• Skovgaard Moos posted an update 1 month, 3 weeks ago

    Our findings provide a framework for considering patients’ levels of knowledge, motivation, and self-efficacy in future educational and behavioral interventions for ESRD patients.

    Use of nutrition facts labels can be associated with healthier eating behaviors; however, consumers currently face difficulty understanding these labels or do not use them often. Thus, improving healthy grocery shopping behaviors among consumers might increase the overall health of the community.

    The study aims to explore consumers’ behavior during grocery shopping and measure their basic knowledge regarding food product labels.

    A national observational study (cross-sectional) was carried out on a convenience sample of Saudi Arabian residents aged 18 years and above. The data were obtained from all 13 administrative regions in Saudi Arabia at three different major supermarkets in each region. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, and binary logistic regression was used to investigate behavior variables.

    A total of 12,675 participants were observed; of those, 52.2% did not interact with the product before putting it in their shopping cart. The study found that the production date (66.6%) and expiry date (51%) were the most frequently checked aspects of food labels; they were checked more frequently than nutrition facts (29%). Furthermore, there was a low level of dietary knowledge among consumers and a moderate level of believing food packages and media claims.

    Our results suggest that the Saudi community’s understanding of food product information is limited and greater awareness and community education campaigns are required to improve the use of nutritional labels and increase nutritional knowledge.

    Our results suggest that the Saudi community’s understanding of food product information is limited and greater awareness and community education campaigns are required to improve the use of nutritional labels and increase nutritional knowledge.

    An infectious disease outbreak can place a significant burden on healthcare systems, however, our understanding of the broader healthcare workforce’s preparedness during a pandemic is limited. This study examines factors that influence perceived workforce preparedness at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) during a pandemic.

    The VA Preparedness Survey was a random, anonymous, web-based survey fielded nationwide October to December 2018. Multivariate statistical analyses examined the effects of study relevant factors (sociodemographic, work-related, general health, and household-related characteristics of VA employees) on perceptions of workforce preparedness, including institutional readiness and understanding of individual roles during a pandemic.

    Four thousand and twenty-six VA employees responded. Overall, 55% were confident in their VA medical facility’s ability to respond; 49% understood their role; and 68% reported their role to be important during a pandemic. After controlling for study-rent workforce trainings for newly hired employees; and identify ways to improve household preparedness for a pandemic outbreak.

    The findings from this study suggest the need for identifying ways to increase VA employees’ confidence in their medical facility’s ability to respond to a pandemic; develop trainings to improve understanding of their different yet critical roles, for both clinical and non-clinical staff, during a pandemic; create different workforce trainings for newly hired employees; and identify ways to improve household preparedness for a pandemic outbreak.As the COVID-19 health crisis continues to reshape healthcare, systems across the country face increasing pressure to adapt their models of care to expand access to care, while also improving efficiency and quality in the face of limited resources. Consequently, many have shown a growing interest and receptivity to the expansion of telehealth models to help meet these demands. Electronic consultations (eConsults) are a telehealth modality that allow for a non-face-to-face asynchronous consultation between a primary care provider (PCP) and a specialist aimed at facilitating specialist input without the need for a patient visit. The aim of this case study is to describe eConsults, how they differ from traditional in person models of care and other models of telemedicine and to review the evidence related to the effectiveness of eConsults by PCPs and clinicians from multiple specialties at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. We have worked to develop an infrastructure, delivery system integration, and care model adaptations that aim to improve delivery system performance by ensuring proper care in appropriate settings and lowering costs through reduced utilization. Lastly, we have increased care coordination, improved collaboration and better care transitions through strengthening of relationships between community-based PCPs and academic medical center-based specialists. This work has resulted in cost savings to patients and positive provider satisfaction.Self-medication is the most common practice worldwide and it may lead to irrational use of drugs. selleck Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of self-medication practice and its associated factors among health science students. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 600 health science students in Gondar town. The data regarding self-medication practice and its associated factors were collected using a face-to-face interview on a structured questionnaire. SPSS -24 was used for data analysis and explained with univariate, and multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine the factors associated with self-medication practice (sex, age, religion, marital status, residence, department, year of study, monthly income, access to pharmacy, and peer/family pressure). A total of 554 students responded to the questionnaire with a response rate of 92.3%. Out of 554 respondents, 78.2% were practiced self-medication. Headache/fever 37.88% (n = 164) was reported as the most common complaint to practice sel selling of medications without a proper prescription.

    Time restricted feeding (TRF) involves deliberately restricting the times during which energy is ingested. Preliminary findings suggest that 8-10-h TRF improves sleep. However, the effects of shorter TRF windows (4-6 h) on sleep, remain unknown.

    This study compared the effects of 4-h versus 6-h TRF on sleep quality, duration, insomnia severity and the risk of obstructive sleep apnea.

    Adults with obesity (

    = 49) were randomized into one of three groups 4-h TRF (eating only between 3 and 7 p.m.), 6-h TRF (eating only between 1 and 7 p.m.), or a control group (no meal timing restrictions) for 8 weeks.

    After 8 weeks, body weight decreased (

    < 0.001) similarly by 4-h TRF (-3.9 ± 0.4 kg) and 6-h TRF (-3.4 ± 0.4 kg), versus controls. Sleep quality, measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), did not change by 4-h TRF (baseline 5.9 ± 0.7; week 8 4.8 ± 0.6) or 6-h TRF (baseline 6.4 ± 0.8; week 8 5.3 ± 0.9), versus controls. Wake time, bedtime, sleep duration and sleep onset latency also remained unchanged. Insomnia severity did not change by 4-h TRF (baseline 4.4 ± 1.0; week 8 4.7 ± 0.9) or 6-h TRF (baseline 8.3 ± 1.2; week 8 5.5 ± 1.1), versus controls. Percent of participants reporting obstructive sleep apnea symptoms did not change by 4-h TRF (baseline 44%; week 8 25%) or 6-h TRF (baseline 47%; week 8 20%), versus controls.

    These findings suggest that 4- and 6-h TRF have no effect on sleep quality, duration, insomnia severity, or the risk of obstructive sleep apnea.

    These findings suggest that 4- and 6-h TRF have no effect on sleep quality, duration, insomnia severity, or the risk of obstructive sleep apnea.

    The interaction between azole antifungal therapy and immunosuppressant tacrolimus (TAC) is a barrier to use.

    This study quantified the drug interaction between low-dose fluconazole (LDF) and TAC to determine the appropriate TAC dose adjustment when used concurrently in renal transplant recipients.

    We conducted a single-center retrospective chart review of renal transplant patients

    18 years who received LDF or nystatin (NYS), and TAC. The primary outcome was the difference in tacrolimus total daily dose (TAC TDD) for LDF versus NYS groups. Secondary outcomes included days with supratherapeutic, therapeutic and subtherapeutic tacrolimus levels, time to therapeutic level, incidence of adverse drug reactions and graft rejection.

    We evaluated 94 patients and included 81. Low-dose fluconazole received a greater TAC TDD prior to post-operative day (POD) 10 (10.5 ± 4.7 mg vs. 7.1 ± 4.5 mg,

    < 0.001), but a decreased TAC TDD POD 10 – 30 (8.6 ± 2.2 mg vs. 9.8 ± 0.8 mg,

    < 0.001) and following LDF discontinuation (6.9 ± 0.1 mg vs. 9.0 ± 0.4 mg,

    < 0.001). Low-dose fluconazole had more patient-days with supratherapeutic (17.9 ± 7.0 vs. 13.9 ± 8.5;

    = 0.02) but fewer with subtherapeutic (6.7 ± 5.7 vs. 12.9 ± 7.2;

    < 0.01) TAC levels. There was no difference in patient-days with therapeutic TAC levels (15.9 ± 5.8 vs. 14.4 ± 6.6,

    = 0.28), meanwhile LDF required less patient-days to therapeutic TAC level (7.1 ± 2.7 vs. 11.5 ± 7.7;

    < 0.01). There was no difference in adverse drug reactions between groups and no incidence of graft rejection.

    A 20% reduction in TAC TDD is warranted in renal transplant patients when used concomitantly with LDF to achieve therapeutic levels.

    A 20% reduction in TAC TDD is warranted in renal transplant patients when used concomitantly with LDF to achieve therapeutic levels.This study examined mediating effects of body weight control behaviors in the relationship between body weight perception and health-related behaviors among 11,458 U.S. adolescents from the 2010 National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey. Parallel multiple mediation analysis was performed for the secondary data analysis. Nearly one third of adolescents (32.5%) had overweight or obesity; one quarter (25.0%) perceived themselves as slightly overweight and 5.1% thought they were very overweight. More girls (58.6%) had tried to lose weight than boys (32.3%), while boys were more physically active than girls. Healthy and unhealthy weight control behaviors significantly mediated the relationship between adolescents’ body weight perception and health-related behaviors (physical activity and screen time). Teachers and parents should help adolescents have accurate weight perception and utilize reliable and healthy weight control strategies. Future studies should consider the intercorrelated relationships among adolescents’ perceptions and behaviors regarding weight to provide successful weight control intervention programs.

    Many antibiotic stewardship programs have sought to reduce fluoroquinolone use due to their association with a myriad of negative consequences. In hospital settings with fewer resources, initiatives that are less labor intensive may offer a more feasible approach to addressing fluoroquinolone use and improving patient care.

    This study assessed the impact of a non-restrictive fluoroquinolone reduction initiative on antibiotic use and resistance.

    This was a retrospective pre- and post-interventional ecological study conducted from 2016 to 2017. The fluoroquinolone reduction initiative consisted of education on risks and alternatives. Buttons promoting “Save the Quinolones” were also worn to increase visibility. Outcome measures were the rate of fluoroquinolone use and antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa before and after the intervention.

    Overall, fluoroquinolone use decreased throughout the study, but there was a significantly greater rate of decrease in the post-intervention period (monthly decrease of 3.