| 1. |
- Al-Alawi, Kamila, et al.
(författare)
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Are the resources adoptive for conducting team-based diabetes management clinics? : An explorative study at primary health care centers in Muscat, Oman
- 2018
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Ingår i: Primary Health Care Research and Development. - : Cambridge University Press. - 1463-4236 .- 1477-1128. ; 20, s. 1-28
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AIM: The aim of this study is to explore the perceptions among primary health center staff concerning competencies, values, skills and resources related to team-based diabetes management and to describe the availability of needed resources for team-based approaches.BACKGROUND: The diabetes epidemic challenges services available at primary health care centers in the Middle East. Therefore, there is a demand for evaluation of the available resources and team-based diabetes management in relation to the National Diabetes Management Guidelines.METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 26 public primary health care centers in Muscat, the capital of Oman. Data were collected from manual and electronic resources as well as a questionnaire that was distributed to the physician-in-charge and diabetes management team members.FINDINGS: The study revealed significant differences between professional groups regarding how they perceived their own competencies, values and skills as well as available resources related to team-based diabetes management. The perceived competencies were high among all professions. The perceived team-related values and skills were also generally high but with overall lower recordings among the nurses. This pattern, along with the fact that very few nurses have specialized qualifications, is a barrier to providing team-based diabetes management. Participants indicated that there were sufficient laboratory resources; however, reported that pharmacological, technical and human resources were lacking. Further work should be done at public primary diabetes management clinics in order to fully implement team-based diabetes management.
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| 2. |
- Al-Alawi, Kamila, et al.
(författare)
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Care providers' perceptions towards challenges and opportunities for service improvement at diabetes management clinics in public primary health care in Muscat, Oman : a qualitative study
- 2019
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Ingår i: BMC Health Services Research. - : BioMed Central. - 1472-6963. ; 19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundThe literature has described several challenges related to the quality of diabetes management clinics in public primary health care centres in Oman. These clinics continue to face challenges due to the continuous growth of individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. We sought to explore the challenges faced in these clinics and discuss opportunities for improvement in Oman.MethodsThis qualitative study was designed to include non-participant observations of diabetic patients and care providers during service provision at diabetes management clinics, as well as semi-structured interviews with care providers, at five purposively selected public primary health care centres. Care providers included physicians, nurses, dieticians, health educators, pharmacists, an assistant pharmacist, a psychologist, and a medical orderly. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.ResultsThe study disclosed three different models of service delivery at diabetes management clinics, which, to varying degrees, face challenges related to health centre infrastructure, technical and pharmaceutical support, and care providers' interests, knowledge, and skills. Challenges related to the community were also found in terms of cultural beliefs, traditions, health awareness, and public transportation.ConclusionThe challenges encountered in diabetes management clinics fall within two contexts: health care centres and community. Although many challenges exist, opportunities for improvement are available. However, improvements in the quality of diabetic clinics in primary health care centres might take time and require extensive involvement, shared responsibilities, and implications from the government, health care centres, and community.
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| 3. |
- Al-Alawi, Kamila, 1974-
(författare)
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Team-based approach in the management of diabetes at primary health care level in Muscat, Oman : challenges and opportunities
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Introduction: The growth of type 2 diabetes is considered an alarming epidemic in Oman. The efficient team-based approach to diabetes management in primary health care is an essential component for providing ideal diabetic care. This thesis aimed to explore the current situation related to team-based management of type 2 diabetes in public Primary Health Care Centres (PHCCs) under the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Oman, including the various challenges associated with diabetes management and the most preferable Human Resources for Health (HRH) management mechanism, and to examine how this could be optimized from provider and patient perspectives.Materials and methods: The entire project was conducted in Muscat Governorate and was based on one quantitative and three qualitative studies. In the quantitative study, 26 public PHCCs were approached through cross-sectional study. The core diabetes management team recommended by the MOH for PHCCs in Oman was explored in terms of their competencies, values, skills, and resources related to the team-based approach to diabetes management. For the qualitative studies, five public purposely-selected PHCCs were approached. The diabetes consultations conducted by the core members and other supportive members involved in diabetes management were observed and later the Primary Health Care Providers (PHCPs) were interviewed. The different approaches explored challenges related to diabetes management and the most preferable HRH mechanism by PHCPs. Seven type 2 diabetes patients with different gender, employment status, and education were consequently interviewed to explore their perceptions towards the current diabetes management service and their opinions towards nurse-led clinics.Results: The survey provided significant and diverse perceptions of PHCPs towards their competencies, values, skills, and resources related to diabetes management. Physicians considered themselves to have better competencies than nurses and dieticians. Physicians also scored higher on team-related skills and values compared with health educators. In terms of team-related skills, the difference between physicians and nurses was statistically significant and showed that physicians perceived themselves to have better skills than nurses. Confusion about the leadership concept among PHCPs with a lack of pharmacological, technical, and human resources was also reported. The observations and interviews with PHCPs disclosed three different models of service delivery at diabetes management clinics. The challenges explored involved PHCCs’ infrastructure, nurses’ knowledge, skills, and non-availability of technical and pharmaceutical support. Other challenges that evolved into the community were cultural beliefs, traditions, health awareness, and public transportation. Complete implementation of task-sharing mechanisms within the team-based approach was selected by all PHCPs as the most preferable HRH mechanism. The selection was discussed in the context of positive outcomes, worries, and future requirements. The physicians stated that nurses’ weak contribution to the team within the selected mechanism could be the most significant aspect. Other members supported the task-sharing mechanism between physicians and nurses. However, type 2 diabetes patients’ non-acceptance of a service provided by the nurses created worries for the nurses. The interviews with type 2 diabetes patients disclosed positive perceptions towards the current diabetes management visits; however, opinions towards nurse-led clinics varied among the patients.Conclusions and recommendations: The team-based approach at diabetes management clinics in public PHCCs in Oman requires thoughtful attention. Diverse presence of the team members can form challenges during service delivery. Clear roles for team members must be outlined through a solid HRH management mechanism in the context of a sharp leadership concept. Nurse-led clinics are an important concept within the team; however, their implementation requires further investigation. The concept must involve clear understandings of independence and interdependence by the team members, who must be educated to provide a strong gain for team-based service delivery.
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| 4. |
- Bentham, James, et al.
(författare)
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A century of trends in adult human height
- 2016
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Ingår i: eLIFE. - : eLife Sciences Publications Ltd. - 2050-084X. ; 5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Being taller is associated with enhanced longevity, and higher education and earnings. We reanalysed 1472 population-based studies, with measurement of height on more than 18.6 million participants to estimate mean height for people born between 1896 and 1996 in 200 countries. The largest gain in adult height over the past century has occurred in South Korean women and Iranian men, who became 20.2 cm (95% credible interval 17.5–22.7) and 16.5 cm (13.3– 19.7) taller, respectively. In contrast, there was little change in adult height in some sub-Saharan African countries and in South Asia over the century of analysis. The tallest people over these 100 years are men born in the Netherlands in the last quarter of 20th century, whose average heights surpassed 182.5 cm, and the shortest were women born in Guatemala in 1896 (140.3 cm; 135.8– 144.8). The height differential between the tallest and shortest populations was 19-20 cm a century ago, and has remained the same for women and increased for men a century later despite substantial changes in the ranking of countries.
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| 5. |
- Näslund, Ulf, et al.
(författare)
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Visualization of asymptomatic atherosclerotic disease for optimum cardiovascular prevention (VIPVIZA) : a pragmatic, open-label, randomised controlled trial
- 2019
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Ingår i: The Lancet. - : Elsevier. - 0140-6736 .- 1474-547X. ; 393:10167, s. 133-142
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease often fails because of poor adherence among practitioners and individuals to prevention guidelines. We aimed to investigate whether ultrasound-based pictorial information about subclinical carotid atherosclerosis, targeting both primary care physicians and individuals, improves prevention.METHODS: Visualization of asymptomatic atherosclerotic disease for optimum cardiovascular prevention (VIPVIZA) is a pragmatic, open-label, randomised controlled trial that was integrated within the Västerbotten Intervention Programme, an ongoing population-based cardiovascular disease prevention programme in northern Sweden. Individuals aged 40, 50, or 60 years with one or more conventional risk factors were eligible to participate. Participants underwent clinical examination, blood sampling, and ultrasound assessment of carotid intima media wall thickness and plaque formation. Participants were randomly assigned 1:1 with a computer-generated randomisation list to an intervention group (pictorial representation of carotid ultrasound plus a nurse phone call to confirm understanding) or a control group (not informed). The primary outcomes, Framingham risk score (FRS) and European systematic coronary risk evaluation (SCORE), were assessed after 1 year among participants who were followed up. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01849575.FINDINGS: 3532 individuals were enrolled between April 29, 2013, and June 7, 2016, of which 1783 were randomly assigned to the control group and 1749 were assigned to the intervention group. 3175 participants completed the 1-year follow-up. At the 1-year follow-up, FRS and SCORE differed significantly between groups (FRS 1·07 [95% CI 0·11 to 2·03, p=0·0017] and SCORE 0·16 [0·02 to 0·30, p=0·0010]). FRS decreased from baseline to the 1-year follow-up in the intervention group and increased in the control group (-0·58 [95% CI -0·86 to -0·30] vs 0·35 [0·08 to 0·63]). SCORE increased in both groups (0·13 [95% CI 0·09 to 0·18] vs 0·27 [0·23 to 0·30]).INTERPRETATION: This study provides evidence of the contributory role of pictorial presentation of silent atherosclerosis for prevention of cardiovascular disease. It supports further development of methods to reduce the major problem of low adherence to medication and lifestyle modification.
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| 6. |
- Sorensen, Julie, et al.
(författare)
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Health-Care Administrator Perspectives on Prevention Guidelines and Healthy Lifestyle Counseling in a Primary Care Setting in New York State
- 2019
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Ingår i: Health Services Research and Managerial Epidemiology. - : Sage Publications. - 2333-3928. ; 6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: The incidence of chronic disease and treatment costs have been steadily increasing in the United States over the past few decades. Primary prevention and healthy lifestyle counseling have been identified as important strategies for reducing health-care costs and chronic disease prevalence. This article seeks to examine decision-makers’ experiences and self-perceived roles in guideline and lifestyle counseling implementation in a primary care setting in the United States. Methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted with administrators at a health-care network in Upstate New York and with state-level administrators, such as insurers. Decision-makers were asked to discuss prevention guidelines and healthy lifestyle counseling, as well as how they support implementation of these initiatives. Interviews were analyzed using a thematic analysis framework and relevant sections of text were sorted using a priori codes.Results: Interviews identified numerous barriers to guideline implementation. These included the complexity and profusion of guidelines, the highly politicized nature of health-care provision, and resistance from providers who sometimes prefer to make decisions autonomously. Barriers to supporting prevention counseling included relatively time-limited patient encounters, the lack of reimbursement mechanisms for counseling, lack of patient resources, and regulatory complexities.Conclusions: Our research indicates that administrators and administrative structures face barriers to supporting prevention activities such as guideline implementation and healthy lifestyle counseling in primary care settings. They also identified several solutions for addressing existing primary prevention barriers, such as relying on nurses to provide healthy lifestyle support to patients. This article provides an important assessment of institutional readiness to support primary prevention efforts.
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| 7. |
- Winkvist, Anna, 1962, et al.
(författare)
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Dietary intake, leisure time activities and obesity among adolescents in Western Sweden: a cross-sectional study
- 2016
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Ingår i: Nutrition Journal. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1475-2891. ; 15:41
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Overweight and obesity among adolescents are increasing worldwide. Risk factors include dietary intake characteristics and high levels of physical inactivity. In Sweden, few large comprehensive population-based surveys of dietary intake and lifestyle among adolescents have been carried out. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to describe dietary intake and food choices as well as leisure time activities in relation to overweight and obesity in a total sample of all schoolchildren aged 15 years in Western Sweden. Methods: In 2008, a questionnaire was sent to all 21,651 adolescents born in 1992 in Vastra Gotaland Region, Sweden. Participation rate was 54.3 % (50.7 % girls/49.3 % boys). The questionnaire included a 73-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire and questions on lifestyle. Results were evaluated against the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations and Swedish indicators of healthy diet and exercise habits. Associations with concurrent overweight and obesity were evaluated in multiple linear regression analysis. Results: Among girls, 49.5 % reached the goal of consuming fruit and vegetables at least daily, whereas for boys the figure was 34.4 %. Among both sexes, 15 % reached the goal of consuming fish at least twice weekly. Two-thirds of both sexes reached the goal of regular moderate or vigorous physical activity weekly. In total, 12.4 % were overweight and 2.4 % were obese. More girls than boys were underweight, whereas more boys than girls were overweight or obese (p < 0.001). Boys exhibited a more frequent intake of sodas and concentrated fruit juices, milk 3 % fat, bread and potatoes and fast food (p < 0.001). Frequent intake of candies and chocolate was reported by both sexes. Among girls and boys, living in rural areas, living in apartments and reporting no frequent leisure time physical activity were significant risk factors for being overweight or obese, also when adjusted for other risk factors. Conclusions: Dietary habits of adolescents in Western Sweden warrant improvements. Public health actions should be taken to increase consumption of fruit, vegetables and fish, and decrease consumption of sodas and candies and also to increase frequency of physical activity. These actions may be helpful in reducing risks for overweight and obesity.
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