The content validity of the scale was expressed by content validity index (CVI) and the construct validity was analyzed by exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The reliability of the scale was expressed by Cronbach's α coefficient, the split-half reliability and test-retest reliability. A multivariate logistic regression was conducted to examine variables related to inhaler satisfaction. The reliability and validity analysis showed that the CVI was 0.983. One factor was extracted from the Chinese version of FSI-10 and the cumulative variance contribution rate was 73.114%. The Cronbach's α of the scale was 0.913, the Guttman's half-reliability coefficient was 0.905, and the test-retest reliability was 0.727 (P<0.001). In addition, the total score of the scale for patients was 38.92±4.26 points and the proportion of high satisfaction (the score of FSI-10≥40) in patients with COPD was significantly lower than that in asthma patients (71.3% vs 87.9%, P<0.01). Older age (age≥70 years) was a risk factor of lower inhaler satisfaction and asthma diagnosis was a protective factor. The Chinese version of FSI-10 has good reliability and validity in patients with COPD and asthma, which may be further promoted and applied in patients with chronic airway disease in China. Doctors should regularly evaluate the inhaler satisfaction of patients with chronic airway diseases, especially for those elder or with severe symptoms and a long course of illness.

Factors that Influence the Decision to Undergo Cosmetic Surgery

During the past decade there has been a dramatic increase in the number of cosmetic surgery procedures. This increase has in turn piqued the interest in the psychological aspects of this newly popular procedure. The aim of the current study was to ascertain psychosocial factors expected to predict an interest in cosmetic surgery. For this purpose, we compared the results obtained by two groups of research on the following psychological variables: body images, self-esteem, appearance anxiety, subjective happiness, life satisfaction. The first group (surgery group -SG) was composed of 72 participants recruited from a private plastic surgery clinic in Bucharest, Romania. The second group (non-surgery group -NSG) was selected from the general population who are not willing to perform cosmetic surgery now or at any time soon. Individuals/participants were split into two homogeneous groups according to age, marital status, gender and education level. The data was analysed using correlation and multiple regression in order to identify any possible relationships between the variables, as well as find the best predictor for the likelihood of undergoing cosmetic surgery. Analyses revealed self-esteem, overweight preoccupation, body satisfaction, subjective happiness and marital status significantly predicted higher levels of self-reported of acceptance aesthetic interventions. Self-esteem and body image were the strongest predictors of cosmetic surgery motivation. This information can help elucidate the psychological characteristics of individuals who are interested into and looking for cosmetic surgeries and significantly focus upon the relevance of the preliminary interview for patient screening when it comes to cosmetic

Decomposition analysis of the difference in depressive symptoms between urban and rural employed people in China: Unpaid work plays an important role.

Focusing on the relationship between unpaid labor and the occurrence of depressive symptoms, this study aimed to explore the factors influencing the inequality of depressive symptoms and their contribution among Chinese urban and rural employed people. This study utilized the 2020 China Family Panel Studies' national resampling data. Multivariate logistic regression was used to explore the factors influencing the occurrence of depressive symptoms among employed persons in urban and rural areas in China, respectively. Fairlie decomposition was used to explore the contribution of influencing factors such as unpaid labor to the difference in the occurrence of depressive symptoms between urban and rural areas. About 2,136 (21.70%) participants had depressive symptoms, of which 1,197 (24.75%) rural employed people had depressive symptoms and 939 (18.75%) urban employed people had depressive symptoms. The results of Fairlie decomposition analysis showed that 70.51% of the differences in depressive symptoms between urban and rural Chinese employed people could be explained by the covariates included in this study, including education level (52.44%), age (-11.91%), housework time (10.42%), self-rated health status (10.22%), self-rated income status (2.53%), exercise (2.36%), job satisfaction status (1.99%), chronic disease status (1.90%), and marital status (1.79%). This study found that the proportion of depressive symptoms was lower among urban employed residents than among rural employed residents. This difference was mainly caused by unpaid labor time, socioeconomic status, personal lifestyle, and health status. Housework, which is one of the unpaid labor, contributed to this depressive symptom difference in the third place.

A Qualitative Study of Disability in Minority Veterans and Their Utilization of the VA Health System

Over time, as the United States army increased, white and minority citizens joined the military forces. This led to the establishment of the Veterans Bureau, and later the Veterans Administration, to care for the wounded soldiers. Although the nation had developed a system to provide services to veterans since the late 1700s, there has been a decline in utilization of y veteran service members in the modern day. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to investigate the causes behind the limited use of the mental health services provided by the VHA by minority veteran service members and to propose ways to improve these services. Additionally, another purpose was to examine any cases of discrimination against minority veteran service members based on interviews with participants and previous empirical literature. After conducting multiple interviews, the status of patient satisfaction, degree of reliance on VHA medical facilities, perception of efficiency of services, and patronage XIII were analyzed. In summary, previous empirical literature had indicated that minority veteran service members were more likely to face discrimination because of racial bias. However, today, that is not largely the case. Rather, most of the minority veteran service members interviewed did not face discrimination and they were content with the health services offered. While some of the interviewees did claim that they faced some acts of discrimination, the overwhelming majority did not. These findings suggest that most minority veteran service members do not face discrimination and that they are actively interested in seeking VH healthcare services. Nevertheless, understanding minority veteran service members may enable healthcare providers to provide them with customized healthcare sections.

Level of Life Satisfaction and Health Status in the Older People: Using the Korean Retirement and Income Study(KReIS)

Level of Life Satisfaction anGiven the nature of health conditions it seems so obvious at a first glance that one’s health status activities should contribute to his/her life satisfaction. Indeed, recent research has found positive effects of health status on objective or subjective life satisfaction. This study focused on analyzing the association between physical and mental health of the elderly and their life satisfaction based on the longitudinal data. This analysis uses data from eight waves of the 1st to 8th Korean Retirement and Income Study (KReIS), a large, randomly sampled longitudinal study of older adults (aged 50 and over across the observation period). The results indicate that disabilities and both physical and mental health variables contribute positively to life satisfaction. Social and economic policies can possibly reduce the difficulties are important interventions that can support successful aging. d Health Status in the Older People: Using the Korean Retirement and Income Study (KReIS)

Exploration of related factors of suicide ideation in hospitalized older adults

BackgroundWith the rapid aging of the population structure, and the suicide ideation rate also increasing year by year, the ratio of people over 65 to the total number of deaths is increasing yearly. The study provides a reference for researchers interested in older adults’ care to explore SI further affecting older adults in the future and provide a reference for qualitative research methods or interventional measures.ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to explore the influence of mental health status, life satisfaction, and depression status on suicidal ideation (SI) among hospitalized older adults.MethodsIn a cross-sectional correlation study, taking inpatients over 65 years old in a regional teaching hospital in eastern Taiwan, and the BSRS-5 ≧ 5 points of the screening cases, a total of 228 older adults agree to conduct data analysis in this study. Mainly explore the influence of personal characteristics, mental health status, life satisfaction, and depressed mood on SI among the hospitalized older adults. The basic attributes of the cases used in the data, mental health status, cognitive function, quality of life, depression, and suicide ideation, the data obtained were statistically analyzed with SPSS 20/Windows, and the descriptive statistics were average, standard deviation, percentage, median, etc. In the part of inference statistics, independent sample t-test, single-factor analysis of variance, Pearson performance difference correlation, and logistic regression analysis were used to detect important predictors of SI.ResultsResearch results in (1) 89.5% of hospitalized older adults have a tendency to depression. 2.26.3% of the older adults had SI. (2) Here are significant differences in the scores of SI among hospitalized older adults in different economic status groups and marital status groups. (3) The age, marital status, and quality of life of the hospitalized older adults were negatively correlated with SI; economic status, self-conscious health, mental health, and depression were positively correlated with SI. (4) The results of the mental health status and SI is (r = .345, p < .001), higher the score on the BSRS-5 scale, the higher the SI. The correlation between the depression scale score (SDS-SF) and SI was (r = .150, p < .05), the higher the depression scale score, the higher the SI.ConclusionThe results of the study found that there was a statistically significant correlation between SI in older adults and age, marital status, economic status, mental health, quality of life, and depression, and also showed that they might interact with each other; the older adults in BSRS-5, GDS-SF, quality of life scale scores have statistically significant differences as essential predictors of SI. The results of this study suggest that medical staff can use the BSRS-5 scale to quickly screen and evaluate the mental health status of older adults, hoping to detect early and provide preventive measures, thereby improving the quality of life of older adults.

Study on the Consumers’ Satisfaction Extension for Self-service Technology and the Role of Demographic Characteristics in Hong Kong Fast-food Restaurants During the COVID-19 Epidemic

This study explores the effects of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, service speed, and perceived enjoyment on experience satisfaction and experience extension when Hong Kong fast-food restaurant consumers use self-service technology and the impact of different consumer characteristics on the degree of different experience satisfaction. Using a mixed research method, combining qualitative and quantitative methods, using focus groups and literature discussions as the collection of qualitative data, using interview questionnaires and large-scale questionnaires as the collection of quantitative data. Moreover, recovering effective data by snowballing is one of the non-probability methods. There are 315 questionnaires in total. Using the SPSS system to analyze the collected data, the results show that all factors are essential, and the relationship between each group of variables is positively correlated. Age, gender, and education level of consumer characteristics all have significant differences in experience satisfaction, while income and marital status have no significant differences in experience satisfaction. It is recommended that policymakers, technology providers, and industry work together to improve existing technologies and allow seniors to have a more inclusive experience, reduce the gap in experience satisfaction among consumers with different educational levels, and increase the satisfaction of the self-service experience of consumers with lower education levels.

Clinical evaluation of subcutaneous immunotherapy with a polymerized molecular allergoid of Alt a 1 in patients with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and/or allergic asthma caused by the mould Alternaria alternata.

This is a retrospective analysis of the clinical evolution of 14 patients diagnosed with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (AR) and/or allergic asthma (AA) caused by Alternaria alternata, who were attended by the allergology service of Vega Baja Hospital of Orihuela (Alicante, Spain). The purpose was to assess the clinical impact and safety of 1-year of subcutaneous immunotherapy with a polymerized molecular allergoid of Alt a 1. Impact of the treatment on allergic diseases (mean number AR/AA episodes and ARIA/GINA classifications), changes in symptoms and prescribed medication, change in the global subjective clinical status of patients and satisfaction with the treatment were also evaluated. Adverse reactions were also recorded and analyzed. After 1-year of treatment, fewer AR and AA episodes (p less than 0.05) and improvements in ARIA/GINA classifications were observed. Significant improvements of symptoms (p less than 0.05) and a resulting general reduction of the medication prescribed was also detected. Improvements in the global subjective clinical status and good satisfaction rates were observed. Only 1 patient presented a local and not clinically relevant adverse reaction. The treatment showed promising effects with a significant improvement in the clinical status of all patients with a good safety profile.

Combined Mustardé and Furnas type otoplasty with minimal conchal cartilage excision

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the complication rate and satisfaction status of patients who underwent otoplasty with the combined&#x0D; Mustardé and Furnas sutures with minimal medial conchal cartilage excision.&#x0D; Materials and Methods: Forty-four ears of 22 patients, operated for prominent ear deformity were retrospectively included in the&#x0D; study. Patients were called for follow-up at various time intervals. At the sixth month, the patient and parents were asked to rate their&#x0D; satisfaction with the operation on a scale of 1-10 and noted.&#x0D; Results: The mean age of the patients was 8.09±2.72 years. The antihelix was created with Mustardé technique, minimal medial&#x0D; conchal excisions were performed, two conchamastoid sutures were placed with Furnas technique. The mean follow-up period was&#x0D; 23.86±11.97 months. Complications developed in 4 of 44 ears (9%). Major complication rate was 4.5%. Two patients (4.5%) had suture&#x0D; extrusion in one ear. None of the patients scored lower than 7 in the satisfaction questionnaire.&#x0D; Conclusion: Otoplasty with a combination of cartilage-sparing techniques has low complication, revision, and high satisfaction rates.&#x0D; Minimal medial conchal cartilage excision in addition to this technique is beneficial in reducing the conchamastoid tension and does&#x0D; not increase the risk of complications.

Relationship between social support, life satisfaction, and smoking status among US adults with cardiovascular risks

Social support and life satisfaction are important determinants of health behaviors and health outcomes. Cigarette smoking, a health risk behavior that increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, is deemed to have association with perceived social support and life satisfaction. This study assessed this relationship among US adults with one or more cardiovascular (CV) risks, namely, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity. Using nationally representative data from the 2021 National Health Interview Survey on 17,557 adults with at least one CV risk, we examined whether individuals with low life-satisfaction and weak social-support were more likely to smoke compared to those with high life-satisfaction and strong social support. At different levels of social support (strong and weak), the odds of smoking were higher among individuals with low level of life satisfaction. Likewise, at different levels of life satisfaction (high, medium, and low), smoking prevalence was the highest among individuals with weak social support. Estimates of the multivariable logistic regressions, with controls for various demographic and socioeconomic correlates, suggested that the adjusted odds of current smoking for individuals with low life-satisfaction and weak social-support were 3.07 (95% CI: 2.34, 4.03) times that of individuals with high life-satisfaction and strong social support. This association was robust across all four CV risk factors, and across different sociodemographic (i.e., sex, age, race and ethnicity) and socioeconomic (i.e., income, urban/rural residence) sub-groups.