| 1. |
- Bukvic, Olivera, et al.
(författare)
-
A review on the role of functional limitations on evacuation performance using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Fire Technology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0015-2684 .- 1572-8099. ; 57:2, s. 507-528
-
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- This scoping review addresses the role of functional limitations on evacuation performance of adults in public buildings. Although this topic has been addressed in evacuation research, no linkage is currently available between functional limitations, the predominant activities affected by them and evacuation performance. This review strives to open a debate on the need to classify the impact of disability in terms of functional limitations on evacuation performance according to methods adopted in health science. This paper reviews literature concerning evacuation from public buildings with adults aged ≥ 60 years and/or adults aged ≥ 18 years with functional limitations. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health has been used to identify predominant activities during an evacuation and to perform a structured classification at different levels of resolution to address self-evacuation possibilities. Results of the review are presented in a tabular form linking predominant activities in terms of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health and six categories of functional limitations with the engineering evacuation time-line. The suggested classification can facilitate the assessment of the evacuation-related issues in buildings in relation to the population under consideration. The main research gaps identified include the lack of studies concerning the impact of cognitive limitations on egress, and the need to add the temporal dimension to the methods adopted in accessibility research to allow for their use in the egress field.
|
|
| 2. |
- Gefenaite, Giedre, et al.
(författare)
-
Associations among housing accessibility, housing-related control beliefs and independence in activities of daily living : a cross-sectional study among younger old in Sweden
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Journal of Housing and the Built Environment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1566-4910 .- 1573-7772. ; 35:3, s. 867-877
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is some evidence that housing accessibility, external housing-related control beliefs (HCB) and activities of daily living (ADL) are associated in complex ways; however, these pathways have not been explored in younger old. The aim was to assess the role of external HCB in the relationship between housing accessibility and ADL by applying moderation and mediation models. This was a cross-sectional study involving 366 community-living 67–70 years old participants from the Skåne part of the Swedish National Study of Aging and Care. We assessed moderation by including an interaction term in a logistic regression analysis (significant if p value < 0.05). We assessed mediation with a series of regression analyses with effect size measures expressed as proportion mediated and its 95% confidence interval (CI). In the absence of statistically significant interaction there was no support for external HCB as a moderator. There was evidence for partial mediation as external HCB was associated with ADL when controlled for housing accessibility, while housing accessibility remained associated with independence in ADL when adjusted for external HCB. The proportion mediated was 6% (95% CI 1; 14). While the results did not support external HCB as a moderator, external HCB mediated the association between housing accessibility and ADL. These results were different from previous findings suggesting that external HCB plays a marginally significant moderating and mediating role among very old. Such differences call for further studies that would allow further exploration and validation of the findings at different stages of the ageing process, preferably utilizing longitudinal study designs.
|
|
| 3. |
- Gefenaite, Giedre, et al.
(författare)
-
Estimating burden of influenza-associated influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory infection at public healthcare facilities in Romania during the 2011/12-2015/16 influenza seasons
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Influenza and other Respiratory Viruses. - : Wiley. - 1750-2640. ; 12:1, s. 183-192
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Influenza is responsible for substantial morbidity and mortality, but there is limited information on reliable disease burden estimates, especially from middle-income countries in the WHO European Region. Objectives: To estimate the incidence of medically attended influenza-associated influenza-like illness (ILI) and hospitalizations due to severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) presenting to public healthcare facilities in Romania. Patients/Methods: Sentinel influenza surveillance data for ILI and SARI from 2011/12-2015/16, including virological data, were used to estimate influenza-associated ILI and SARI incidence/100 000 and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results: The overall annual incidence of ILI and influenza-associated ILI per 100 000 persons in Romania varied between 68 (95% CI: 61-76) and 318 (95% CI: 298-338) and between 23 (95% CI: 19-29) and 189 (95% CI: 149-240), respectively. The highest ILI and influenza incidence was among children aged 0-4 years. We estimated that SARI incidence per 100 000 persons was 6 (95% CI: 5-7) to 9 (95% CI: 8-10), of which 2 (95% CI: 1-2) to 3 (95% CI: 2-4) were due to influenza. Up to 0.3% of the Romanian population were annually reported with ILI, and 0.01% was hospitalized with SARI, of which as much as one-third could be explained by influenza. Conclusions: This evaluation was the first study estimating influenza burden in Romania. We found that during each influenza season, a substantial number of persons in Romania suffer from influenza-related ILI or are hospitalized due to influenza-associated SARI.
|
|
| 4. |
|
|
| 5. |
- Gefenaite, Giedre, et al.
(författare)
-
Longitudinal association between housing accessibility and activities of daily living : The role of self-efficacy and control in people ageing with Parkinson's disease
- 2020
-
Ingår i: BMC Geriatrics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2318. ; 20
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: External housing-related control beliefs (HCB) and general self-efficacy (GSE) influence different health outcomes in the general ageing population, but there is no information of their role in people ageing with Parkinson's disease (PD). This study aimed to longitudinally assess the role of external HCB and GSE on the association between housing accessibility and activities of daily living (ADL) among people ageing with PD. Methods: Baseline and 3-year follow-up data on 130 community-living participants from the Swedish project 'Home and Health in People Ageing with PD' were collected. Assessments addressed housing accessibility, external HCB, GSE, generic ADL and ADL specific to PD. The moderating effects of external HCB and GSE were assessed by including an interaction term in multivariable logistic regression. Results: There were statistically significant interactions between housing accessibility and GSE on ADL (p = 0.03), and housing accessibility and external HCB on PD specific ADL (p = 0.03). After stratifying the analyses by GSE, housing accessibility problems led to more dependence and difficulty in ADL in participants with low GSE (OR 1.14; 95% CI 1.02-1.28). After stratifying by external HCB, housing accessibility increased dependence and difficulty in PD specific ADL in participants with low external HCB (OR 1.35; 95% CI 1.03-1.76). Discussion: The results suggest that housing accessibility predicts ADL in people with PD with GSE and external HCB playing a moderating role for generic ADL and ADL specific to PD, respectively. Further longitudinal studies should validate these findings and explore their potential application in PD-related care and rehabilitation.
|
|
| 6. |
|
|
| 7. |
|
|
| 8. |
|
|
| 9. |
|
|
| 10. |
- Kuliese, Monika, et al.
(författare)
-
Age-specific seasonal influenza vaccine effectiveness against different influenza subtypes in the hospitalized population in lithuania during the 2015–2019 influenza seasons
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Vaccines. - : MDPI AG. - 2076-393X. ; 9:5
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Continuous monitoring of seasonal influenza vaccine effectiveness (SIVE) is needed due to the changing nature of influenza viruses and it supports the decision on the annual update of vaccine composition. Age-specific SIVE was evaluated against different influenza sub-types in the hospitalized population in Lithuania during four influenza seasons. Methods: A test-negative case-control study design was used. SIVE and its 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated as (1 – odds ratio (OR)) × 100%. Results: Adjusted SIVE in 18–64-year-old individuals against influenza A, A(H1N1)pdm09 and B/Yamagata were 78.0% (95% CI: 1.7; 95.1%), 88.6% (95% CI: −47.4; 99.1%), and 76.8% (95% CI: −109.9; 97.4%), respectively. Adjusted SIVE in individuals aged 65 years and older against influenza A, influenza B, and B/Yamagata were 22.6% (95% CI: −36.5; 56.1%), 75.3% (95% CI: 12.2; 93.1%) and 73.1% (95% CI: 3.2; 92.5%), respectively. Unadjusted SIVE against influenza A(H3N2) among 18–64-year-old patients was 44.8% (95% CI: −171.0; 88.8%) and among those aged 65 years and older was 5.0% (95% CI: −74.5; 48.3%). Conclusions: Point estimates suggest high SIVE against influenza A in 18–64-year-old participants, and against influenza B and B/Yamagata in those 65 years old and older.
|
|
| 11. |
- Ronchi, Enrico, et al.
(författare)
-
Building Egressibility in an Ageing Society
- 2022
-
Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This is the final report of a three-year project called Building Egressibility in an Ageing Society, sponsored by the Swedish research council for sustainable development (FORMAS). While accessibility is an established and widely used concept in building design, the evacuation of people with functional limitations is still at a stage in which several research gaps exist. In this context, this work discusses the concept of Egressibility, intended as the accessibility to means of evacuation. A categorization of populations with functional limitations in light of their egress-related abilities was performed by reviewing egress and accessibility research. The role of functional limitations on evacuation performance was investigated using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). A qualitative interview study consisting of 28 semi-structured interviews with people with functional limitations was conducted to further scrutinize Egressibility issues of older people. An Egressibility assessment instrument, the Egress Enabler, has been developed based on the concept of person-environment fit. A Virtual Reality (VR) experiment involving 40 participants was also conducted to demonstrate the use of VR technology to study the impact of people with functional limitations on egress. It also allowed to explore how the presence of people with functional limitations affects exit choice. Overall, Egressibility was investigated with the aim to ensure that egress planning and procedures are designed to equally consider all members of an aging society.
|
|
| 12. |
- Rondy, Marc, et al.
(författare)
-
Low 2016/17 season vaccine effectiveness against hospitalised influenza A(H3N2) among elderly : awareness warranted for 2017/18 season
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Eurosurveillance. - 1560-7917. ; 22:41
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In a multicentre European hospital study we measured influenza vaccine effectiveness (IVE) against A(H3N2) in 2016/17. Adjusted IVE was 17% (95% confidence interval (CI): 1 to 31) overall; 25% (95% CI: 2 to 43) among 65-79-year-olds and 13% (95% CI: -15 to 30) among those ≥ 80 years. As the A(H3N2) vaccine component has not changed for 2017/18, physicians and public health experts should be aware that IVE could be low where A(H3N2) viruses predominate.
|
|
| 13. |
- Rose, Angela M.C., et al.
(författare)
-
Vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 hospitalisation in adults (≥ 20 years) during Omicron-dominant circulation : I-MOVECOVID-19 and VEBIS SARI VE networks, Europe, 2021 to 2022
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Eurosurveillance. - 1025-496X. ; 28:47
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: The I-MOVE-COVID-19 and VEBIS hospital networks have been measuring COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE) in participating European countries since early 2021. Aim: We aimed to measure VE against PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 in patients ≥20 years hospitalised with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) from December 2021 to July 2022 (Omicron-dominant period). Methods: In both networks, 46 hospitals (13 countries) follow a similar test-negative case–control protocol. We defined complete primary series vaccination (PSV) and first booster dose vaccination as last dose of either vaccine received≥14 days before symptom onset (stratifying first booster into received<150 and≥150 days after last PSV dose). We measured VE overall, by vaccine category/product, age group and time since first mRNA booster dose, adjusting by site as a fixed effect, and by swab date, age, sex, and presence/absence of at least one commonly collected chronic condition. Results: We included 2,779 cases and 2,362 controls. The VE of all vaccine products combined against hospitalisation for laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 was 43% (95% CI: 29–54) for complete PSV (with last dose received≥150 days before onset), while it was 59% (95% CI: 51–66) after addition of one booster dose. The VE was 85% (95% CI: 78–89), 70% (95% CI: 61–77) and 36% (95% CI: 17–51) for those with onset 14–59 days, 60–119 days and 120–179 days after booster vaccination, respectively. Conclusions: Our results suggest that, during the Omicron period, observed VE against SARI hospitalisation improved with first mRNA booster dose, particularly for those having symptom onset<120 days after first booster dose.
|
|
| 14. |
- Smedberg, Erik, et al.
(författare)
-
Perspectives on egressibility of older people with functional limitations
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Fire Safety Journal. - : Elsevier BV. - 0379-7112. ; 127
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Older people and people with functional limitations are recognized as vulnerable groups when it comes to evacuation. Previous studies have focused mostly on the quantitative aspects of their physical characteristics, such as movement speeds. This study explores the perspectives on egressibility of older people with functional limitations. This was achieved by reflexive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 28 older people with functional limitations. Participants were recruited based on voluntary participation mainly from senior citizen organizations. Inspired by The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, a questionnaire was developed to characterize the sample in terms of presence of functional limitations. The sample consisted of people with a wide variety of functional limitations. The findings are presented in the form of three themes constructed from the transcripts: Other people's difficulties in understanding, Strategies to cope with the limitation, and Uncertainty of evacuation. The findings highlight that older people may perceive a lack of reliance on the physical environment and other people's support in evacuation situations. Instead, they considered relying primarily on their own ability to mitigate issues caused by functional limitations. The findings may be used to inform future in-depth studies aimed at achieving an equal evacuation safety for all.
|
|
| 15. |
- Smedberg, Erik, et al.
(författare)
-
The Egress Enabler : Development and psychometric evaluation of an instrument to measure egressibility
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Disability and Health Journal. - : Elsevier BV. - 1936-6574. ; 16:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Egressibility has been defined as a person–environment fit issue and describes accessibility to means of evacuation. Although egressibility concerns everyone, it has become a useful concept particularly in relation to safety and accessibility for people with functional limitations, commonly highlighted as a vulnerable group in egress scenarios. Egressibility is an important safety factor, but there has been limited efforts trying to quantify it. Objective: The aim has been to develop an instrument to measure egressibility in public buildings, as well as conducting initial psychometric testing of the instrument. Methods: The Egress Enabler is based on the previously developed Housing Enabler instrument. The Egress Enabler was developed in several steps by an interdisciplinary team, incorporating an expert panel and a case study. Results: Evaluation of content validity was in line with previous similar efforts, inter-rater reliability was considered “good” to “excellent” by means of intraclass correlation, and qualitative assessment of construct validity showed theoretically sound results. Conclusions: It is suggested that an instrument like the Egress Enabler is needed for a systematic evaluation of egressibility during design. construction or operation. This is needed for ensuring equal access to egress for people with functional limitations.
|
|
| 16. |
- Smedberg, Erik, et al.
(författare)
-
The impact of people with mobility limitations on exit choice
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Fire Safety Journal. - 0379-7112. ; 140
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Demographic trends and advances in accessibility have led to more heterogeneous populations in public buildings. While providing accessible evacuation, it may be necessary to direct evacuees to different evacuation paths depending on functional capacity. The presence of people with mobility limitations (e.g., wheelchair users) may affect the evacuation of others, possibly influencing the decision making of neighbouring evacuees. This study investigates how exit choice of people is influenced by the functional capacity of other evacuees and the design of the exit. Virtual Reality was used to design a discrete choice experiment in which participants were exposed to multiple choice situations and a mixed logit model was fitted to the data. Results from 40 participants indicate that exit choice was positively influenced by other people choosing the exit, and a larger effect was found when the other person was a wheelchair user. The design of the exit also influenced the exit choice of the participants. Large inter-person differences existed. Strategies reported by the participants in the subsequent questionnaire included altruistic behaviour. These results can inform fire safety engineers when outlining evacuation strategies and evacuation model users in their assumptions concerning exit choice in building evacuation.
|
|
| 17. |
- Vaikutyte, Roberta, et al.
(författare)
-
Influenza vaccine effectiveness in patients hospitalized with severe acute respiratory infection in Lithuania during the 2019-2020 influenza season : a test negative case - control study
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Virology Journal. - 1743-422X. ; 20:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Influenza is a contagious viral airborne disease that adds to the clinical and economic burden on the healthcare system. It could be prevented substantially by seasonal influenza vaccination. Seasonal influenza vaccine effectiveness (SIVE) varies a lot and should therefore be monitored. This report aims to update age-stratified SIVE estimates among patients hospitalized due to severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) during the 2019-2020 influenza season.METHODS: We performed a test-negative case-control study between December 2019 and April 2020 influenza season. We estimated SIVE and its 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) with logistic regression as (1-odds ratio)*100%. The models were adjusted for covariates that changed the unadjusted SIVE by ≥ 10%.RESULTS: Among 84 participants, 32 (38.1%) were influenza positive, mostly with A(H1N1)pdm09 (25 cases; 78.1%). SIVE against any influenza adjusted for age and heart disease was 39.2% (95% CI: -119.3%, 83.1%). Age-stratified point estimates adjusted for heart diseases indicated different SIVE, and were 64.0% (95% CI: -309.2%, 96.8%) and 21.6% (95% CI: -252.2%, 82.6%) for 18-64 and ≥ 65 year-old participants, respectively.CONCLUSIONS: The point estimates suggested low to moderate SIVE against any influenza among hospitalized 18-64-year-old SARI participants, while low estimates were found in the ≥ 65-year-old group. Although broad SIVE confidence intervals indicate a small sample size and therefore the results can serve only as indicatory, they are in line with the estimates reported by other studies during the 2019-2020 season.
|
|
| 18. |
- Young, Johanna J., et al.
(författare)
-
Enhanced surveillance of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Europe : an evaluation of the I-MOVE-COVID-19 surveillance network
- 2024
-
Ingår i: European Journal of Public Health. - 1101-1262. ; 34:1, s. 181-189
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: A pre-existing, well-established European influenza surveillance network known as I-MOVE enabled the rapid implementation of a European multi-country COVID-19 hospital surveillance network for surveillance of hospitalized COVID-19 cases in early 2020. This network included 257 hospitals in 11 surveillance sites across nine countries. We aimed to identify whether the surveillance objectives were relevant to public health actions, whether the surveillance system met its objectives, where and how shortcomings could be improved, and whether the system was sustainable. Methods: We identified six key attributes (meeting objectives, usefulness, timeliness, data quality, simplicity and sustainability) to assess, using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s evaluation framework. We analyzed pooled datasets, held interviews and group discussions with 10 participating and coordinating sites and gathered feedback through web surveys. Results: There was overall agreement that the surveillance objectives had been met and being involved in a network of European partners had additional important benefits for stakeholders. While the publication of the outputs was not always sufficiently timely, data submission processes were considered straightforward and the key surveillance variables (age, sex, hospital admission and mortality data) were complete. The main challenges were identified as the collection of the large number of variables, limited available human resources and information governance and data protection laws. Conclusions: I-MOVE-COVID-19 delivered relevant and accurate data supporting the development and implementation of COVID-19 surveillance. Recommendations presented here identify learning opportunities to support preparedness and surveillance response for future pandemics. The applied evaluation framework in this study can be adapted for other European surveillance system evaluations.
|
|
| 19. |
- Zingmark, Magnus, et al.
(författare)
-
Exploring associations of housing, relocation, and active and healthy aging in sweden : Protocol for a prospective longitudinal mixed methods study
- 2021
-
Ingår i: JMIR Research Protocols. - : JMIR Publications Inc.. - 1929-0748. ; 10:9
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: While housing and neighborhood features have the potential to impact opportunities for active aging, there is a lack of knowledge related to how older people reason regarding their housing situation and how housing and fulfillment of relocation are associated with active and healthy aging. Objective: The objectives of Prospective RELOC-AGE are to study housing choices and relocation and explore effects on active and healthy aging among men and women aged 55 years and older in Sweden considering relocation. Methods: The estimated sample (2800) will include people aged 55 years and older being listed for relocation at either of two housing companies: a local public housing company in Southern Sweden and a national condominium provider. Prospective RELOC-AGE has a 2-level longitudinal mixed methods design and includes quantitative surveys (implemented by a professional survey company) and a telephone interview for baseline data collection in 2021, with follow-ups with the same procedures in 2022 and 2023. The survey and interviews include questions related to present housing and neighborhood, relocation plans and expectations, a range of perspectives on active and healthy aging, and demographics. Linking to national registers will provide additional data on home help and health care use, objective housing, and neighborhood characteristics. To explore what housing attributes older adults considering relocation find important and to what extent when making their decisions on housing, we will develop a discrete choice experiment to be implemented with a subsample of participants. Further, a grounded theory approach will be applied to collect in-depth interview data from participants who have moved to another dwelling, within 6 months of the move. A follow-up interview 12 months later will focus on participants' deepened experience over time in terms of fulfilled expectations and relocation experiences. Results: As of submission of this protocol (June 2021), recruitment has commenced with approximately 960 respondents to the survey and ongoing telephone interviews. We anticipate recruitment and data collection based on surveys and interviews to continue during 2021. Conclusions: Prospective RELOC-AGE has the capacity to generate new policy-relevant knowledge on associations of housing, relocation, and active and healthy aging. Such knowledge is relevant for the development of proactive approaches to housing in old age on the individual, group, and societal levels.
|
|
