coverage with evidence development

BACKGROUND: Despite growing attention from researchers and governments, challenges persist in comprehensively assessing urban sound quality by integrating both quietness and naturalness aspects. GOALS: This study aimed to develop an innovative soundscape quality index that concurrently evaluates quietness and naturalness in urban soundscapes. Our objectives included conducting urban soundscape quality mapping, analyzing influential mechanisms, and identifying priority zones for sound environment management...

In recent years, particularly following the definition of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030, Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) have gained considerable attention, capturing the interest of both the scientific community and policymakers committed to addressing urban environmental issues. However, the need for studies to guide decision-makers in identifying suitable locations for NBS implementation within urban stormwater management is evident. To address this gap, the present study employs a methodological approach grounded in multi-criteria analysis integrated with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to identify areas with potential for NBS implementation...

Patients with cancer can be immunocompromised because of their disease and/or due to anticancer therapy. In this population, severe influenza virus infections are associated with an elevated risk of morbidity and mortality. Influenza vaccination is therefore highly recommended in cancer patients, including those receiving anticancer therapy. However, vaccination coverage remains far below the recommended target for vulnerable subjects. Six specialists in oncology, hematology, immunology, and public health/vaccinology convened with the objective of developing strategies, based on evidence and clinical experience, for improving influenza vaccination coverage in cancer patients...

BACKGROUND: Rates of sleep disturbance among survivors of cancer are more than 3 times higher than the general population. Causes of sleep disturbance among survivors are many and multifaceted, including anxiety and fear related to cancer diagnosis and treatments. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is considered a first-line treatment for insomnia; However, a lack of access to trained professionals and limited insurance coverage for CBT-I services has limited patient access to these effective treatments...

BACKGROUND: Various arthroscopic rotator cuff repair techniques are being used for the treatment of rotator cuff tears with the development of surgical instruments. However, retears after repair are not completely avoidable, and efforts to reduce retears remain a challenge. PURPOSE/HYPOTHESIS: To introduce a new repair technique, the double-row modified Mason-Allen technique with a single knot, and to compare clinical outcomes and retear rates with the single-row modified Mason-Allen technique...

Health insurance coverage and the risk protection it provides may improve enrollees' subjective well-being (SWB), as demonstrated for example by Oregon Medicaid's randomized expansion significantly improving enrollees' mental health and happiness. Yet little evidence from low- and middle-incomen countries documents the link between insurance coverage and SWB. We analyze individual-level data on a large natural experiment in China: the integration of the rural and urban resident health insurance programs. This reform, expanded nationally since 2016, is recognized as a vital step toward attaining the goal of providing affordable and equitable basic healthcare in China, because integration raises the level of healthcare coverage for rural residents to that enjoyed by their urban counterparts...

BACKGROUND: Ethiopia is the fourth leading contributor to the global total of zero-dose children (those who lack the first dose of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis containing vaccine) and has substantial regional variations in zero-dose children. This study explored the spatial pattern of zero-dose children aged 12-35 months in Ethiopia. METHODS: A survey was conducted in pastoralist regions, developing regions, newly-established regions, conflict-affected areas, underserved urban populations, hard-to-reach areas, internally displaced populations, and refugees...

INTRODUCTION: Environmental health services (e.g., water, sanitation, hygiene, cleaning, waste management) in healthcare facilities are important to improve health outcomes and strengthen health systems, but coverage gaps remain. The World Health Organization and United Nations Children's Fund developed WASH FIT, a quality improvement tool, to help assess and improve environmental health services. Fifty-three countries have adopted it. However, there is little evidence of its effectiveness...

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization's (WHO) Immunization Agenda 2030 emphasises ensuring equitable access to vaccination across the life course. This includes placing an emphasis on migrant populations who may have missed key childhood vaccines, doses, and boosters due to disrupted healthcare systems and the migration process, or differing vaccination schedules in home countries. Guidelines exist in the UK for offering catch-up vaccinations to adolscent and adult migrants with incomplete or uncertain vaccination status (including MMR, Td-IPV, MenACWY, HPV), but emerging evidence suggests awareness and implementation in primary care is poor...

BACKGROUND: Psychosocial evaluation for transplant suitability is required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as a condition of participation for transplant programs. There are no regulations regarding follow-up reassessment for transplant readiness after waitlisting. OBJECTIVES: An evidence-based pilot project was developed and implemented to evaluate the feasibility of psychosocial readiness assessments for waitlisted heart transplantation candidates...

BACKGROUND: Financial toxicity, defined as both the objective financial burden and subjective financial distress from a cancer diagnosis and its treatment, is a topic of interest in the assessment of the quality of life of patients with cancer and their families. Current evidence implicates financial toxicity in psychosocial, economic and other harms, leading to suboptimal cancer outcomes along the entire trajectory of diagnosis, treatment, supportive care, survivorship and palliation...

Planning for investment in human resources for health (HRH) is critical to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and establish a sustainable health system. Informed planning warrants a better understanding of the health labour market (HLM) to tackle a variety of health and care workforce challenges: from addressing critical supply shortage, to ensuring optimal skills mix and distribution, and addressing motivation and performance challenges. Scant evidence around the overall role of socioeconomic and cultural factors like gender, race, marital status, citizenship (migrant) status, workplace hierarchy etc...

Maternal anaemia is a major public health problem. Developing maternal anaemia prevention and control policies is an important prerequisite for carrying out evidence-based interventions. This article reviews maternal anaemia prevention and control policies in China, identifies gaps, and provides references for other countries. We examined policies concerning maternal nutrition and other related literature in China, identified through key databases and government websites, and conducted a narrative review of the relevant documentations guided by the Smith Policy-Implementing-Process framework...

OBJECTIVES: Faster regulatory approval processes often fail to achieve faster patient access. We seek an approach, using performance-based risk-sharing arrangements (PBRSA), to address uncertainty for payers regarding the relative effectiveness and value for money of products launched through accelerated approval schemes. One important reason for risk-sharing is to resolve differences of opinion between innovators and payers about a technology's underlying value. To date, there has been no formal attempt to set out the circumstances in which risk-sharing can address these differences...

BACKGROUND: Health apps are increasingly recognized as crucial tools for enhancing health care delivery. Many countries, particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa, can substantially benefit from using health apps to support self-management and thus help to achieve universal health coverage and the third sustainable development goal. However, most health apps published in app stores are of unknown or poor quality, which poses a risk to patient safety. Regulatory standards and guidance can help address this risk and promote patient safety...

BACKGROUND: Promoting physical activity (PA) and healthy feeding (HF) is crucial to address the alarming increase in obesity rates in developing countries. Leveraging mobile phones for behavior change communication to encourage infant PA and promote HF is particularly significant within the Mexican context. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the effectiveness and feasibility of mHealth interventions aimed at promoting PA and HF among primary caregivers (PCs) of Mexican children under the age of 5 years...

Many children do not receive a full schedule of childhood vaccines, yet there is limited evidence on the cost-effectiveness of strategies for improving vaccination coverage. Evidence is even scarcer on the cost-effectiveness of strategies for reaching "zero-dose children," who have not received any routine vaccines. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of periodic intensification of routine immunization (PIRI), a widely applied strategy for increasing vaccination coverage. We focused on Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI), a large-scale PIRI intervention implemented in India in 2017-2018...

BACKGROUND: Antenatal care (ANC) is critical to reducing maternal and infant mortality. However, sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) continues to have among the lowest levels of ANC receipt globally, with half of mothers not meeting the WHO minimum recommendation of at least four visits. Increasing ANC coverage will require not only directly reducing geographic and financial barriers to care but also addressing the social determinants of health that shape access. Among those with the greatest potential for impact is maternal education: past research has documented a relationship between higher educational attainment and antenatal healthcare access, as well as related outcomes like health literacy and autonomy in health decision-making...

Background. Food insecurity during pregnancy is associated with poorer outcomes for both mothers and their newborns. Given the ongoing opioid crisis in the United States, mothers who take opioids during pregnancy may be at particular risk of experiencing food insecurity. Methods. This research utilized data from 254 biological mothers of infants in the Advancing Clinical Trials in Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (ACT NOW) Outcomes of Babies with Opioid Exposure (OBOE) Study. We examined factors associated with food insecurity among mothers of infants with antenatal opioid exposure and their unexposed (control) counterparts...

The trend in industrial/service robotics is to develop robots that can cooperate with people, interacting with them in an autonomous, safe and purposive way. These are the fundamental elements characterizing the fourth and the fifth industrial revolutions (4IR, 5IR): the crucial innovation is the adoption of intelligent technologies that can allow the development of cyber-physical systems , similar if not superior to humans. The common wisdom is that intelligence might be provided by AI (Artificial Intelligence), a claim that is supported more by media coverage and commercial interests than by solid scientific evidence...