Asia-Pacific journal of public health
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Asia Pac J Public Health · Mar 2015
Incidence of tobacco use among adults (15-64 years) in rural Kerala.
We analyzed data from a cohort study in rural Kerala, India, to study the incidence of current smoking and current smokeless tobacco use. At baseline, of 452 individuals aged 15 to 64 years, 385 were current nonsmokers and 402 were current nonusers of smokeless tobacco. ⋯ No women smoked both at baseline and at follow-up, but 9.7% (CI = 3.4-24.9) of older women (55-64 years) became current smokeless tobacco users. These findings call for effective implementation of India's Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003.
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Asia Pac J Public Health · Mar 2015
Investigation of residents' health literacy status and its risk factors in Jiangsu Province of China.
Health literacy has become an important public health concern. Multistage cluster random sampling was used to select 12 450 individuals. ⋯ Multiple logistic regression showed that living in a rural area, fewer individuals in a household, younger age, low education, agricultural or rural migrant occupation workers, and low family income were associated with a poor health literacy status. Our results support the use of health education and promotion interventions to improve health literacy in this high-risk population in China.
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Asia Pac J Public Health · Mar 2015
The association of market competition with hospital charges, length of stay, and quality outcomes for patients with joint diseases: a longitudinal study in Korea.
This study investigated the association of market competition with hospital charges, length of stay, and quality outcomes. A total of 279,847 patients from 851 hospitals were analyzed. ⋯ Quality outcomes measured by mortality within 30 days of admission and readmission within 30 days of discharge were better for surgical procedures within competitive areas. Continued government monitoring of hospital response to market competition level is recommended in order to determine whether changes in hospitals' strategies influence the long-term outcomes of services performance and health care spending.
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Asia Pac J Public Health · Mar 2015
Workplace stress, job satisfaction, job performance, and turnover intention of health care workers in rural Taiwan.
Workplace stress (WS) has been found to affect job satisfaction (JS), performance, and turnover intentions (TIs) in developed countries, but there is little evidence from other countries and especially rural areas. In rural Taiwan, especially, there is an insufficient health care workforce, and the situation is getting worse. To demonstrate the relationship, we used a cross-sectional structured questionnaire, and data from 344 licensed professionals in 1 rural regional hospital were analyzed using the structural equation model. ⋯ For the staff with an external locus of control, stress affected JP and satisfaction significantly. For the staff with lower perceived job characteristics, JS affected performance significantly. The strategies to decrease stress relating to work load, role conflict, family factors, and working environment should be focused and implemented urgently to lower the turnover rate of health care workers in rural Taiwan.
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Asia Pac J Public Health · Mar 2015
Factors influencing the hospitalization costs of patients with type 2 diabetes.
This study aims to research the factors influencing the hospitalization costs of patients with type 2 diabetes, so as to provide some references for reducing their economic burden. Based on the Hospital Information System of a 3A grade hospital in China, we analyzed 2970 cases with type 2 diabetes during 2005-2012. Both the number of inpatients and the hospitalization costs had increased in the study period. ⋯ In conclusion, the hospitalization costs of patients with type 2 diabetes could be influenced by age, gender, forms of payment, hospital stay, admission status, complications, and surgery. Medical workers in the studied region should take actions to reduce the duration of hospital stay for diabetic patients and prevent relevant complications. What is more, medical insurance needs further improvement.