International journal of environmental research and public health
-
Int J Environ Res Public Health · Feb 2021
Statistical Estimation of Effects of Implemented Government Policies on COVID-19 Situation in South Korea.
Since the outbreak of novel SARS-COV-2, each country has implemented diverse policies to mitigate and suppress the spread of the virus. However, no systematic evaluation of these policies in their alleviation of the pandemic has been done. We investigate the impact of five indices derived from 12 policies in the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker dataset and the Korean government's index, which is the social distancing level implemented by the Korean government in response to the changing pandemic situation. ⋯ In conclusion, health and the Korean government indices are most consistently effective (with negative coefficients), while the restriction and stringency indexes are mainly effective with lagging (1~10 days), as intuitively daily confirmed cases of a given day is affected by the policies implemented days before, which shows that a period of time is required before the impact of some policies can be observed. The health index demonstrates the importance of public information campaign, testing policy and contact tracing, while the government index shows the importance of social distancing guidelines in mitigating the spread of the virus. These results imply the important roles of these polices in mitigation of the spread of COVID-19 disease.
-
Int J Environ Res Public Health · Feb 2021
Foreign Medical Students in Eastern Europe: Knowledge, Attitudes and Beliefs about Medical Cannabis for Pain Management.
To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of foreign students toward the use of medical cannabis (MC) for pain management. ⋯ This study is the first to examine the attitudes, knowledge, and beliefs toward medical cannabis among foreign students from India and Middle Eastern countries studying in Russia and Belarus, two countries who oppose its recreational and medicine use. Indian and Middle Eastern students, as a group, tend to be more supportive of MC than their Russian and Belarusian counterparts. These results may be linked to cultural and historical reasons. This study provides useful information for possible medical and allied health curriculum and education purposes.
-
Int J Environ Res Public Health · Feb 2021
Exploring the Processes Involved in Seeking Help from a General Practitioner for Young People Who Have Been at Risk of Suicide.
General practitioners (GPs) play a key role in the early identification and management of suicide risk in young people. However, little is known about the processes involved in how, when and why a young person decides to seek help from their GP. Eight young people, aged 17-23, took part in semi-structured interviews exploring their experiences of help seeking when feeling suicidal. ⋯ During a GP consultation, help seeking was influenced by how safe and supported the young people felt. Perceived GP training, communication and validation of young people's concerns were important factors to help facilitate this process. Subsequent help seeking was influenced by prior experience of GP consultations and the availability of alternative support.
-
Int J Environ Res Public Health · Feb 2021
Analgesic Opioid Misuse and Opioid Use Disorder among Patients with Chronic Non-Cancer Pain and Prescribed Opioids in a Pain Centre in France.
(1) Background: Chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) remains a public health challenge around the world. Opioids (PO) have been increasingly used in the treatment of CNCP in the last 20 years. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of opioid misuse and prescribed-opioid use disorder (p-OUD) among patients with CNCP in a pain centre in France, and to analyse risk factors for moderate or severe p-OUD. (2) Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted, including patients consulting for pain management in the pain centre of Brest University Hospital. ⋯ In this group, 56.7% (n = 42) had no or only mild p-OUD and 43.3% (n = 32) had current moderate or severe p-OUD. Patients with moderate or severe p-OUD were more likely to have a current antidepressant prescription, to have had psychotherapy, to currently use strong opioids and oxycodone, and to report taking more frequent doses than prescribed and feeling dependent. (4) Conclusions: We showed that the prevalence of current moderate/severe p-OUD concerned 43.3% of the patients with a CNCP seeking treatment in a pain centre. According to these results, several measures are relevant in managing p-OUD among patients with CNCP.
-
Int J Environ Res Public Health · Feb 2021
Nursing Teleconsultation for the Outpatient Management of Patients with Cardiovascular Disease during COVID-19 Pandemic.
Introduction: During the COVID-19 outbreak, non-urgent clinic visits or cardiac interventional procedures were postponed to a later date, and the implementation of telemedicine has guaranteed continuity of care for patients with chronic diseases. The aim of our study was to describe the medical interventions following nursing teleconsultation for the outpatient management of patients with cardiovascular diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: All patients who did not attend the follow-up visit from 4 to 15 April 2020 at our institution and who were re-scheduled due to the COVID-19 lockdown were selected to be enrolled in the study. ⋯ The up-titration of the lipid-lowering drugs (n: 32, 74%) was the most frequent medical intervention following the nursing teleconsultation. The mean time between the nursing teleconsultation and the date of the rescheduled in-person follow-up visit was 164 ± 36 days. Conclusions: Nursing teleconsultation is a simple and well-tolerated strategy that ensures the continuity of care and outpatient management for patients with cardiovascular diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic.