Journal of Ideas in Health (JIDHealth)
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Neck pain among smartphone users: an imminent public health issue during the pandemic time
Get PDFCOVID-19 Pandemic resulted in social mobility and travel restrictions to contain the infection. It has been reported that there happened post-pandemic surge in the use of the internet and social media as people rely on it more often for entertainment, work, and learning purposes. It is also been used as an unhealthy coping strategy for pandemic related stress. The smartphone was found to be the most common gadget used for accessing internet-based services. Owing to the postural alterations related to the small screen size of smartphones, neck pain was reported very commonly among smartphone users. Neck pain among smartphone users is a public health concern needing immediate attention in the pandemic time. Many of the risk factors leading to neck pain among smartphone users are modifiable. The authors outline preventive strategies that are mostly self- regulated. The strategies recommended include reducing Smartphone usage time (Smartphone-Free Time, Smartphone-Free Zone), maintaining ideal posture (Focus Breaks, Mobility Breaks, How am I keeping my posture?, Hands-free alternatives), doing regular exercises, preparing and following an activity schedule, and inculcating healthy habits.
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Lee S, Kang H, Shin G. Head flexion angle while using a smartphone. Ergonomics. 2015 Feb 17;58(2):220–6. https://doi.org/1080/00140139.2014.967311
Guan X, Fan G, Chen Z, Zeng Y, Zhang H, Hu A, et al. Gender difference in mobile phone use and the impact of digital device exposure on neck posture. Ergonomics. 2016;59(11):1453–61. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2016.1147614
Han H, Shin G. Head flexion angle when web-browsing and texting using a smartphone while walking. Appl Ergon. 2019; 81:102884. https://doi.org/1016/j.apergo.2019.102884
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Xie Y, Szeto GPY, Dai J, Madeleine P. A comparison of muscle activity in using touchscreen smartphone among young people with and without chronic neck–shoulder pain. Ergonomics. 2016;59(1):61–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2015.1056237
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Li W, Yang Y, Liu Z-H, Zhao Y-J, Zhang Q, Zhang L, et al. Progression of mental health services during the COVID-19 outbreak in China. Int J Biol Sci. 2020;16(10):1732–8. https://doi.org/7150/ijbs.45120
Namwongsa S, Puntumetakul R, Neubert MS, Boucaut R. Factors associated with neck disorders among university student smartphone users. Work. 2018;61(3):367–78. https://doi.org/3233/WOR-182819
Ko P-H, Hwang Y-H, Liang H-W. Influence of smartphone use styles on typing performance and biomechanical exposure. Ergonomics. 2016;59(6):821–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2015.108807
Impact of internal displacement on psychosocial and health status of students residing in the hostel of Anbar University, Iraq
Get PDFBackground: Displacement in Iraq has been widespread and for frequent periods. Education was one of the most prominent victims of displacement at all levels, including higher education. This study aims to assess the impact of displacement on the psychosocial and health status of undergraduate students living in student accommodation of Anbar University, Iraq.
Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from 3rd to 17th April 2017. Data was collected using a universal sampling technique. A total of 355 students (Response Rate: 82.1%.) completed a self-administered questionnaire consisting of 26 close-ended questions related to the socio-demographic and economic characteristics of students. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16. Descriptive data presented as the mean and standard deviation (±SD).
Results: The mean age (±SD) was 22.1 (±1.7) years (range 18-29). About two-third (240, 67.6%) of students experienced some mental disorders. Moreover, 25.1% of students confirmed that the mental disorders were negatively related to their level of performance in college, and the treatment was not available for 31.0% of them. Because of ID, about 45.4% of surveyed students had lost at least one academic year, and 17.5% began to smoke tobacco during the ID period. However, the social and psychological support was absent for about 57.4% of respondents.
Conclusion: Our results suggest an urgent and strategic plane to improve the quality of logistics, health, and infrastructure of student accommodation
The sequel to COVID-19: the antithesis to life
Get PDFThe pandemic of COVID-19 has afflicted every individual and has initiated a cascade of directly or indirectly involved events in precipitating mental health issues. The human species is a wanderer and hunter-gatherer by nature, and physical social distancing and nationwide lockdown have confined an individual to physical isolation. The present review article was conceived to address psychosocial and other issues and their aetiology related to the current pandemic of COVID-19. The elderly age group has most suffered the wrath of SARS-CoV-2, and social isolation as a preventive measure may further induce mental health issues. Animal model studies have demonstrated an inappropriate interacting endogenous neurotransmitter milieu of dopamine, serotonin, glutamate, and opioids, induced by social isolation that could probably lead to observable phenomena of deviant psychosocial behavior. Conflicting and manipulated information related to COVID-19 on social media has also been recognized as a global threat. Psychological stress during the current pandemic in frontline health care workers, migrant workers, children, and adolescents is also a serious concern. Mental health issues in the current situation could also be induced by being quarantined, uncertainty in business, jobs, economy, hampered academic activities, increased screen time on social media, and domestic violence incidences. The gravity of mental health issues associated with the pandemic of COVID-19 should be identified at the earliest. Mental health organization dedicated to current and future pandemics should be established along with Government policies addressing psychological issues to prevent and treat mental health issues need to be developed.
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Impact of missingness on clinical trials on the effectiveness of antenatal vitamin D supplementation in gestational diabetes mellitus patients
Get PDFGestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a vital medical complication of pregnancy in which glucose intolerance is first detected or develops during gestation. GDM is associated with adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes, and contemporarily, several clinical trials have tested their incidence in antenatal vitamin D receiving GDM patients. Considering their clinical significance, these trials\u27 findings pertaining to the above outcomes require cautious interpretation, in terms of the risk of bias due to missingness. Any such bias in randomized controlled trials (RCT) can contaminate the results of a meta-analysis that extracts data from these RCTs
Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 among Iraqi people: a web-based cross-sectional study
Get PDFBackground: Iraq was among the first countries invaded by the novel human coronavirus (SARS-COV-2) after China. This study aimed to assess the Iraqi people\u27s knowledge, attitudes, and practices toward COVID-19 during the pandemic.
Methods: A cross-sectional study recruiting an online self-reported survey conducted from 17-31 July 2020. Data of 877 participants have undergone descriptive, univariate, and multivariable regression analyses, respectively, to assess the differences in mean scores and identify factors associated with knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) toward COVID-19.
Results: Most of the respondents (78.8%) from the urban region, highly educated (69.7%), aged less than 45 years (61.2%), females (58.3%), married (51.9%), and 74.0% self-ranked health as good. Less than half (45.4%) were employed; however, the average monthly income was USD 400 or more in about 66.8% of them. The mean knowledge, attitude and practice score was 15.57 ± 2.46 (range: 0-20), 38.88 (SD = 3.57, (range: 11-55), and 5.13 (SD = 1.14, range: 0–6), respectively. Findings of regression analysis showed that higher educated (p< 0.001), urban residents (P <0.001), employed (P =0.040), and having an income level of USD 400 or more (P <0.001) were significantly associated with upper knowledge score. Female gender and employed respondents are significantly associated with positive attitude scores, but inversely respondents with an income of USD 400 or more are significantly associated with a negative attitude. Regarding practice score, the female gender and those living in an urban region had better practice, but the young age group (0-44 years) was significantly associated with the weak practice.
Conclusion: Although Iraq has adopted a preventive and precautionary plan to control the spread of coronavirus. However, the public\u27s knowledge and attitude toward COVID-19, coupled with the unstable political and security situation, have greatly affected the commitment to preventive measures
The new norm in the management of COVID-19 positives: home-based care
Get PDFBackground: The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has disrupted health systems globally and locally. The increasing number of COVID-19 positives has overwhelmed healthcare facilities and health workers. Home-based care (HBC) is a new norm in the management of COVID-19 positives. We aimed to give insight into the HBC of COVID-19 positives in Nigeria.
Methods: We conducted a descriptive review of the existing literature and summarized the authors\u27 opinions regarding HBC in Nigeria.
Results: HBC has increasingly gained recognition for the management of COVID-19 positives. The HBC of COVID-19 positives provides the opportunity for patient management under an atmosphere of emotional, physical, and spiritual fulfillment as required for quick recovery. Guidelines have been developed for HBC of COVID-19 positives; however, negligence to these measures has been noted.
Conclusion: To ensure compliance and harness HBC\u27s benefits, community leaders, religious organizations, civil-based organizations, and opinion leaders should be actively involved in HBC activities. Also, enforcement authorities such as the Civil Defence Corps could help to improve adherence to HBC restrictions
What is going wrong in health research investment? post-pandemic lessons and the need for change
Get PDFThe emergence of a new dimension of consciousness after the COVID-19 pandemic might provide an opportunity to highlight gaps and inequalities in health research investment and to mobilize scientific and public opinion to change the way things are done. This analysis considers some lessons learned from the pandemic crisis concerning the priority of global health research, research in prevention and well-being, and international research cooperation. The question raised by these issues concerns the unfairness of health research funding, mainly dominated by the pharmaceutical and device industries. However, evidence shows that these companies shifted funding to late-phase clinical trials and away from innovation activity and global health priorities. On the other hand, public institutions continue to invest in basic science, with the majority of funds still focused on basic research and innovation. This direct relationship between industry and biomedical research disrupts the reliability of findings and biases the evidence. Several initiatives and efforts are shaping pathways towards health research independence from industry funding. We can propose the idea of industry funding without a direct relationship with researchers through a common pot managed by an independent international agency. Nevertheless, to promote publicly funded research, the scientific community must strengthen its position compared to industry-funded research through transparency and the scientific value of publications. 
Evidence-based decision making and covid-19: what a posteriori probability distributions speak
Get PDFBackground: In the absence of any pharmaceutical interventions, the management of the COVID-19 pandemic is based on public health measures. The present study fosters evidence-based decision making by estimating various “a posteriori probability distributions" from COVID-19 patients.
Methods: In this retrospective observational study, 987 RT-PCR positive COVID-19 patients from SMS Medical College, Jaipur, India, were enrolled after approval of the institutional ethics committee. The data regarding age, gender, and outcome were collected. The univariate and bivariate distributions of COVID-19 cases with respect to age, gender, and outcome were estimated. The age distribution of COVID-19 cases was compared with the general population\u27s age distribution using the goodness of fit c2 test. The independence of attributes in bivariate distributions was evaluated using the chi-square test for independence.
Results: The age group ‘25-29’ has shown highest probability of COVID-19 cases (P [25-29] = 0.14, 95% CI: 0.12- 0.16). The men (P [Male] = 0.62, 95%CI: 0.59-0.65) were dominant sufferers. The most common outcome was recovery (P [Recovered] = 0.79, 95%CI: 0.76-0.81) followed by admitted cases (P [Active]= 0.13, 95%CI: 0.11-0.15) and death (P [Death] = 0.08, 95%CI: 0.06-0.10). The age distribution of COVID-19 cases differs significantly from the age distribution of the general population (c2 =399.04, P < 0.001). The bivariate distribution of COVID-19 across age and outcome was not independent (c2 =106.21, df = 32, P < 0.001).
Conclusion: The knowledge of disease frequency patterns helps in the optimum allocation of limited resources and manpower. The study provides information to various epidemiological models for further analysis
Knowledge of, risk perception towards and reported preventive practices against Lassa fever among health workers in Ondo State, Nigeria
Get PDFBackground: Secondary transmission of Lassa fever has been recorded annually among healthcare workers who provided care. An outbreak of the disease in Ondo State, Southwest Nigeria in 2018, recorded high morbidity and mortality. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge, risk perception, and preventive practices towards Lassa fever among healthcare workers.
Methods: A health facility-based descriptive cross-sectional study design was conducted involving senior members of staff randomly selected from the list of staff members. A structured pre-tested questionnaire was administered to 554 consenting respondents in 304 health facilities.
Results: More than half of the respondents (317, 57.2%) are health workers in primary healthcare cadres. Although 444 (80.1%) knew the case definition for reporting, only 379 (68.4%) correctly indicated the reporting channel. Concerning risk perception, 174 (31.4%) rated their risk of contracting the disease in the workplace as high, and 309 (55.8%) indicated that hospitals\u27 infection control policy is inadequate. Furthermore, only 76 (13.7%) of the respondents reported having modified their working habits for fear of being infected with Lassa fever three months before the study with 368 (66.4%) and 474 (85.6%) reported that they always use aprons and gloves respectively during treatment of patients.
Conclusion: There is a need to strengthen the hospital infection control policy and train healthcare workers on reporting suspected cases
Time to change to improve health: clinical pharmacy and pharmaceutical care education in Turkey
Get PDFThe practice of clinical pharmacy had a positive impact on the profession by giving pharmacists more job opportunities. Moreover, the pharmacy began to gain the status it deserved, which was lost many years ago. In this paper, we aimed to give a brief explanation of the clinical pharmacy philosophy and definition of pharmaceutical care. What are the general and specific roles of clinical pharmacists in the modern world healthcare system? Also, how to implement clinical pharmacy in education to obtain competent pharmacists. We shared our observation and experience, specifically on the progress of implementation of clinical pharmacy education in Turkey. The stepwise method has been successfully followed in the implementation of clinical pharmacy education in Turkey. In the undergraduate program, the first step taken was the addition of clinical courses, such as the role of clinical pharmacy, patient education, etc. and practical hospital rounds (internal medicine, pediatrics, and surgery). The post-graduate program, such as master (MSc) and doctoral (Ph.D.) degrees, also offered to prepare clinically oriented pharmacy academicians. The continuous education programs were structured to implement clinical pharmacy idea for the pharmacists in practice. In conclusion, the stepwise approach significantly smoothed the transition from the product-oriented to the patient-oriented pharmacy education. Moreover, the adoption of the skills education system to educate pharmacists needs to review the policy regularly and gradually change it accordingly