Healthcare service

Background: The early postnatal period is defined as the first 48 h to 7 days after delivery. The early postnatal visit is especially the most critical time for the survival of mothers and newborns, particularly through early detection and management of postpartum complications. Despite the benefits, most mothers and newborns do not receive early postnatal care services from healthcare providers during the critical first few days after delivery. Objectives: This study is aimed at assessing the prevalence of early postnatal care utilization and associated factors among mothers who gave birth within the last 6 weeks in Hosanna town, Southern Ethiopia, from April 20 to May 30, 2022...

BACKGROUND: Cannabis use is more prevalent among people with schizophrenia than in the general population. This usage detrimentally impacts disease prognosis, contributing to escalated admissions, heightened severity of psychotic symptoms, and reduced medication response. The recent decriminalisation of cannabis in South Africa may lead to an upsurge in usage, consequently intensifying the strain on mental healthcare services. AIM: This study aimed to compare the medication costs of patients with schizophrenia depending on cannabis use...

BACKGROUND: The Nigerian mental health law titled the Lunacy Act of 1958 has been under scrutiny for violating the human rights of people with mental illness. The call to reform the obsolete Lunacy Act has garnered attention from the government, as the law has been unamended for over 60 years. AIM: This study presents the challenges and implications of the new mental health law to the mental health services of Nigeria. METHODS: ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Google Scholar were used to find pertinent material...

BACKGROUND: The average length of stay is often used to indicate health system efficiency; shorter stays are associated with reduced costs. In South Africa, mental healthcare expenditure is spent on inpatient care. AIM: To identify factors associated with a long stay in an acute psychiatric unit. SETTING: A tertiary hospital. METHODS: A case-control study review of inpatients diagnosed with psychotic symptoms was used...

OBJECTIVES: The call to scale up telemedicine services globally as part of the digital health transformation lacks an agreed-upon set of constructs to guide the implementation process. A lack of guidance hinders the development, consolidation, sustainability and optimisation of telemedicine services. The study aims to reach consensus among telemedicine experts on a set of implementation constructs to be developed into an evidence-based support tool. METHODS: A modified Delphi study was conducted to evaluate a set of evidence-informed telemedicine implementation constructs comprising cores, domains and items...

This study aims to examine the impact of renewable energy, carbon emissions, and economic growth on healthcare spending in 36 Asian countries during 2000-2019. Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Square (DOLS) models have been applied to the panel data for 36 Asian countries. The study's findings show that CO2 emissions in Asia increased due to public and private health spending, with the commercial health sector having a larger negative influence on CO2 emissions than the public sector...

BACKGROUND: Numerous forums both domestically and internationally have discussed integration of allopathic and traditional healthcare. In South Africa, using traditional child healthcare is popular practice. If properly controlled, integrating this aspect of traditional child-health with allopathic healthcare may be advantageous to communities that use both healthcare systems. Allopathic and traditional healthcare remain separate organisations in South Africa despite efforts and discussions to integrate them...

BACKGROUND: Informational continuity ensures that all health and psychosocial information of the pregnant women is available at all encounters with healthcare providers. The World Health Organization recognised that ineffective informational continuity during birth contributed to fragmented care and duplication of services, which ultimately influenced the morbidity and mortality rates of the pregnant women. AIM: The aim of this study was to delve into the midwives' experiences on informational continuity approaches that enable effective care coordination during birth within the primary health care setting...

BACKGROUND: The near-miss approach assumes that mothers facing life-threatening conditions such as severe pre-eclampsia and postpartum haemorrhage share common risk factors. Among these women, those who survive (near-miss cases) can offer insights into the determinants, providing valuable lessons for understanding underlying factors. AIM: To investigate elements of continuity and coordination leading to obstetric near misses. SETTING: A major referral hospital and its referral pathway in Kenya...

INTRODUCTION: Plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery (PRAS) is a significant yet often overlooked specialty in medical school curricula. The impact of social media and unregulated information sources can distort the perceptions of medical specialties, including PRAS, leading to a decline in student interest, inappropriate referrals and strain on healthcare services. This systematic review aimed to understand the perceptions of medical students towards PRAS, identify influencing factors and explore strategies to address these influences...

BACKGROUND: The Internship and Community Service Programme (ICSP) places newly graduated health professionals for a compulsory training period. Universities adopt multiple strategies to encourage students to select rural placements for ICSP. OBJECTIVES: This study describes ICSP choices among final-year MBChB and Health and Rehabilitation Science students at a South African university and the factors influencing their decisions. METHOD: A cross-sectional qualitative descriptive study was conducted using a self-developed online questionnaire...

UNLABELLED: South Africa's current healthcare system is unequal and inefficient, with 71% of the population accessing underfunded public healthcare facilities. The imminent National Health Insurance (NHI) aims to balance the inequality between private and public health services by providing universal healthcare. The high levels of road accidents, violence and injuries in South Africa, being one of the quadruple burdens of diseases frequently causing hand injuries with resultant devastating economic and functional implications without rehabilitation services, are concerning...

BACKGROUND: Psychologists are at known risk of work-related stress, secondary trauma, and burnout. The COVID-19 pandemic increased stress and anxiety for communities worldwide and corresponded with an increased demand for mental health services. Our study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on psychologists' professional quality of life, psychological symptoms, and work-related stress in Aotearoa, New Zealand (NZ). METHOD: Ninety-nine registered psychologists were recruited via NZ professional psychology organizations, representing 3% of the total workforce...

INTRODUCTION: Spatial disparities impact population health and are linked to social and health disparities. Understanding the scope, nature, and trends of regional inequalities can help create policies, strategies, and interventions that affect the morbidity and mortality of various disease control. The variations in the distribution of health facilities have resulted in differences in health outcomes within Ghana's administrative districts, of which the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality (LMKM) is no exception...

INTRODUCTION: The global pandemic was an emerging challenge that significantly impacted healthcare systems and the delivery of care. Prompt actions and adaptive techniques, such as the virtual clinic, were implemented to ensure the quality and continuity of the care provided. The aim of this quality improvement project was to ensure the smooth implementation and effectiveness of the virtual clinic during the COVID-19 crisis. METHODS: A specialized team of multidisciplinary healthcare providers was established to systematically ensure the implementation of the virtual clinic within the Department of Oncology...

INTRODUCTION: Healthcare-associated infection affects more than 100 million patients annually. Healthcare workers' poor adherence to standard infection prevention and control procedures can result in many negative consequences, ranging from disability to death. METHODS: A facility-based, cross-sectional study was conducted in June 2021 among 379 healthcare workers selected using a stratified random sampling technique. All types of healthcare providers except pharmacy professionals were included in the study...

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INTRODUCTION: Understanding the patterns of utilisation of primary health services can help to improve service delivery and utilisation, thereby reducing common morbidities in the community. The study aimed to assess the patterns of utilisation of services provided at an outreach healthcare centre. METHODS: A community-based survey was conducted among families residing in the field practice area of an outreach centre for more than a year. Data were collected using a questionnaire administered to adults aged >18 years...

INTRODUCTION: Vaccine hesitancy was declared as one of the ten threats to global public health by the World Health Organization in 2019. It undermines the effort towards eradication of vaccine-preventable diseases. Healthcare providers, who are directly involved in vaccination services and vaccine advocacies, are important in combating vaccine hesitancy. Studies have shown that vaccine refusers have various reasons for refusal including distrust towards healthcare providers. Hence, it is important to understand healthcare providers' perspectives...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Black patients suffer from breast cancer-related racial health disparities, which could have implications on their gynecologic care. This review explores considerations in the gynecologic care of Black breast cancer survivors. RECENT FINDINGS: Black people have a higher risk of leiomyoma and endometrial cancer, which could confound bleeding patterns such as in the setting of tamoxifen use. As Black people are more likely to have early-onset breast cancer, this may have implications on long-term bone and heart health...