Sample Survey Research Articles

Healthcare utilization in women diagnosed with endometrial cancer: A survey-based study

ObjectiveDespite similar incidence, non-Hispanic Black women are twice as likely to die of endometrial cancer as non-Hispanic White women. The social determinants of health may contribute to this disparity. We studied barriers to care and social needs of endometrial cancer patients. MethodsIn a cohort of patients with endometrial cancer from the All of Us study, participants self-reported demographics and completed validated surveys (access to medical care, transportation, caregiving, finances, medication, general care, specialty care, housing insecurity). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models evaluated demographic and access factors associated with any need. ResultsOf 568 participants, 77.7% identified as non-Hispanic White, 7.5% Black, and 8.8% Hispanic. 59% were > 65 years and 95.8% insured. Contributors to delays in care were paying out of pocket (9.9%), provider anxiety (7.6%), transportation (6.3%), cost of copay (6.2%), and insufficient leave from work (5.6%). To mitigate healthcare costs, 16.2% of participants inquired about lower-cost medications, 11.1% reported delaying filling prescriptions, 7.6% taking fewer prescribed medications, and 6.5% skipped doses. Regarding multivariate analysis, participants earning <$25,000 had a 7.3 (95% CI 1.7–31.7) higher adjusted odds of transportation needs and 3.6 (95% CI 1.4–9.7) higher difficulty accessing specialists. No racial/ethnic disparities were identified. ConclusionsSocial needs and barriers to care are most pronounced among endometrial cancer survivors earning <$25,000. Unexpectedly, and possibly related to sample size or survey tool, race/ethnicity were not zassociated with barriers to care. Further studies on health-related social needs, optimal screening tools, and effective interventions are needed in order to achieve equity in cancer outcomes for endometrial cancer patients.

Drivers of hospital nurse practitioner turnover: A national sample survey analysis

BackgroundHospital nurse practitioner (NP) turnover is costly and complex. PurposeProvide a pre-COVID-19 pandemic baseline of hospital NP turnover. MethodsA secondary analysis of NSSRN18 data on 6,558 (67,863 weighted) NPs employed in hospitals on 12/31/2017. We describe rates of turnover, intention to leave, and reasons for leaving or staying. Using multivariate logistic regression, we examine the association between individual and organizational characteristics and turnover. Survey weights and jackknife standard errors were applied to analyses. DiscussionApproximately 10% of NPs left their job the following year, and 53% of NPs that remained considered leaving at some point. The top reasons cited for leaving or staying were largely organizational factors. Regression analysis revealed not practicing to one’s fullest scope, lower income, lack team-based care, and non-white race were associated with an increased likelihood to leave. ConclusionWe find several modifiable factors associated with hospital NP turnover that can be used to tailor recruitment and retention strategies.

Nurse practitioners’ degrees and associations with time use, functional autonomy, and job outcomes

BackgroundDoctorate of Nursing Practice preparation is recommended for entry to nurse practitioner (NP) practice but there are few comparative studies, and their designs conflate educational pathways. PurposeTo investigate time use, functional autonomy, and job outcomes among NPs without a doctorate, NPs whose initial NP preparation and doctorate were separated by 2 or more years, and NPs whose NP preparation and doctorate were concurrent. MethodWe selected all NPs from the 2018 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses, except those whose doctorates focused on research. We controlled for confounding and applied sample weights to produce nationally representative results. DiscussionNPs' educational pathways are associated with distinct practice roles and, moving forward, policy should be informed by evidence that accounts for their differences. ConclusionConcurrent NPs had higher levels of functional autonomy compared with NPs without a doctorate, but patterns of time use were essentially the same. Separate doctoral education was associated with teaching and administration.

Significance of the sample determination in assessment of radiological examinations frequencies for population doses due to medical exposures

The radiological examination frequency, i.e. the number of examinations performed annually, is necessary for estimating the collective effective dose of the population from medical exposures with ionizing radiation. Examination frequency surveys usually collect data from a limited number of radiological facilities participating in the survey. The collected data are then extrapolated to the existing radiological facilities in a country/region. Thus, the number of facilities and the specific facilities to participate, as well as, the extrapolation method used, are significant elements when designing the survey sample and methodology for examinations frequency assessments.This work attempted to simulate the situation when examination frequency data are collected from a limited number of facilities by investigating several “virtual sample” designs and two extrapolation methods. Comparisons between the calculated − by extrapolation – and the actual examination frequency in the country were made, for several scenarios and examination type data sets. The uncertainties were estimated and discussed thoroughly.The findings of this work highlighted the need for appropriate registry of the existing facilities in a country/region, the categorization of facilities considering the medical sector pattern in the country/region, the representativity and homogeneity of the samples used for a survey, as well as, the necessity for quality control of the collected examination frequency data.The results showed that when the aforementioned conditions were fulfilled, the examination frequency could be calculated with reasonable accuracy, based on data collected from a limited number of facilities.The paper also provides suggestions and tips for the collection and analysis of examination frequency data.

How green transformational leadership drives environmental performance and firm performance? Empirical evidence from an emerging economy

AbstractThis study attempted to inspect the influence of green transformational leadership (GTL) on the development of business performance (FP) and environmental performance (EP) in SMEs of Vietnam with a mediating of green innovation (GI). Besides, the current study evaluated the positive impact of GTL on green human resource management (GHRM) and green thinking (GT), and ultimately on GI. The study investigated the hypotheses supplied by 416 survey samples from managers and directors at SMEs using structural equation modeling. Our findings reveal that GTL significantly influences the three green criterias, GHRM, GT, and GI. It investigates the impact of green factors in the context of Vietnamese SMEs. Specifically, the uniqueness of this study lies in examining the mediating role of GI with respect to the link between GTL and EP, FP, to compare how the indirect effects of GTL on EP and FP differ under the same conditions. Besides, the finding highlights that businesses will benefit from continual GI regarding the environment, earnings, and corporate image. Thus, the implications arising from this study and related documents contribute to helping managers understand the needs and benefits of green factors, thereby prioritizing the transmission of green goals to employees via vision and mission, thereby creating a new cultural dimension that contributes to the natural environment's sustainability. Furthermore, managers are urged to recruit, inspire, and provide opportunities for green human resources to use their potential for enhancing green products and processes to build the business and contribute to the environment.

Prevalence, patterns, and determinants of breastfeeding cessation among mothers of children under 24 months in Uganda

BackgroundBreastfeeding duration is a critical component of infant and child nutrition, providing immediate and long-term benefits to both children and their mothers. This study uses data from the lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) survey to examine the prevalence, patterns, and determinants of breastfeeding cessation in Uganda.MethodsThis study was a secondary analysis of data collected by the cross-sectional LQAS surveys in 2021 and 2022 covering 77 districts in Uganda. The LQAS survey methodology employs a systematic sampling approach to assess whether predefined quality standards are met within specific subgroups of a population. The study employed spatial analysis, bivariate analysis and logistic regression, both with and without clustering, to explore associations between independent variables and breastfeeding cessation. Unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Statistical significance was set at 5%.ResultsOverall, the study analysed 26,377 records of mothers with children under 24 months old. The mothers’ mean age was 27.9 years while that of their children was 11.0 months. While the general breastfeeding cessation rate was 17.7%, cessation was highest (49.7%) among mothers of children 18-23 months. Factors associated with increased odds of breastfeeding cessation included older child’s age, older mother’s age, using modern family planning, being pregnant and having an unknown pregnancy status. Lower odds of breastfeeding cessation were observed among mothers who; were married, lived in larger households, lived in rural residences, whose children received vitamin A supplementation and among all other regions compared to Kampala.ConclusionOne in five mothers cessed breastfeeding before their child reached 2 years, with a significant increase in cessation odds among mothers of older children. These findings underscore the importance of interventions to promote breastfeeding continuation and adequate nutrition for non-breastfed infants, particularly in regions with high cessation rates.

Distress financing associated with out-of-pocket expenditure for non-communicable diseases in India

ABSTRACT Objective The objective of this study is to assess the coping mechanisms used by the households who incur out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) due to Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs). Also, it seeks to examine the underlying factors responsible for various coping strategy. Data and Methods Data from the 75th round of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) has been used for the study. Descriptive statistics, concentration index (CI), and multinomial logistic regression have been employed to do the analysis. Results Households having cancer patients have a higher rate (46.80%) of distress financing, followed by cardiovascular diseases (27.43%), chronic respiratory diseases (26.91%), and diabetes (24.77%). The result of multinomial logistic regression shows that households belonging to the other caste categories, availing healthcare at private health centre, lower economic status, lack of insurance coverage, and households with casual labour are more likely to depend upon distress financing for NCDs hospitalisation. Conclusion The issue of financing inpatient care for NCDs, specifically cancer and cardiovascular diseases, is a significant concern in India. Therefore, an increase in public expenditure and investment in public health facilities is essential to increase health seeking behaviour of people by reducing OOPE, particularly among the poor and marginalised groups.

EHealth Literacy and the Use of NHS 111 Online Urgent Care Service in England: Cross-Sectional Survey.

Many health care systems have used digital technologies to support care delivery, a trend amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. "Digital first" may exacerbate health inequalities due to variations in eHealth literacy. The relationship between eHealth literacy and web-based urgent care service use is unknown. This study aims to measure the association between eHealth literacy and the use of NHS (National Health Service) 111 online urgent care service. A cross-sectional sequential convenience sample survey was conducted with 2754 adults (October 2020-July 2021) from primary, urgent, or emergency care; third sector organizations; and the NHS 111 online website. The survey included the eHealth Literacy Questionnaire (eHLQ), questions about use, preferences for using NHS 111 online, and sociodemographic characteristics. Across almost all dimensions of the eHLQ, NHS 111 online users had higher mean digital literacy scores than nonusers (P<.001). Four eHLQ dimensions were significant predictors of use, and the most highly significant dimensions were eHLQ1 (using technology to process health information) and eHLQ3 (ability to actively engage with digital services), with odds ratios (ORs) of 1.86 (95% CI 1.46-2.38) and 1.51 (95% CI 1.22-1.88), respectively. Respondents reporting a long-term health condition had lower eHLQ scores. People younger than 25 years (OR 3.24, 95% CI 1.87-5.62) and those with formal qualifications (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.55-0.99) were more likely to use NHS 111 online. Users and nonusers were likely to use NHS 111 online for a range of symptoms, including chest pain symptoms (n=1743, 70.4%) or for illness in children (n=1117, 79%). The users of NHS 111 online were more likely to have also used other health services, particularly the 111 telephone service (χ12=138.57; P<.001). These differences in eHealth literacy scores amplify perennial concerns about digital exclusion and access to care for those impacted by intersecting forms of disadvantage, including long-term illness. Although many appear willing to use NHS 111 online for a range of health scenarios, indicating broad acceptability, not all are able or likely to do this. Despite a policy ambition for NHS 111 online to substitute for other services, it appears to be used alongside other urgent care services and thus may not reduce demand.

National Trends in Emergency Department Visits for Suicide Attempts and Intentional Self-Harm.

This study estimated national annual trends and characteristics of emergency department visits for suicide attempts and intentional self-harm in the United States from 2011 to 2020. Data were from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, an annual cross-sectional national sample survey of emergency departments. Visits for suicide attempts and intentional self-harm were identified using discharge diagnosis codes (ICD-9-CM for 2011-2015; ICD-10-CM for 2016-2020) or reason-for-visit codes. The annual proportion of emergency department visits for suicide attempts and intentional self-harm was estimated. The weighted number of emergency department visits for suicide attempts and intentional self-harm increased from 1.43 million, or 0.6% of total emergency department visits, in 2011-2012 to 5.37 million, or 2.1% of total emergency department visits in 2019-2020 (average annual percent change, 19.5%, 95% CI=16.9, 22.2). Visits per capita increased from 261 to 871 visits per 100,000 persons (average annual percent change, 18.8%, 95% CI=17.6, 20.0). The increase in visits was widely distributed across sociodemographic groups. While suicide attempt and intentional self-harm visits were most common among adolescents, adults age 65 or older demonstrated the largest increase (average annual percent change, 30.2%, 95% CI=28.5, 32.0). Drug-related diagnoses were the most common co-occurring diagnosis among suicide attempt and intentional self-harm visits. Despite the rise in emergency department visits for suicide attempts and intentional self-harm, less than 16% included an evaluation by a mental health professional. A significant national increase in emergency department visits for suicide attempts and intentional self-harm occurred from 2011 to 2020, as a proportion of total emergency department visits and as visits per capita. These trends underscore an urgent need to improve the continuum of mental health care for individuals with suicidal symptoms.

Expectations versus experience: What do citizens demand when dealing with criminal courts?

There is a large body of evidence on how perceptions of procedural justice affect legitimacy and compliance. Despite the consistency of the findings, there is less research on the impact that citizens’ experiences with courts may have on public perceptions. This article examines this issue through an online survey of a national sample of Spanish citizens, controlling for the effects of the individual’s role in the process (defendant or victim) and membership of a vulnerable group. To this end, a two-dimensional measure of procedural justice was used. The results show that expectations towards the criminal justice system have differential effects, the quality of decision-making affects legitimacy and the quality of treatment affects compliance. Moreover, participation is a key element of satisfaction with the judicial experience, especially for defendants and members of minority groups. The findings are discussed within the framework of Tyler’s process-based model and concepts of anticipatory and hermeneutical injustice.

Blending Towards Healthier Lifestyles: The Impact of Regular Fruit and Vegetable Smoothie Consumption on Dietary Patterns and Sustainable Health Behaviors.

This research aimed to characterize the nutritional, health and basic sustainability practices among regular smoothies' consumers (RSC; ≥ 1-2 servings/week for ≥ 2 months). Cross-sectional survey. Self-report online multiple-choice questionnaire survey of random sample of adults from online retailer database and community. 193 healthy Israeli adults (75.6% females, mean age 40.65 ± 14.36) completed an online multiple-choice validated survey from May 2022 to August 2023. Demographic, anthropometric, and lifestyle habits, including physical activity, FV consumption, and sustainability practices. Data were analyzed using chi-square tests for categorical variables and Mann-Whitney tests for non-normally distributed continuous variables. The level of statistical significance was set at .05. RSC were significantly older (P < .001) and more physically active (P = .025) than occasional smoothie consumers (OSC). They consumed more FV, reaching nutritional recommendations, and exhibited significant lifestyle changes, including reduced meat (P = .013) and processed food consumption (P = .013), and regular meal consumption (P = .045). RSC used fewer disposables (P = .002) compared to OSC and non-smoothie consumers (P = .001). RSC demonstrated a higher incidence of weight reduction compared to weight gain. RSC is significantly associated with health and nutritional sustainability.

Underemployment Among College Graduates With Blindness and Low Vision

Introduction: Underemployment of people with visual impairments has long been a concern among professionals in the field of blindness and low vision, but limited research has been conducted on this topic. In this study, we assessed educational underemployment of employed college graduates with and without visual impairments to evaluate differences between them. Methods: To determine underemployment in our American Community Survey sample, we utilized Bureau of Labor Statistics data to identify the typical entry-level education requirement for the job each person held and compared their actual education level to this criterion. We used logistic regression to predict underemployment based on visual impairment and 11 independent variables including individual and job-related characteristics. Results: Underemployment was more common among people with visual impairments (62.4%) compared to people without visual impairments (55.7%). Visual impairment predicted underemployment in the multivariate model, but it interacted with master's degree. People with visual impairments who held associate, bachelor's, doctoral, or professional degrees were slightly more likely to be underemployed, while those who held a master's degree were not more likely to be underemployed than people without visual impairments. Discussion: Overeducation is a substantial issue for the entire U.S. population of college graduates, and more so for people with visual impairments except for those with master's degrees. Although all people with master's degrees have high odds of being underemployed compared to people with bachelor's degrees, odds were slightly larger for people without visual impairments. Implications for Practitioners: Our findings, combined with current trends in the labor market, highlight the importance of having a specific career goal and awareness of the skills necessary to qualify for that career. Rehabilitation professionals should be prepared to assist individuals with identifying skills needed for their selected careers, assessing their current skills, and creating a plan to obtain the necessary skills.

Impact of race and ethnicity on financial toxicity in patients with genitourinary cancers.

11077 Background: Genitourinary (GU) cancers contribute substantially to the cost of healthcare in the United States (US). While advancements in cancer treatment have improved patient outcomes, disparities in healthcare costs persist, exacerbating the financial burden on vulnerable populations. We sought to investigate the disparities in costs of inpatient hospitalizations among patients with GU cancers in the US. Methods: Eligible adult GU cases from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (2019–2021) were included in this study. ICD-10 CM codes were utilized to identify renal cell, prostate, urothelial, testicular, and penile cancers. In addition to the total hospital inpatient (IP) facility expenditure, questions about ability to pay for healthcare were included in the analysis after accounting for the complex survey design and sampling weights. Results: The study included a weighted sample size of 9,061,181 (wt SE = 538,502) GU cases in the US between 2019 and 2021. The mean (95% CI) age of the sample was 71.6 (70.7, 72.5) years. The sample consisted of 7.9% Hispanics, 74.8% non-Hispanic White (NHW), 13.8% non-Hispanic Black (NHB), and 3.5% Asian or other races (NHA). In 2021, NHB participants reported the lowest annual family income of $51742 (18932, 106185), followed by Hispanics with $65233 (24314, 95859), and NHW with 82035 (36298, 158863). A greater proportion of the elderly NHW population was insured compared to NHB and Hispanics (44.9% vs. 32.5% vs. 19.5%), respectively. Of note, NHB patients had worse self-perceived physical and mental health compared to NHW and Hispanics, with 18.1% reporting fair or poor physical and mental health (vs. 8.1% and 14.3%, respectively). NHB participants reported higher rates of familial financial hardship (2019: 10.2% vs. 3.6%; 2020: 6.2% vs. 3.5%; 2021: 7.1% vs. 3.3%) or not being able to afford medical care (2019: 7.2% vs. 2.1%; 2020: 2.5% vs. 0.6%; 2021: 1.9% vs. 1.7%) when compared to NHW. Overall, mean total hospital IP facility expenses were: Hispanics = $2873.30 (1434.49, 4312.12); NHW = $4213.81 (3241.05, 5186.56); and NHB = $5199.99 (2842.93, 7557.05). After accounting for sample weights, gender, family income, age, insurance status, and survey year, Poisson regression analysis showed significant differences between different racial groups. Hispanics were less likely (𝛽=-0.48; p&lt;0.0001), while NHB (𝛽=0.152; p&lt;0.0001) and NHA (𝛽=0.48; p&lt;0.0001) were more likely to spend for an IP hospitalization when compared to NHW (ref.). Conclusions: Our data revealed racial disparities in the costs of inpatient hospitalizations, highlighting potential financial toxicity among patients with GU cancers. Additional investigation is warranted to elucidate factors contributing to these inequities, aiming to optimize cancer management and alleviate financial burdens. Addressing these disparities is crucial to prioritize equitable healthcare access and promote systemic change.

Clustering analysis for predicting racial disparities in genitourinary cancer–related financial burden.

e13612 Background: Healthcare costs in the United States (US) are significantly impacted by genitourinary (GU) cancers. Prostate cancer treatment alone cost the US more than $22 billion in 2020. We sought to utilize machine learning (ML)-based classification to investigate differences in the total cost of healthcare expenditure among patients with GU cancer in the US. Methods: The study included eligible adult GU cases from the 2019–2021 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Renal cell, prostate, urothelial, testicular, and penile cancers were identified using ICD-10 CM codes. Patients were clustered using demographic information such as age, race, sex, marital status, highest degree, insurance status, perceived health status, and perceived mental health status. The analysis accounted for the complex survey design and sampling weights. The cluster groups were taken into account when conducting descriptive and regression analyses. GU cancer cases were divided into low-, medium-, and high-risk healthcare expenditure clusters. Results: The study included a representative sample of 9,061,181 cases of GU cancer in the US between 2019 and 2021. The average age of the sample was 71.6 years (95% CI: 70.7, 72.5). There were 7.9% Hispanic (Hisp), 74.8% non-Hispanic White (NHW), 13.8% non-Hispanic Black (NHB), and 3.5% individuals from Asian or other races. Overall, the mean total healthcare expenditures within low-, med-, and high-risk clusters were $17974 (13816, 22133), $20496 (13100, 27893), and $30512 (21389, 39635), respectively. Regression analysis showed that, after adjusting for sampling weight, cluster, gender, family income, age, insurance status, and survey year, the mean total expenditure was higher by $11209.70 and $13100.81 in med- and high-risk clusters when compared to the low-risk cluster (ref.). Within each race or ethnicity, the proportion of Hisp or NHB individuals was higher in med- and high-risk clusters. Med- and high-risk clusters were more likely to contain people with cognitive impairments, poor health status, and financial difficulties in their families. Conclusions: We used an unsupervised clustering algorithm that can distinguish between GU cases with high and low expenditure based solely on sociodemographic variables. We demonstrate that our findings were consistent for all three data cohorts. This approach can predict the disparity in utilization in any insured population. [Table: see text]

Rural Households’ Resilience to the Adverse Impacts of Climate Variability and Food Insecurity in the North-eastern Highlands of Ethiopia

Climate variability and food insecurity shocks frequently affect the livelihood of rural households. Therefore, understanding the fundamentals of resilience is essential for enhancing the capabilities of vulnerable households. The objective of this study was to analyze rural households' resilience to the adverse impacts of climate variability and food insecurity in the North-eastern highlands of Ethiopia. Based on a cross-sectional survey, both probability and non-probability sampling procedures were employed to select sample respondents, key informants and focus group discussants. Principal Component Analysis (PCA), one-way ANOVA and linear regression modeling were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that perceptions of climatic variability, agricultural assets, adaptive capacity and income and food access are the four resilience dimensions with the largest contribution to households’ resilience. Likewise, social capital and access to basic services were the next positive contributors. However, agricultural technology adoption and social safety nets were insignificant contributors. Moreover, households living in the Meher livelihood zone/LHZ/were highly resilient followed by ABB and Meher-belg. On the other hand, respondents in the SWS, CHV and Belg LHZs were less resilient. Male-headed households, household heads with formal education and married households were found to be more resilient than their counterparts. The study found that 50.4 % of the respondents were non-resilient and 45.5 % were highly resilient. In conclusion, the adverse impacts of climate-related hazards associated with the existing food insecurity have deteriorated the resilience capacity of rural households by which they became highly vulnerable and could be easily exposed to shocks. The study suggested that unless well-planned intervention is implemented many households might quickly lose their resilience status to worse even by a very little shock. Moreover, enhancing capability aspects should be the primary goal of any interventions aimed at increasing households' resilience in drought-prone areas in general and the study area in particular.

Semi-parametric approach for modelling overdispersed count data with application to Industry 4.0

The paper deals with a test for the goodness-of-fit of a model for count data, in the framework of Generalized Linear Models. The motivating example concerns the study on the effectiveness of policy incentives for the adoption of 4.0 technologies by Small and Medium Enterprises. According to the literature, openness to Industry 4.0 should be measured in terms of the number of 4.0 technologies adopted, represented by a count variable. To investigate the effectiveness of public policy interventions to encourage the adoption of 4.0 technologies, we propose the application of a model for count data with a permutation ANOVA to test the goodness-of-fit and for the model selection. When the distribution of the response is neither Poisson nor Negative Binomial, and in the quite common situation in which the response variance is much greater than the mean, the classic Poisson regression and Negative Binomial regression are not valid. The proposed testing method is based on the combination of permutation tests on the significance of the regression coefficient estimates. The power behaviour of the proposed semi-parametric solution is investigated through a comparative Monte Carlo simulation study. The performance of such a method is compared to those of the two main parametric competitors. The application of the permutation test to an interesting case study is presented. The dataset is original, and related to a sample survey carried out in Italy, about the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies by Italian enterprises.

The Association Between Physical Activity and Fatigue Among Adults With Rheumatic Disease in a Nationally Representative Sample.

Adults with rheumatic disease (RD) experience high levels of fatigue. Regular physical activity has been shown to reduce fatigue among adults. Despite this evidence, adults with RD are more likely to be physically inactive compared with those without RD. Little information is known about the association of physical activity level and fatigue among adults with RD. This study investigated the association of physical activity level and fatigue among adults with and without RD. Adults (≥18y) who participated in the 2018 National Health Interview Survey (unweighted n = 25,471) were included in this cross-sectional study. Physical activity and fatigue were self-reported. Statistical analyses were weighted to account for complex survey sampling design. Significantly more adults with RD experience fatigue compared with adults without RD (26.19% vs 13.23%). Adults with RD who were inactive had 2.81 times (95% CI, 2.37-3.34) higher odds of experiencing fatigue compared to adults with RD who were sufficiently active, after adjusting for covariates. Overall, fatigue was more common among adults with RD than it was in the population without RD.

Ethnobotanical and Pharmacological Survey of Medicinal Plants Used by Indigenous People of Cawilan, Tubod Surigao del Norte

The study determined the medicinal plants used by the Indigenous People of Cawilan, Tubod Surigao del Norte. It identified the part of the plant used, methods of preparing the plant parts, how the prepared herbal medicine administered and what particular ailments can be treated by the identified medicinal plants. The study includes 80 respondents from the Indigenous People of the said research locale. Descriptive survey and purposive sampling were used to include individual who possessed deep understanding of the medicinal plants. The was analyze using the following descriptive statistical tool: (a) Percentage Distribution, (b) Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and (c) Pearson R. The findings reveals that there is 25 identified medicinal plants, which Hilbas (Artemisia vulgaris) got the highest percentage of 10% and Tanglad (Cymbopogon citratus) obtain the lowest percentage of 1% of all the identified medicinal plants. Out of all the identified medicinal plants, 5 plant parts were utilized. Furthermore, there were 4 methods of preparation used with the identified medicinal plants and 4 methods of administration were identified in treating certain ailments. Lastly, 16 ailments were determined that can be cured by the identified medicinal plants. According to the findings and conclusion drawn from the data collected, Indigenous People of Cawilan, Tubod Surigao del Norte practiced and used medicinal plants in treating certain ailments. Further research is recommended on the effectiveness of medicinal plants in treating certain ailments.

Research Note: Cybercrime victimisation among older adults: a probability sample survey in England and Wales

Research Note: Cybercrime victimisation among older adults: a probability sample survey in England and Wales

User and service provider assessment of technology readiness of library commons in selected universities in Ghana

PurposeThis study assessed the technology readiness of library commons in selected universities in Ghana from the perspectives of both clients and service providers.Design/methodology/approachA sample survey research design was used to carry out the study, and the study consisted of quantitative and qualitative approaches. The data were collected from 157 of the 430 commons’ users and six library directors/commons librarians, using a questionnaire and an interview schedule respectively. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and inferential analysis with SPSS Ver. 22, and structural equation modelling with AMOS Ver. 23.FindingsThe study found significant relationships between the availability of learning resources and users' experience, use and satisfaction with the commons. Additionally, there were significant relationships between the readiness of the commons, users' perceptions and their satisfaction levels. The library/commons managers identified key preparedness issues, including inadequate planning and poor space allocation. Furthermore, the study revealed negative feelings among library/commons managers, such as insecurity, resistance and low confidence.Practical implicationsThe academic libraries in Ghana should evaluate their commons following the findings of this study, and use other readiness implementation tools to identify and address the gaps in their implementation of the commons.Originality/valueThis study was based on the opinions of the users and operators of the commons and focused primarily on technology-related factors. However, it is essential to evaluate other readiness factors, such as change and services, and institutional factors, using frameworks such as Hess and Ostrom’s (2005) Institutional Development Framework, to provide complementary results that can guide better implementation of the commons and improve the quality of services.