Bmc Public Health
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Medical Aid beneficiaries in Korea are more likely to have poor health status and to receive insufficient healthcare services, but their life expectancy has not been compared with that of National Health Insurance beneficiaries. ⋯ The life expectancy of Medical Aid beneficiaries was shorter than that of National Health Insurance beneficiaries. The government should implement policies to deliver more adequate health care to Medical Aid beneficiaries.
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Health Literacy (HL) is the knowledge and competence to access, understand, appraise, and apply health information for health judgment. We analyze for the first time HL level of Catalonia's population. Our objective was to assess HL of population in our area and to identify social determinants of HL in order to improve the strategies of the Healthcare Plan, aimed at establishing a person-centered system and reducing social inequalities in health. ⋯ Catalonia has a high percentage of subjects with sufficient HL. Education level, socioeconomic status and physical limitations were the factors with the strongest contribution to inadequate or problematic health literacy. Although these results are likely to be country-specific, the factors identified will allow policymakers of areas with similar socioeconomic profiles to identify groups with high risk of problematic or inadequate HL, which is essential for a successful patient-centered model of care.
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Little is known about the risk and addiction perceptions of e-cigarettes among Asian populations. We examined e-cigarette perceptions among young adults in Hong Kong and the association between the perceptions and e-cigarette use patterns. ⋯ Continued monitoring of e-cigarette use and perceptions is needed. Educational programs should emphasize the potential harmful and addictive properties of e-cigarettes and the risks of secondhand exposure to e-cigarette aerosol.
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Retention in care is critical for children living with HIV taking antiretroviral therapy (ART). Loss to follow-up (LTFU) is high in HIV treatment programs in resource limited settings. We estimated the cumulative incidence of LTFU and identified associated risk factors among children on ART at Livingstone Central Hospital (LCH), Zambia. ⋯ Among the children LTFU mortality and default were substantially high. Children who started treatment in recent years (2013-2015) had the highest hazard of LTFU. Lack of access to a phone and non-disclosure of HIV-status to the index child was associated with higher hazards of LTFU. We recommend re-enforcement of client counselling and focused follow-up strategies using modern technology such as mobile phones as adjunct to current approaches.
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Comprehensive, age-stratified dengue surveillance data are unavailable from India and many more dengue cases occur than are reported. Additional information on dengue transmission dynamics can inform understanding of disease endemicity and infection risk. ⋯ Dengue force-of-infection in India is comparable to other highly endemic countries. Significant variation across sites exists, likely reflecting local epidemiological variation. The number of annual primary infections is indicative of a significant, under-reported burden of secondary infections and symptomatic episodes.