Health Services Research and Managerial Epidemiology

OBJECTIVES: In light of the increasing number of employed dentists and the decreasing rate of self-employed dentists, the factors that impact the decision to set up a dental office in Germany were investigated. Central to this approach is the provision of comprehensive dental care. METHODS: Using a pairwise comparison technique, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), location factors identified as relevant in a systematic literature review and then prioritized by the professionals were weighted and ranked...

BACKGROUND: The bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae commonly causes severe bacterial illnesses in both children and adults. S. pneumoniae is the most fatal bacterial pathogen, causing 50% of the deaths from lower respiratory infections in people of all ages. OBJECTIVES: This study was aimed to determine a nasopharyngeal carriage rate of S. pneumoniae , related risk factors, and antibiotic susceptibility among prisoners in Hawassa Central Prison Institute Hawassa, Ethiopia...

INTRODUCTION: Multimorbidity is a rising health issue globally and it is likely to become challenging in developing countries like Nigeria as they experience economic, demographic, and epidemiological transition. Yet, evidence of prevalence and patterns of multimorbidity, and their determinants, are scarce. This study aims to systematically review studies of the prevalence, patterns, and determinants of multimorbidity in Nigeria. METHODS: Studies were identified by searching 5 electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Africa Index Medicus/Global Index Medicus)...

INTRODUCTION: Conflicting reports for preterm birth and stillbirth during the lockdown imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic have emerged. Most of the studies are related to the initial waves of the pandemic. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate changes in preterm birth and stillbirth rates during various waves of COVID-19 in northern Iran. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study to evaluate preterm birth and stillbirth rate based on weight distribution per 1000 live births during lockdown periods in 5 peaks of the COVID-19 pandemic using the regional data registration system at Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in northern Iran...

Objective: As the fourth wave of COVID-19 spread in South Korea in 2022, society experienced various adverse effects, including COVID-19 phobia, depression, and loneliness. Addressing these factors became a vital part of the anti-COVID-19 individual and public mental health efforts, conducted partly by fostering COVID-19 knowledge, attitudes, and compliance with public prevention practice guidelines under the controversial policy of living "with COVID-19". Method: The study used a cross-sectional online survey-based design...

OBJECTIVE: To track youth sports participation and injury occurrence accurately and longitudinally. RESULTS: An online survey tool that captures sports participation, frequency, level of competition, and tracks injury occurrence has been developed. The survey allows for longitudinal tracking of sports participation to evaluate the change from recreational to highly specialized sports participation. To maximize the utility of this research tool we identified swimmer plots which allow for clear visualization of the data as the best method for graphical representation...

BACKGROUND: Maternal and infant mortality is a major problem in a developing country like Bangladesh and these deaths are mostly related to incomplete antenatal care (ANC) visits. Adequate ANC visits for women are crucial in controlling maternal and infant mortality. AIMS: To investigate factors associated with ANC visits among women of reproductive age (15-49) in Bangladesh using the Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey 2017-2018 (BDHS) data. METHODS: This study included 5012 respondents, of whom 2414 women (48...

BACKGROUND: Parents are more concerned about the available evidence of the safety, efficacy, and tolerability of the pediatric COVID-19 vaccine. AIM: To assess the parents' willingness to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 and associate it with health belief model constructs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A countrywide, online, self-administered, cross-sectional survey was conducted from December 15, 2021 to March 8, 2022. The HBM approach was used as a theoretical context to assess the predictors of parents' willingness to vaccinate their children against COVID-19...

BACKGROUND: In California, laboratories report all hepatitis C (HCV)-positive antibody tests to the state; however, that does not accurately reflect active infection among those patients without a viral load test confirming a patient's HCV diagnosis. These public health surveillance disease incident records do not include patient details such as comorbidities or insurance status found in electronic medical records (EMRs). OBJECTIVE: This research seeks to understand how insurance type, insurance status, patient comorbidities, and other sociodemographic factors related to HCV diagnosis as defined by a positive viral load test among HCV antibody-positive persons from January 1, 2010 to March 1, 2020...

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BACKGROUND: Worldwide 1.2 billion women suffer from micronutrient deficiency. Feeding diversified foods during pregnancy prevents pregnancy complications such as severe anemia, low birth weight, and birth defects. However, the status of minimum dietary diversity and associated factors among pregnant women were not explored in the study area; therefore, this study was conducted at the Arba Minch Health and Demographic Surveillance Sites (AMHDSS). METHOD: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from December 19, 2021, to October 30, 2022, on randomly selected 635 pregnant women...

BACKGROUND: In primary care, low health literacy, particularly reading ability, is associated with worse health outcomes. Most physicians do not receive feedback on the reading levels of written communication that they may provide to patients, including result letters. OBJECTIVE: Our study compares the readability of result letters, written by resident versus attending physicians, to patients with positive or negative screens for reading ability, as determined by the single-item literacy screener (SILS)...

BACKGROUND: Self-triage is becoming more widespread, but little is known about the people who are using online self-triage tools and their outcomes. For self-triage researchers, there are significant barriers to capturing subsequent healthcare outcomes. Our integrated healthcare system was able to capture subsequent healthcare utilization of individuals who used self-triage integrated with self-scheduling of provider visits. METHODS: We retrospectively examined healthcare utilization and diagnoses after patients had used self-triage and self-scheduling for ear or hearing symptoms...

BACKGROUND: One of the important interventions in the infantile period is the selection of appropriate infant sleeping position. Unsafe infant sleep position is associated with sudden unexpected death in infancy. Yet, little is known about the practice of infant sleep position in Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess the practice of infant sleep position among mothers attending mother and child health service in Jimma town public health institutions, South West Ethiopia, 2022. METHODS: An institutional based cross-sectional study design was conducted on 409 women attending Maternal and child health service in Jimma town public health facilities...

BACKGROUND: The prevalence and determinants of antenatal care (ANC) dropout in Ethiopia were studied. However, the results were inconsistent and showed considerable variation. Hence, this meta-analysis aimed at estimating the overall prevalence of ANC dropout and its predictors in Ethiopia. METHODS: A comprehensive search of published studies was done using different international databases such as such as PubMed, DOJA, Embase, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and the institutional repository of Ethiopian universities were used to search for relevant studies...

BACKGROUND: Few models exist that incorporate measures from an array of individual characteristics to predict the risk of COVID-19 infection in the general population. The aim was to develop a prognostic model for COVID-19 using readily obtainable clinical variables. METHODS: Over 74 weeks surveys were periodically administered to a cohort of 1381 participants previously uninfected with COVID-19 (June 2020 to December 2021). Candidate predictors of incident infection during follow-up included demographics, living situation, financial status, physical activity, health conditions, flu vaccination history, COVID-19 vaccine intention, work/employment status, and use of COVID-19 mitigation behaviors...

BACKGROUND: The prognostic factors of survival can be accurately identified using data from different health centers, but the structure of multi-center data is heterogeneous due to the treatment of patients in different centers or similar reasons. In survival analysis, the shared frailty model is a common way to analyze multi-center data that assumes all covariates have homogenous effects. We used a censored quantile regression model for clustered survival data to study the impact of prognostic factors on survival time...

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the major threats to global health, affecting millions of people each year and causing morbidity and mortality. The risk of acquiring chronic HVV infection varies with age, with 90% of infections acquired during the perinatal period. Despite many studies, there is little evidence of this virus in the Borena Zone. OBJECTIVES: This study was done to assess seroprevalence HBVinfection and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care at selected Borena Zone public hospitals from June 1 to September 30, 2022...

BACKGROUND/AIMS: An effective workflow at the endoscopy unit is important for optimal production. We conducted a time-and-motion study to identify the amount of time that patients spend during the different steps of a regular endoscopy procedure and compared propofol with midazolam sedation. METHODS: Data from 376 patients were prospectively collected. Durations of the different procedure steps were measured. Correlations between recovery times, age, and dose of sedative were calculated...

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic led to a major transition for patients from routine ambulatory-care-based in-person primary care visits to telehealth visits to manage chronic diseases. However, it remains unclear the extent to which individuals access telehealth services and whether such utilization varies along neighborhood characteristics, especially among racial minorities. This study aims to examine the association of outpatient telehealth utilization with sociodemographic, clinical, and neighborhood characteristics among adults with ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs) during the COVID-19 pandemic...