| 1. |
- Badi, Safaa, et al.
(författare)
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Knowledge and attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination in Sudan : A cross-sectional study
- 2023
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Ingår i: AIMS Public Health. - : AIMS Press. - 2327-8994. ; 10:2, s. 310-323
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Vaccines are an essential part of public health interventions to mitigate the devastating health and non-health impacts of COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the fact that Sudan launched the COVID-19 vaccination program in March 2021, only 10% of the population received their two primary doses of vaccines by the end of May 2022. This delayed uptake of vaccines obviously warrants investigation. Therefore, we have conducted this study to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and acceptance of the general population in Sudan toward COVID-19 vaccines.Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional community-based study. The data were collected using an electronic questionnaire from 403 individuals living in Khartoum, Sudan. The data were processed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), and data analysis was performed using appropriate tests.Results: 51% of the participants were found to have sufficient knowledge about the COVID-19 vaccine, and the knowledge level is higher among those educated beyond the secondary school and those who were employed. Among those unvaccinated, only 47% of the participants expressed their intention to take the vaccine when offered to them. The major reason for not trusting the vaccine is safety concerns expressed by 65.5% of the unvaccinated.Conclusion: Higher education levels and employment were associated with an increase in sufficient knowledge about the vaccine in around half of the participants. However, most of participants had not taken the vaccine at the time of the study, and the trust in vaccines is not high. Effective interventions by the health authorities are needed to address these issues in order to accelerate the COVID-19 vaccination program in Sudan.
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| 2. |
- Barenfeld, Emmelie, 1981, et al.
(författare)
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Promoting aging migrants' capabilities: A randomized controlled trial concerning activities of daily living and self-rated health
- 2018
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Ingår i: Aims Public Health. - : American Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS). - 2327-8994. ; 5:2, s. 173-188
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim was to evaluate the 6-month and 1-year effects of a person-centered group-based health-promoting intervention on independence in daily activities and self-rated health. The study was an RCT with follow-ups at 6 months and 1 year. A total of 131 independent living people (70+) who have migrated to Sweden from Finland or Western Balkan region were included. Participants were independent in activities of daily living and cognitively intact. They were randomized to an intervention group receiving four weekly group-meetings and a follow-up home visit, or a control group (no intervention). An overall chi-squared test was performed and the odds ratio calculated. A high proportion of the participants maintained independence in activities of daily living and improved or maintained self-rated health. However, no significant differences were found between the groups. The result indicates that the intervention was offered too early in the aging process to be able to detect effects. Methodological challenges were met during both the recruitment and implementation phases. In response to lessons learned, a multicenter design is recommended for future research in order to strengthen the findings. Furthermore, this study has contributed with experiences on both opportunities and challenges in terms of research with and about older people aging in the context of migration, as is discussed.
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| 3. |
- Dean, Elizabeth, et al.
(författare)
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Why COVID-19 strengthens the case to scale up assault on non- communicable diseases : role of health professionals including physical therapists in mitigating pandemic waves
- 2021
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Ingår i: AIMS PUBLIC HEALTH. - : AMER INST MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES-AIMS. - 2327-8994. ; 8:2, s. 369-375
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- As SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, spread globally, the most severely affected sub-populations were the elderly and those with multi-morbidity largely related to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), e.g., heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, obesity. NCDs are largely preventable with healthy nutrition, regular activity, and not smoking. This perspective outlines the rationale for health professionals' including physical therapists' role in reducing COVID-19 susceptibility. Evidence is synthesized supporting the pro-inflammatory effects of the western diet, increasingly consumed globally, inactivity, and smoking; and the immune-boosting, anti-inflammatory effects of a whole food plant-based diet, regular physical activity, and not smoking. An increased background of chronic low-grade systemic inflammation associated with unhealthy lifestyle practices appears implicated in an individual's susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2. It is timely to re-double efforts across healthcare sectors to reduce the global prevalence of NCDs on two fronts: one, to reduce SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility; and two, to reduce the impact of subsequent waves given high blood pressure and blood sugar, common in people with multi-morbidity, can be improved within days/weeks with anti-inflammatory healthy lifestyle practices, and weight loss and atherosclerosis reduction/reversal, within months/years. With re-doubled efforts to control NCD risk factors, subsequent waves could be less severe. Health professionals including physical therapists have a primary role in actively leading this initiative.
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| 4. |
- Duc, Duong M., 1984-, et al.
(författare)
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Smoking Initiation and Cessation among Youths in Vietnam : A Longitudinal Study Using the Chi Linh Demographic-Epidemiological Surveillance System (CHILILAB DESS)
- 2017
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Ingår i: AIMS PUBLIC HEALTH. - : AMER INST MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES-AIMS. - 2327-8994. ; 4:1, s. 1-18
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Study of smoking initiation and cessation is particularly important in adolescent population because smoking prevention and cessation at this time may prevent several health consequences later in life. There is a very limited knowledge about the determinants of smoking initiation and cessation among youths in Vietnam. This limits the development and implementation of appropriately targeted anti-smoking prevention interventions. This study applied pooled data from 3 rounds of a longitudinal survey in the Chi Linh Demographic-Epidemiological Surveillance System (CHILILAB DESS) in a northern province in Vietnam to analyse the determinants of smoking initiation and cessation among youths. The total of youths in the first round, second, and third rounds was 12,406, 10,211, and 7,654, respectively. The random-effects logit model controlling for both time-variant and time-invariant variables was conducted to explore the associated factors with new smokers and quitters. We found an increase trend of new smokers (7.0% to 9.6%) and quitters (27.5% to 31.4%) during 2009-2013. Smoking initiation and cessation are the result of multifactorial influences of demographic and health behaviours and status. Demographic background (older youths, male, unmarried youths, and youths having informal work) and health behaviours and status (youths who had smoking family members and/or smoking close friends, and had harmful drinking) were more likely to initiate smoking and more difficult to quit smoking. Among these variables, youths who had smoking close-friends had the highest likelihood of both initiating smoking and failed quitting. Our results could represent the similar health problems among youths in peri-urban areas in Vietnam. Further, our findings suggested that anti-smoking interventions should involve peer intervention, integrated with the reduction of other unhealthy behaviours such as alcohol consumption, and to focus on adolescents in their very early age (10-14 years old).
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| 5. |
- El Ansari, Walid, et al.
(författare)
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Behavioral risk factor clusters among university students at nine universities in Libya
- 2018
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Ingår i: AIMS Public Health. - : A I M S. - 2327-8994. ; 5:3, s. 296-311
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: This study identifies and describes the clustering of 5 behavioral risk factors (BRFs) among university students. We also investigated whether cluster membership is associated with the students' self-rated academic performance and self-rated health. Material and methods: A sample of 1300 undergraduates at 6 universities and 3 colleges in Libya completed a self-administered questionnaire that assessed BRFs (nutrition, physical activity, alcohol consumption, smoking, illicit drug use, inadequate sleep). A two-step cluster analysis generated student clusters with similar lifestyles. Results: Two contrasting clusters of almost even size emerged (after exclusion of alcohol and illicit drug use due to very low prevalence). Cluster 1 comprised students with higher engagement in all forms of physical activity, higher levels of health consciousness, greater daily fruit/vegetable intake and better sleep patterns than students in cluster 2. Only as regards the consumption of sweets, cluster 1 students had less favorable practices than cluster 2 students. The prevalence of smoking was equally low in both clusters. Students in cluster 2, depicting a less healthy lifestyle, were characterized by a higher proportion of women, of students with less income and of higher years of study. Belonging to cluster 2 was associated with lower self-rated health (OR: 0.46, p < 0.001) and with lower self-rated academic performance (OR: 0.66, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Preventive programs should not address BRFs in isolation and should particularly target students with clustering of BRFs using specifically tailored approaches.
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| 6. |
- Elvén, Maria, 1973-, et al.
(författare)
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Criterion scores, construct validity and reliability of a web-based instrument to assess physiotherapists' clinical reasoning focused on behaviour change: 'Reasoning 4 Change'
- 2018
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Ingår i: AIMS PUBLIC HEALTH. - : AMER INST MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES-AIMS. - 2327-8994. ; 5:3, s. 235-259
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and aim: 'Reasoning 4 Change' (R4C) is a newly developed instrument, including four domains (D1-D4), to assess clinical practitioners' and students' clinical reasoning with a focus on clients' behaviour change in a physiotherapy context. To establish its use in education and research, its psychometric properties needed to be evaluated. The aim of the study was to generate criterion scores and evaluate the reliability and construct validity of a web-based version of the R4C instrument. Methods: Fourteen physiotherapy experts and 39 final-year physiotherapy students completed the R4C instrument and the Pain Attitudes and Beliefs Scale for Physiotherapists (PABS-PT). Twelve experts and 17 students completed the R4C instrument on a second occasion. The R4C instrument was evaluated with regard to: internal consistency (five subscales of D1); test-retest reliability (D1-D4); inter-rater reliability (D2-D4); and construct validity in terms of convergent validity (D1.4, D2, D4). Criterion scores were generated based on the experts' responses to identify the scores of qualified practitioners' clinical reasoning abilities. Results: For the expert and student samples, the analyses demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency (alpha range: 0.67-0.91), satisfactory test-retest reliability (ICC range: 0.46-0.94) except for D3 for the experts and D4 for the students. The inter-rater reliability demonstrated excellent agreement within the expert group (ICC range: 0.94-1.0). The correlations between the R4C instrument and PABS-PT (r range: 0.06-0.76) supported acceptable construct validity. Conclusions: The web-based R4C instrument shows satisfactory psychometric properties and could be useful in education and research. The use of the instrument may contribute to a deeper understanding of physiotherapists' and students' clinical reasoning, valuable for curriculum development and improvements of competencies in clinical reasoning related to clients' behavioural change.
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| 7. |
- Hassanen, Sadia, et al.
(författare)
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The effects of migration on the practice and perception Female Genital Cutting (FGC) among the Horn of Africa's immigrants in Melbourne Australia
- 2019
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Ingår i: AIMS public health. - : American Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS). - 2327-8994. ; 6:1, s. 67-78
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This research examines the effects of migration on the practice and perception of Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting (FGM/C) among Horn of Africa immigrants in Melbourne Australia. According to UN 2016 report, on (FGM/C), there are at least 200 million girls and women alive today globally that have undergone some of form of FGM/C. The same report highlights that most of these practices are concentrated in parts of Africa, Middle East and South Asia. Our research employed in-depth semi-structured interviews with 50 men and women informants and five focus groups among the Horn of Africa immigrants living in Melbourne Australia. Interview and focus group data were analysed using MAXQUDA text analysis software to see emerging themes from the data. Upon the examination of the interviews and focus group data, we found that gender and immigration were the two factors that influenced immigrant's perception about FGC. Understanding the social and cultural dynamics on the perception of FGC among immigrant communities in the West could help in devising appropriate interventions to tackle FGC in several groups where this practice is commonly occurring.
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| 8. |
- Khorram-Manesh, Ruedeerat, et al.
(författare)
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Can hotels be used as alternative care sites in disasters and public health emergencies—A narrative review
- 2024
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Ingår i: AIMS Public Health. - 2327-8994. ; 11, s. 917-935
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Managing disasters and public health emergencies poses a complex challenge, particularly in maintaining the crucial elements of surge capacity, often referred to as the 4S: staff, stuff, space, and system. While discussions surrounding the management of these emergencies typically emphasize their impact on emergency healthcare services, resources, and capabilities, it is essential to recognize the inherent limitations of these resources. Therefore, integrating non-medical resources such as community staff, supplies, and spaces into the response chain is equally important. Among community facilities, hotels are particularly intriguing due to their organizational and structural capabilities to serve as alternative care sites for lightly injured or non-injured emergency victims. This narrative review explored the potential use of hotels as alternative care sites and the legal implications associated with such utilization. The results confirmed a high potential for using hotels as alternate care sites. However, data concerning its practical and legal implications are insufficient. This paper suggests further research to investigate the criteria for utilizing hotels in this capacity, including admission guidelines for disaster victims and relevant ethical and legal considerations.
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| 9. |
- Kristiansen, Lisbeth, et al.
(författare)
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Assessing the Construct Validity and Reliability of School Health Records Using the 'Health Dialogue Questionnaire' in the Eleventh Grade
- 2016
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Ingår i: AIMS Public Health. - : American Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS). - 2327-8994. ; 3:3, s. 470-486
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and aims: The aim for this study was to assess the construct validity and reliability of the Health Dialogue Questionnaire (HDQ (c)) for eleventh grade in school through comparison of the HDQ (c) with Paediatric Quality Of Life Inventory (PedsQL (TM)), Local monitoring of youth policy questionnaire (LUPP (R)), Health behaviour in Swedish school-aged children (HBSC (c)), Equal health (EH (c)) and The Swedish Survey Youth on Alcohol Consumption (SSYAC (c)). Methods: Cross-sectional samples of eleventh graders from the academic year 2009/2010 was used from the HDQ (c) (n = 2752), the HBSC (c) (n = 2090), the PedsQL (TM) (n = 666), the "LUPP (R)" questionnaires (n = 2400), EH (c) (n = 258), and SSYAC (c) (n = 1748) in the academic year 2009/2010. A comparison between HDQ (c) and the different proxies was done. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed as well as a Multitrait-Multimethod Matrix (MTMM), in order to evaluate the construct validity and reliability of HDQ (c). Results: An average disagreement between HDQ (c) and proxies with 10 percentages was found. Exploratory factor analysis of HDQ (c) on the 2009/2010 sample suggested a four factor solution (girls factor solution 65% of total variance explained, and in the boys' solution 59% of total variance explained). A second sample 2010/2011 of eleventh graders were used for the confirmatory solution. Almost perfectly similar four factor solutions with were found (girls 58% of total variance explained and boys 56% of the total variance explained). Using MTMM the reliability was generally high and HDQ (c) and showed agreeable validity. Discussion and conclusions: The HDQ (c) questionnaire is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring eleventh graders self-reported-health in school.
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| 10. |
- Leask, Calum F., et al.
(författare)
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Modifying Older Adults' Daily Sedentary Behaviour Using an Asset-based Solution : Views from Older Adults
- 2016
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Ingår i: AIMS public health. - : American Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS). - 2327-8994. ; 3:3, s. 542-554
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: There is a growing public health focus on the promotion of successful and active ageing. Interventions to reduce sedentary behaviour (SB) in older adults are feasible and are improved by tailoring to individuals' context and circumstances. SB is ubiquitous; therefore part of the tailoring process is to ensure individuals' daily sedentary routine can be modified. The aim of this study was to understand the views of older adults and identify important considerations when creating a solution to modify daily sedentary patterns. Method: This was a qualitative research study. Fifteen older adult volunteers (mean age = 78 years) participated in 1 of 4 focus groups to identify solutions to modify daily sedentary routine. Two researchers conducted the focus groups whilst a third took detailed fieldnotes on a flipchart to member check the findings. Data were recorded and analysed thematically. Results: Participants wanted a solution with a range of options which could be tailored to individual needs and circumstances. The strategy suggested was to use the activities of daily routine and reasons why individuals already naturally interrupting their SB, collectively framed as assets. These assets were categorised into 5 sub-themes: physical assets (eg. standing up to reduce stiffness); psychological assets (eg. standing up to reduce feelings of guilt); interpersonal assets (eg. standing up to answer the phone); knowledge assets (eg. standing up due to knowing the benefits of breaking SB) and activities of daily living assets (eg. standing up to get a drink). Conclusion: This study provides important considerations from older adults' perspectives to modify their daily sedentary patterns. The assets identified by participants could be used to co-create a tailored intervention with older adults to reduce SB, which may increase effectiveness and adherence.
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