Internet of things-based health monitoring system for early detection of cardiovascular events during COVID-19 pandemic

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has currently caused the mortality of millions of people around the world. Aside from the direct mortality from the COVID-19, the indirect effects of the pandemic have also led to an increase in the mortality rate of other non-COVID patients. Evidence indicates that novel COVID-19 pandemic has caused an inflation in acute cardiovascular mortality, which did not relate to COVID-19 infection. It has in fact increased the risk of death in cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients. For this purpose, it is dramatically inevitable to monitor CVD patients’ vital signs and to detect abnormal events before the occurrence of any critical conditions resulted in death. Internet of things (IoT) and health monitoring sensors have improved the medical care systems by enabling latency-sensitive surveillance and computing of large amounts of patients’ data. The major challenge being faced currently in this problem is its limited scalability and late detection of cardiovascular events in IoT-based computing environments. To this end, this paper proposes a novel framework to early detection of cardiovascular events based on a deep learning architecture in IoT environments. Experimental results showed that the proposed method was able to detect cardiovascular events with better performance (95.30% average sensitivity and 95.94% mean prediction values).     

河南省非订单定向全科住院医师规范化培训结业学员的就业状况及影响因素研究

背景 全科医生数量和质量是人力资源管理的两个重要维度，其中，医生数量的新增、保持和流失，是全科人力动态规划、管理和评价的重要考量，也是全科住院医师规范化培训（简称全科住培）的绩效指标。探讨全科住培学员的就业状况及影响因素，可以为今后住培政策和激励机制的制定提供参考，但目前针对非订单定向全科住培学员的相关研究较为缺乏。 目的 了解河南省非订单定向全科住培学员的就业状况，分析学员结业后未从事全科医学相关工作的原因，从而为完善培训管理和人力资源激励机制提供参考。 方法 于2021年8月，采用分层随机整群抽样法，在河南省选取2014—2017年入培且已结业的非订单定向全科住培学员326例进行问卷调查。问卷由课题组自行设计，主要内容为学员的基本信息、全科住培情况、目前工作情况及结业后从事与未从事全科医学相关工作的原因。问卷通过"问卷星"平台发放，由学员自行填写。 结果 共发放问卷326份，回收有效问卷271份（83.1%）。结业后，从事全科医学相关工作者77例（28.4%），从事非全科医学相关工作者194例（71.6%）。多因素Logistic回归分析结果显示，年龄、文化程度、生源类型、全科住培基地所在区域是学员结业后是否从事全科医学相关工作的影响因素（P<0.05）。与结业后未从事全科医学相关工作的学员相比，结业后从事全科医学相关工作学员注册为全科医学专业的比例更高〔70.1%（54/77）比32.0%（62/194），P<0.05〕，在乡镇卫生院/社区卫生服务中心执业的比例更高〔49.4%（38/77）比6.2%（12/194），P<0.05）〕。194例未从事全科医学相关工作的学员中，从事内科学工作者78例（40.2%），从事急诊及危重症医学工作者33例（17.0%），从事外科学工作者17例（8.8%）。不选择从事全科医学相关工作的前3位原因分别为：单位安排〔34.5%（67/194）〕，所在单位没有全科医学科〔29.9%（58/194）〕，薪酬低〔26.8%（52/194）〕。 结论 非订单定向全科住培学员选择从事全科医学相关工作的比例较低，年龄、文化程度、生源类型及基地所在区域是影响因素。建议加大全科医学理念宣传，加快综合医院全科医学科建设，提高全科医生薪酬待遇，以此增加全科医生的职业吸引力。     

A guide to oral vaccination: Highlighting electrospraying as a promising manufacturing technique toward a successful oral vaccine development

Most vaccines approved by regulatory bodies are administered via intramuscular or subcutaneous injections and have shortcomings, such as the risk of needle-associated blood infections, pain and swelling at the injection site. Orally administered vaccines are of interest, as they elicit both systemic and mucosal immunities, in which mucosal immunity would neutralize the mucosa invading pathogen before the onset of an infection. Hence, oral vaccination can eliminate the injection associated adverse effects and enhance the person's compliance. Conventional approaches to manufacturing oral vaccines, such as coacervation, spray drying, and membrane emulsification, tend to alter the structural proteins in vaccines that result from high temperature, organic and toxic solvents during production. Electrohydrodynamic processes, specifically electrospraying, could solve these challenges, as it also modulates antigen release and has a high loading efficiency. This review will highlight the mucosal immunity and biological basis of the gastrointestinal immune system, different oral vaccine delivery approaches, and the application of electrospraying in vaccines development.     

Rural barriers to early lung cancer detection: Exploring access to lung cancer screening programs in New Hampshire and Vermont

BackgroundRural populations face many health disadvantages compared to urban areas. There is a critical need to better understand the current lung cancer screening landscape in these communities to identify targeted areas to improve the impact of this proven tool.MethodsData from the County Health Rankings of New Hampshire and Vermont was reviewed for population density, distribution of adult smokers, and level of education compared to the distribution of Lung Cancer Screening Facilities throughout these two states.ResultsScreening programs in southern counties of Vermont with lower levels of education have decreased access. In New Hampshire, there are no programs within 30 miles of the areas with the largest distribution of smokers, and decreased access in some areas with the lowest levels of education.ConclusionsImproving equitable access to high-quality screening services in rural regions and the creation of targeted interventions to address decreased access in areas of high tobacco use and low education is vital to decreasing the incidence of latestage presentations of lung cancer within these populations.     

The impact of neighborhoods and friendships on interracial anxiety among medical students and residents: A report from the medical student CHANGES study

Objective

To examine the experience of interracial anxiety among health professionals and how it may affect the quality of their interactions with patients from racially marginalized populations. We explored the influence of prior interracial exposure—specifically through childhood neighborhoods, college student bodies, and friend groups—on interracial anxiety among medical students and residents. We also examined whether levels of interracial anxiety change from medical school through residency.

Data Source

Web-based longitudinal survey data from the Medical Student Cognitive Habits and Growth Evaluation Study.

Study Design

We used a retrospective longitudinal design with four observations for each trainee. The study population consisted of non-Black US medical trainees surveyed in their 1st and 4th years of medical school and 2nd and 3rd years of residency. Mixed effects longitudinal models were used to assess predictors of interracial anxiety and assess changes in interracial anxiety scores over time.

Principal Findings

In total, 3155 non-Black medical trainees were followed for 7 years. Seventy-eight percent grew up in predominantly White neighborhoods. Living in predominantly White neighborhoods and having less racially diverse friends were associated with higher levels of interracial anxiety among medical trainees. Trainees' interracial anxiety scores did not substantially change over time; interracial anxiety was highest in the 1st year of medical school, lowest in the 4th year, and increased slightly during residency.

Conclusions

Neighborhood and friend group composition had independent effects on interracial anxiety, indicating that premedical racial socialization may affect medical trainees' preparedness to interact effectively with diverse patient populations. Additionally, the lack of substantial change in interracial anxiety throughout medical training suggests the importance of providing curricular tools and structure (e.g., instituting interracial cooperative learning activities) to foster the development of healthy interracial relationships.     

Emergency department patient payer status after implementation of the Affordable Care Act: A nationwide analysis using NHAMCS data

ObjectiveTo evaluate changes in insurance status among emergency department (ED) patients presenting in the two years immediately before and after full implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).MethodsWe evaluated National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) Emergency Department public use data for 2012–2015, categorizing patients as having any insurance (private; Medicare; Medicaid; workers' compensation) or no insurance. We compared the pre- and post-ACA frequency of insurance coverage—overall and within the older (≥65), working-age (18–64) and pediatric (<18) subpopulations—using unadjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals. We also conducted a difference-in-differences analysis comparing the change in insurance coverage among working-age patients with that observed for older Medicare-eligible patients, while controlling for sex, race and underlying temporal trends.ResultsOverall, the proportion of ED patients with any insurance did not significantly change from 2012 to 2013 to 2014–2015 (74.2% vs 77.7%) but the proportion of working-age adult patients with at least one form of insurance increased significantly, from 66.0% to 71.8% (OR 1.31, CI: 1.13–1.52). The difference-in-differences analysis confirmed the change in insurance coverage among working-age adults was greater than that seen in the reference population of Medicare-eligible adults (AOR 1.70, CI: 1.29–2.23). The increase was almost entirely attributable to increased Medicaid coverage.ConclusionIn the first two years following full implementation of the ACA, there was a significant increase in the proportion of working-age adult ED patients who had at least one form of health insurance. The increase appeared primarily associated with expansion of Medicaid.     

微信小程序合并时间管理器在眼科患儿监护人出院宣教中的应用效果

目的 探讨微信小程序合并时间管理器在眼科患儿出院宣教中的应用效果,为眼科护士出院宣教干预提供借鉴。方法 采用便利抽样法,选取98例眼科患儿监护人作为研究对象,将2021年2月-5月住院的49例患儿的监护人作为对照组,进行眼科常规出院宣教,将2021年6月-9月住院的49例患儿的监护人作为观察组,使用微信小程序合并时间管理器进行出院宣教干预。比较2组患儿监护人对疾病相关知识知晓情况、满意度及按时复诊人数。结果 干预1个月后,观察组疾病相关知识问卷得分、满意度得分及按时复诊率均高于对照组(t=-5.223,P=0.001;t=-5.419,P=0.001;χ²=6.874,P=0.009)。结论 使用微信小程序合并时间管理器在眼科病房进行出院宣教,能有效提高患儿监护人出院后疾病相关知识水平、按时就诊率及监护人满意度,提升护理服务质量。     

Encouraging COVID-19 vaccination via an evolutionary theoretical approach: A randomized controlled study in Japan

ObjectiveWe aimed to examine the effect of a message that target the fundamental human motive of kin care on COVID-19 vaccination recommendations among participants with young children, based on an evolutionary theoretical approach.MethodsParticipants with young children (n = 969) were randomly assigned either to a group that received an intervention message that targeted the fundamental motive of kin care, or that targeted the fundamental motive of disease avoidance, or a control message. Intention to receive COVID-19 vaccination was assessed both before and after reading the messages. A one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s or Games–Howell test was conducted.ResultsAn intervention message targeting the fundamental motive of kin care and disease avoidance significantly increased intention of vaccination versus a control message (p < 0.001, respectively).ConclusionThe evolutionary theoretical approach that focuses on fundamental human motives has the potential to extend the communication strategy for COVID-19 vaccination recommendations.Practice implicationsHealth professionals should deliver messages that target the fundamental motive of kin care as well as messages about the susceptibility and severity of COVID-19 and vaccine efficacy (e.g., “Get vaccinated against COVID-19 for your child’s sake, because if you are infected, you will be unable to care for your child.”)