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BMC Med Educ 2021 Apr 5;21(1):191. Epub 2021 Apr 5.

Centre for Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD2 4BF, Scotland.

Context: Shortage of physicians in the UK has been a long-standing issue. Graduate entry medicine (GEM) may offer a second point of entry for potential doctors. However, the challenges of developing and implementing these programmes are still unrecognised. Read More

J Colloid Interface Sci 2021 Mar 8;594:681-689. Epub 2021 Mar 8.

Drexel University, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States. Electronic address:

Hypothesis: Understanding interfacial phenomena at elevated pressure is crucial to the design of a variety of processes, modeling important systems, and interpreting interfacial thermodynamics. While many previous studies have offered insight into these areas, current techniques have inherent drawbacks that limit equilibrium measurements.

Experiments: In this work, we adapt the ambient microtensiometer of Alvarez and co-workers into a high pressure microtensiometer (HPMT) capable of experimentally quantifying a wide range of interfacial phenomena at elevated pressures. Read More

Int J Ind Ergon 2021 Mar 23;82. Epub 2021 Feb 23.

Department of Biological Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.

Occupational exposure associated with unstructured, informal e-waste recycling has received very limited attention. This study aimed to quantify the occupational physical exposures among informal e-waste workers at the largest e-waste site in Africa. A cross-sectional field survey of 163 male e-waste workers was conducted using a self-report occupational physical activity questionnaire, along with direct work observations, and pedometer estimates of walking activity for a subset of workers (n = 42). Read More

J Glob Health 2021 Mar 10;11:07001. Epub 2021 Mar 10.

Sightsavers, Haywards Heath, UK.

Background: Preventing visual impairment due to avoidable causes has been a long-standing global priority. Of all blindness in Sierra Leone, 91.5% is estimated to be avoidable and 58. Read More

Health Expect 2021 Mar 24. Epub 2021 Mar 24.

Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada.

Background: Patient engagement (PE) in health-care planning and improvement is a growing practice. We lack evidence-based guidance for PE, particularly in hospital settings. This study explored how to optimize PE in hospitals. Read More

Indian J Occup Environ Med 2020 Sep-Dec;24(3):183-187. Epub 2020 Dec 14.

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Public Health, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.

Aims: Electronics industry workers might have increased the risk of low back pain (LPB). This cohort study aimed to investigate LBP incidence and provide a baseline of ergonomic factors and workers' characteristics associated with LBP.

Methods: A six-month monitoring phase was designed using 196 electronic workers to identify LBP incidence. Read More

BMC Public Health 2021 03 17;21(1):528. Epub 2021 Mar 17.

Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, Department of Occupational Health Sciences and Psychology, University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered national recommendations encouraging people to work from home (WFH), but the possible impact of WFH on physical behaviors is unknown. This study aimed to determine the extent to which the 24-h allocation of time to different physical behaviors changes between days working at the office (WAO) and days WFH in office workers during the pandemic.

Methods: Data were collected on 27 office workers with full-time employment at a Swedish municipal division during the COVID-19 outbreak in May-July 2020. Read More

J Pastoral Care Counsel 2021 Apr;75(1_suppl):41-45

College of Science, Health and Engineering School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Australia.

This paper focuses on the impact of COVID19 in Australia. Three areas were investigated: professionalism, contrasting hospital and aged care services and "business as usual"? Impact was low overall, the timing being pre-second wave impact. Two areas of weakness were highlighted: depleted spiritual care teams due to standing down non-professional staff and uncertainty about the role of Chaplains in the care of other staff. Read More

Q Rev Biophys 2021 Mar 16;54:e5. Epub 2021 Mar 16.

Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Box 351700, Seattle, WA98195-1700, USA.

Quantitative parameters for a two-state cooperative transition in duplex DNAs were finally obtained during the last 5 years. After a brief discussion of observations pertaining to the existence of the two-state equilibrium per se, the lengths, torsion, and bending elastic constants of the two states involved and the cooperativity parameter of the model are simply stated. Experimental tests of model predictions for the responses of DNA to small applied stretching, twisting, and bending stresses, and changes in temperature, ionic conditions, and sequence are described. Read More

BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2021 Mar 12;22(1):274. Epub 2021 Mar 12.

Department of Physiotherapy, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, P.O.Box 27272, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

Background: Prolonged (excessive) sitting is detrimentally associated with cardiovascular, metabolic and mental health. Moreover, prolonged sitting has been associated with poor executive function, memory, attention and visuospatial skills, which are important cognitive aspects of work performance. Breaking up prolonged sitting with standing or light-intensity exercises at the workplace is recognized as a potential measure in improving cognition. Read More

J Occup Health 2021 Jan;63(1):e12212

Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, Japan.

Objectives: To compare physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) levels during work time between those who work from home (WFH) and at workplaces (no WFH), and by WFH subgroups.

Methods: This cross-sectional internet-based survey included 1239 workers (mean age [standard deviation], 44.7 [13. Read More

Psychol Res Behav Manag 2021 24;14:221-231. Epub 2021 Feb 24.

School of Public Health, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, 221004, People's Republic of China.

Introduction: The outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) poses an unprecedented challenge to healthcare workers (HCWs) globally. This study investigated potential factors related to depression, anxiety, and stress in a sample of Chinese HCWs during the peak of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Methods: An online survey was distributed to Chinese HCWs using respondent-driven sampling. Read More

Gerontology 2021 Mar 3:1-10. Epub 2021 Mar 3.

Bioengineering College and Department of Endocrinology, Chongqing University Central Hospital, Key Laboratory for Biorheological Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China,

Aims: Using specials wearable sensors, we explored changes in gait and balance parameters, over time, in elderly patients at high risk of diabetic foot, wearing different types of footwear. This assessed the relationship between gait and balance changes in elderly diabetic patients and the development of foot ulcers, in a bid to uncover potential benefits of wearable devices in the prognosis and management of the aforementioned complication.

Methods: A wearable sensor-based monitoring system was used in middle-elderly patients with diabetes who recently recovered from neuropathic plantar foot ulcers. Read More

Sex Transm Dis 2021 Feb 23. Epub 2021 Feb 23.

Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec - Université Laval, Québec, Canada Département de médecine sociale et préventive, Université Laval, Québec, Canada Dispensaire IST, Centre de santé communal de Cotonou 1, Cotonou, Bénin Ecole Nationale de Formation des Techniciens Supérieurs en Santé Publique et en Surveillance Épidémiologique, Université de Parakou, Bénin Programme Santé de Lutte contre le Sida (PSLS), Cotonou, Bénin University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus-Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Aurora, Colorado, USA Centre national hospitalier universitaire HMK, Cotonou, Bénin Faculté des sciences de la santé, Université d'Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou, Bénin Université Alassane Ouattara, Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire CHU de Montpellier et INSERM UMR 1058, Montpellier, France Institut national de santé publique du Québec, Québec, Canada.

Background & Objectives.

Benin has a long-standing history of HIV prevention programs aimed at female sex workers (FSWs). We used data from a national survey among FSWs (2017) to assess the prevention and care cascades in this population. Read More

Am J Public Health 2021 Apr 18;111(4):696-699. Epub 2021 Feb 18.

Ellicott C. Matthay is with the Center for Health and Community, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco. Kate A. Duchowny and Alicia R. Riley are with the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco. Sandro Galea is with the Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA.

To project the range of excess deaths potentially associated with COVID-19-related unemployment in the United States and quantify inequities in these estimates by age, race/ethnicity, gender, and education. We used previously published meta-analyzed hazard ratios (HRs) for the unemployment-mortality association, unemployment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics to estimate 1-year age-standardized deaths attributable to COVID-19-related unemployment for US workers aged 25 to 64 years. To accommodate uncertainty, we tested ranges of unemployment and HR scenarios. Read More

BMC Public Health 2021 Feb 12;21(1):345. Epub 2021 Feb 12.

Division of Physiotherapy, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

Background: Sedentary Behaviour (SB) gets an increasing attention from ergonomics and public health due to its associated detrimental health effects. A large number of studies record SB with ActiGraph counts-per-minute cut-points, but we still lack valid information about what the cut-points tell us about office work. This study therefore analysed the concurrent and discriminant validity of commonly used cut-points to measure SB, activity level, and posture. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021 Feb 5;18(4). Epub 2021 Feb 5.

National Research Centre for the Working Environment, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.

We aimed to investigate the association between work-time compositions of physical behavior and sick leave trajectories due to musculoskeletal pain over one year. We conducted a secondary analysis using the data of 981 workers in a Danish prospective cohort (DPHACTO 2012-2014). At baseline, we assessed physical behaviors (sitting, standing, light physical activity (LIPA), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA)) at work and during leisure, using accelerometers. Read More

Zhonghua Lao Dong Wei Sheng Zhi Ye Bing Za Zhi 2021 Jan;39(1):40-43

National Institute for Occupational Health and Poison Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention Beijing 100050, China.

To investigate the current status of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) in automobile assembly workers, as well as the distribution of WMSDs at multiple sites and related influencing factors. From March to July 2019, cluster sampling was performed to select 663 male automobile assembly workers as respondents, and the musculoskeletal injury questionnaire was used to investigate their general status and working condition. A multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the influencing factors for WMSDs at multiple sites. Read More

PLoS One 2021 3;16(2):e0245666. Epub 2021 Feb 3.

Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.

Background And Objectives: Choir singing has been associated with better mood and quality of life (QOL) in healthy older adults, but little is known about its potential cognitive benefits in aging. In this study, our aim was to compare the subjective (self-reported) and objective (test-based) cognitive functioning of senior choir singers and matched control subjects, coupled with assessment of mood, QOL, and social functioning.

Research Design And Methods: We performed a cross-sectional questionnaire study in 162 healthy older (age ≥ 60 years) adults (106 choir singers, 56 controls), including measures of cognition, mood, social engagement, QOL, and role of music in daily life. Read More

Soc Work 2021 Feb 1. Epub 2021 Feb 1.

The negative impacts of the Great Recession (GR) (2007 to 2009) on the lives of families with low incomes warrant social work concerns about how well antipoverty policy responded to meet economic needs over this period and since. Given America's long-standing tension between welfare state adequacy and market-oriented policies, how well did the safety net respond to the economic downturn? Did GR-era changes reverse or accelerate trends in public assistance? This article examines key policy changes and indicators of caseloads, inclusion, and generosity for three antipoverty policies: the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamp Program), and the Earned Income Tax Credit from 2007 to 2017. Authors' analysis shows a continuation of market-oriented U. Read More

J Med Ethics 2021 Jan 29. Epub 2021 Jan 29.

Sherwin B Nuland Summer Institute in Bioethics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Due to COVID-19's strain on health systems across the globe, triage protocols determine how to allocate scarce medical resources with the worthy goal of maximising the number of lives saved. However, due to racial biases and long-standing health inequities, the common method of ranking patients based on impersonal numeric representations of their morbidity is associated with disproportionately pronounced racial disparities. In response, policymakers have issued statements of solidarity. Read More

Workplace Health Saf 2021 Jan 29:2165079920983820. Epub 2021 Jan 29.

University of Pittsburgh.

Background: Breaking up sedentary behavior with standing or walking can decrease discomfort, fatigue, and sleepiness. However, less is known about acceptability and impact of resistance exercise breaks on these outcomes. Therefore, we evaluated the acceptability of resistance exercise breaks and their influence on discomfort, physical and mental fatigue, and sleepiness during occupational sitting. Read More

J Med Internet Res 2021 02 23;23(2):e22841. Epub 2021 Feb 23.

Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.

Background: Misdiagnosis, arbitrary charges, annoying queues, and clinic waiting times among others are long-standing phenomena in the medical industry across the world. These factors can contribute to patient anxiety about misdiagnosis by clinicians. However, with the increasing growth in use of big data in biomedical and health care communities, the performance of artificial intelligence (Al) techniques of diagnosis is improving and can help avoid medical practice errors, including under the current circumstance of COVID-19. Read More

J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil 2021 Jan 5. Epub 2021 Jan 5.

School of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Background: Chest size is a known factor in the development of back pain for women. However, the neuromuscular mechanisms associated with chest size and back pain are poorly understood.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate chest size and its association with back pain development and muscle activity patterns during prolonged standing. Read More

Wiad Lek 2020 ;73(11):2403-2410

ZAKŁAD EKONOMIKI ZDROWIA I ZABEZPIECZENIA SPOŁECZNEGO, INSTYTUT ZDROWIA PUBLICZNEGO, WYDZIAŁ NAUK O ZDROWIU, UNIWERSYTET JAGIELLOŃSKI COLLEGIUM MEDICUM, KRAKÓW, POLSKA.

Objective: The aim: The purpose of this study is the analysis of the financial situation of the institutes supervised by the Minister of Health in the period 2014-2018.

Patients And Methods: Material and methods: The study group consisted of 10 institutes that conducted inpatient and / or outpatient medical activities in 2018. Data to analysis derived from financial statements of research institutes from 2014 to 2018. Read More

Occup Environ Med 2021 Jan 15. Epub 2021 Jan 15.

Health Sciences, University of York, York, North Yorkshire, UK.

Objectives: Assess the effectiveness of 5* GRIP-rated slip-resistant footwear in preventing slips in the workplace compared to usual footwear (control group).

Methods: A multicentre, randomised controlled trial; 4553 National Health Service (NHS) staff were randomised 1:1 to the intervention group (provided with 5* GRIP-rated slip-resistant footwear) or the control group. The primary outcome of incidence rate of self-reported slips in the workplace over 14 weeks was analysed using a mixed-effects negative binomial model. Read More

Med Sci Sports Exerc 2021 Jan 15. Epub 2021 Jan 15.

Department of Health Sciences, Northeastern University Boston, MA Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA Department of Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.

Purpose: Evaluate the effects of sit-to-stand and treadmill desks on sedentary behavior during a 12-month, cluster-randomized multi-component intervention with an intent-to-treat design in overweight office workers.

Methods: Sixty-six office workers were cluster-randomized into a: control (N=21; clusters=8), sit-to-stand desk (N=23; clusters=9) or treadmill desk (N=22; clusters=7) group. Participants wore an activPALTM accelerometer for 7 days at baseline, month-3, month-6 and month-12 and received periodic feedback on their physical behaviors. Read More

Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2021 Jan 12. Epub 2021 Jan 12.

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Työterveyslaitos, P.O. Box 18, 00032, Helsinki, Finland.

Objective: To identify social and health-related predictors of the number of days lost due to sickness absence (SA) and disability pension (DP) among initially 55-year-old public-sector workers.

Methods: The data from the Finnish Helsinki Health Study included participants aged 55 years at the baseline (in 2000-2002, N = 1630, 81% women), and were enriched with register-based information on SA and DP. The cumulative number of calendar days lost due to SA ≥ 1 day or DP between ages 55 and 65 was calculated. Read More

Wei Sheng Yan Jiu 2020 Nov;49(6):889-894

Institutes of Health Central Plains, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453003, China.

Objective: To study the effect of gas explosion on brain nerve behavior of rats in real roadway environment.

Methods: Before the gas explosion, the real gas explosion roadway environment was simulated by using the roadway and explosion test system of gas explosion test in a large coal mine in Chongqing Research Institute of China Coal Science & Technology Group, and cage fixation and explosion parameter setting were carried out. That was to use the equivalent of 9. Read More