Articles: health.
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The study assessed compliance among health workers in the Emergency Room at the University Hospital of the West Indies with universal precautions. This was done by determining the knowledge, practices and perceptions of staff of universal precautions and by assessing compliance. Reported adherence with universal precautions was compared with observed practice. ⋯ The study revealed that compliance among staff in the Emergency Room with universal precautions was unsatisfactory. The need for education in this area was recognized.
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Bull. World Health Organ. · Jun 2014
Relative health performance in BRICS over the past 20 years: the winners and losers.
To determine whether the health performance of Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa--the countries known as BRICS--has kept in step with their economic development. ⋯ When evaluating a country's health performance in terms of avoidable mortality, it is useful to compare that performance against the performance of other countries. Such comparison allows any country-specific improvements to be distinguished from general global improvements.
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Bull. World Health Organ. · Jun 2014
Comparative StudySocioeconomic inequalities and mortality trends in BRICS, 1990-2010.
To explore the presence and magnitude of--and change in--socioeconomic and health inequalities between and within Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa--the countries known as BRICS--between 1990 and 2010. ⋯ Despite the economic prosperity and general improvements in health seen since 1990, profound inequalities in health persist both within and between BRICS. However, the substantial reductions observed--within Brazil and China--in the inequalities in income-related levels of infant mortality are encouraging.
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With rising patient volumes and increasingly complex cases, the specialty of emergency medicine faces a growing array of challenges. Efforts have been made to improve patient throughput, yet little attention has been directed to the increasing amount of primary care delivered in emergency departments (EDs) for chronic disease states such as hypertension and diabetes. ⋯ As a result, vulnerable patients are often forced to navigate exceedingly complex and fragmented systems of care with little guidance, which often leads to inadequate treatment and exposure to increased risk for development of potentially avoidable complications. As evidenced by our experience with hypertension in an under resourced community, there is a crucial need for emergency physicians to espouse their role as providers of healthcare across the acuity spectrum and lead the way in defining regionally relevant solutions to better manage patients with chronic medical problems.
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The aim of this survey was to establish the pain management approaches to acute painful crisis (APC) in sickle cell patients at two healthcare facilities and to compare with available guidelines. ⋯ The findings of the survey indicate that the management of APC at the two centres is substantially different. Further study is required to investigate patient satisfaction, centre preference and analgesic therapy efficacy.