Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Int J Clin Pract 2021 Apr 21:e14242. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

College of Nursing, Taibah University, Universities Road, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Medina, PO Box: 344.

Background: The unavailability of data on the long-term efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and of effective specific treatment, in addition to the emergence of new COVID-19 variants, make nonpharmaceutical measures a mainstay for preventing the spread of infection. The policy responses of governments to the pandemic should be integrated with public behavioral changes. This study examines public attitudes, practices and perceived quarantine competency in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More

Sarcoidosis Vasc Diffuse Lung Dis 2021 31;38(1):e2021003. Epub 2021 Mar 31.

Department of Interventional Pneumology, Ruhrlandklinik - University Medicine, Essen, Germany.

Background: Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is a widely used clinical tool in diagnosing interstitial lung diseases. Although there are recommendations and guidelines, the procedure is not completely standardized. Varying approaches likely influence the conclusiveness of BAL data and may be one reason for the divergent judgement of their value between different centers. Read More

BMC Health Serv Res 2021 Apr 14;21(1):344. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

Department of Health Management to School of Medicine, Hang Zhou Normal University, No.2318 Yuhangtang Road, Cangqian Street, Yuhang District, Hangzhou City, 311121, Zhejiang Province, China.

Background: Conflict between physicians and patients is an increasingly serious problem, leading to the disrepute attached to Chinese physicians' social image and position. This study assesses the status of physicians' self-perceived professional reputation damage and explains it's the adverse outcomes including withdrawal behavior and workplace well-being. Moreover, potential causes of Chinese physicians' disrepute have been outlined. Read More

BMC Health Serv Res 2021 Apr 7;21(1):309. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Department of Population Health, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Boulevard, Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA.

Background: Correctional facilities are an underutilized venue for reaching young adults who have not vaccinated for human papillomavirus (HPV). The objective of this study was to identify factors that are associated with jail and local health department (LHD) interest in partnering to offer HPV vaccinations to young adults in jail.

Methods: Consolidated framework for implementation research (CFIR)-guided surveys were conducted with jail administrators in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, September 2017-October 2018. Read More

PLoS One 2021 7;16(4):e0249793. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Fenot, a Project of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Introduction: Returning to health facility for postnatal care (PNC) use after giving birth at health facility could reflect the health seeking behavior of mothers. However, such studies are rare though they are critically important to develop vigorous strategies to improve PNC service utilization. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the magnitude and factors associated with returning to health facilities for PNC among mothers who delivered in Ethiopian health facilities after they were discharged. Read More

J Am Coll Emerg Physicians Open 2021 Apr 26;2(2):e12392. Epub 2021 Mar 26.

Center for Policy and Research in Emergency Medicine Oregon Health and Science University Department of Emergency Medicine Portland Oregon USA.

Objective: Little is known regarding the specific ways personal protective equipment (PPE) has been used and reused during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The objective of this study was to evaluate the patterns of PPE use and the impact of PPE availability on the attitudes and well-being of an international population of healthcare workers.

Methods: This was an online, cross-sectional survey of healthcare workers. Read More

Foods 2021 Mar 17;10(3). Epub 2021 Mar 17.

Department of Food and Resource Economics, Chiba University, 648 Matsudo, Matsudo 271-8510, Chiba, Japan.

Vertical indoor farming under artificial lighting has gained attention as a novel means of food production. However, consumer acceptance of vegetable crops grown under artificial conditions is not well understood. Our nationwide online survey of 289 Russians gathered attitudes and opinions toward vertically farmed vegetables. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021 03 3;18(5). Epub 2021 Mar 3.

Division of Preventive and Sports Medicine, Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590 Frankfurt, Germany.

The spread of the COVID-19 virus was met by a strict lockdown in many countries around the world, with the closure of all physical activity (PA) facilities and limitations on moving around freely. The aim of the present online survey was to assess the effect of lockdown on physical activity in Italy. Physical activity was assessed using the European Health Interview Survey questionnaire. Read More

Nutrients 2021 Mar 28;13(4). Epub 2021 Mar 28.

BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada.

In Botswana, there is limited data available on the health and nutritional status of the San People (also known as the Basarwa or Bushmen), an Indigenous minority group primarily living in the Ghanzi District. Our aim in this study was to assess anemia prevalence among and anthropometric indices of women and young children in Ghanzi District through a cross-sectional survey. We recruited 367 mother-child pairs (women 15-49 years and children 6-59 months) in nine randomly selected areas. Read More

Ther Adv Ophthalmol 2021 Jan-Dec;13:2515841421998099. Epub 2021 Mar 15.

Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.

Purpose: To evaluate the awareness, knowledge and the perception of risks of glaucoma among rural and urban dwellers in Ghana, a high prevalent country, in order to provide information for health promotion planning.

Method: In a population-based descriptive cross-sectional survey, 1200 adults were selected from household settings, using a two-stage cluster and simple systematic random sampling. Quantitative data collection, using interviewer-administered questionnaire, was employed. Read More

Scand J Occup Ther 2021 Apr 1:1-10. Epub 2021 Apr 1.

Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

Background: Occupational therapists are an essential healthcare profession and play a vital role in rehabilitating patients in the activities of daily life. Nevertheless, many occupational therapists in Sweden are leaving the profession and this jeopardises occupational therapy services.

Objective: To explore factors that cause occupational therapists to seriously consider leaving their profession. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 03 25;11(1):6928. Epub 2021 Mar 25.

School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, King's College London, 9th floor, Becket House, 1 Lambeth Palace Road, London, SE1 7EU, UK.

We tested whether pregnant and non-pregnant women differ in COVID-19 symptom profile and severity, and we extended previous investigations on hospitalized pregnant women to those who did not require hospitalization. Two female community-based cohorts (18-44 years) provided longitudinal (smartphone application, N = 1,170,315, n = 79 pregnant tested positive) and cross-sectional (web-based survey, N = 1,344,966, n = 134 pregnant tested positive) data, prospectively collected through self-participatory citizen surveillance in UK, Sweden and USA. Pregnant and non-pregnant were compared for frequencies of events, including SARS-CoV-2 testing, symptoms and hospitalization rates. Read More

Emerg Microbes Infect 2021 Dec;10(1):664-676

NHC Key Laboratory of Systems Biology of Pathogens, Institute of Pathogen Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.

Seasonal human coronaviruses (HCoVs) including HCoV-229E, -OC43, -NL63, and -HKU1 widely spread in global human populations. However, the relevance of humoral response against seasonal HCoVs to COVID-19 pathogenesis is elusive. In this study, we profiled the temporal changes of IgG antibody against spike proteins (S-IgG) of SARS-CoV-2 and seasonal HCoVs in 838 plasma samples collected from 344 COVID-19 patients. Read More

J Am Coll Radiol 2021 Mar 13. Epub 2021 Mar 13.

Associate Professor, Co-director, Automated Radiology Recommendation Tracking Engine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Pennsylvania Act 112 notification reading level and presentation on patient understanding and anxiety.

Methods: Four notifications were developed by alternating 12th grade and 6th grade reading level Act 112 language with letters or infographics. Using Amazon Mechanical Turk, 909 US adult volunteers were randomly assigned to one notification followed by a survey. Read More

JAMA Netw Open 2021 Mar 1;4(3):e211806. Epub 2021 Mar 1.

Department of Health Policy & Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.

Importance: Medicare conditions of participation require hospitals to provide training to family and unpaid caregivers when their support is necessary to enact the postdischarge care plan. However, caregivers often report feeling unprepared for this role.

Objective: To describe the characteristics of caregivers who assist with posthospitalization care transitions and assess the prevalence of and factors associated with receipt of adequate transitional care training. Read More

BMC Health Serv Res 2021 Mar 12;21(1):228. Epub 2021 Mar 12.

PICC Outpatient, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China.

Background: Although a mobile nursing application has began to adopt in nursing, few studies have focused on nurses' behavioral intention of it. The objective of this study is to gain insight into the behavioral intention of nurses, i.e. Read More

IEEE J Sel Top Appl Earth Obs Remote Sens 2021 12;14:2249-2257. Epub 2021 Jan 12.

Department of Geography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX77843 USA.

Area-volume-elevation (AVE) curves are critical for reservoir operation rules. However, such curves are not publicly available for most global reservoirs. Here, we present a framework to derive reservoir AVE curves from TanDEM-X data, using Lake Mead (~600 km) as an example. Read More

Oecologia 2021 Apr 8;195(4):1083-1097. Epub 2021 Mar 8.

U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Building 344, Hawai'i National Park, HI, 96718, USA.

Invasive predators are known to have negative consumptive and non-consumptive effects on native species, but few examples show how the abundance of native prey may influence an established invasive predator. We compared invasive brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis; BTS) found in caves occupied by endangered Mariana swiftlets (Aerodramus bartschi) to snakes found in nearby forests and caves without birds to quantify how the abundance of native avian prey impacts BTS abundance and behavior on Guam. From 2011 to 2017 we removed 151 BTS in caves occupied by swiftlets and never observed BTS in caves without birds. Read More

Zhong Nan Da Xue Xue Bao Yi Xue Ban 2021 Jan;46(1):75-83

Department of Clinical Nursing, Nursing Psychology Research Center, Xiangya School of Nursing, Central South University, Changsha 410013, China.

Objectives: There are almost one million families who lost their only child in China, and 65.6% of them had severe and long lasting depression and needed timely psycho-intervention. This study aims to explore the relationship among resilience and its influential factors, and to compare their effect on depression. Read More

Nutrients 2021 Feb 24;13(3). Epub 2021 Feb 24.

Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Kassai Street 26/B, H-4028 Debrecen, Hungary.

Nutritional epidemiology studies on Roma people are scarce and, to date, their nutrient-based dietary patterns with regards to both healthy and sustainable dietary considerations have never been reported. We report, for the first time, adherence to healthy and sustainable dietary patterns using scoring and regression models, based on recommendations defined by the World Health Organization, in the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) study and the EAT-Lancet report, as well as dietary quality based on Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) among the Hungarian Roma (HR) population living in North East Hungary, with Hungarian general (HG) adults as reference. Data were obtained from a complex, comparative health survey involving dietary assessment, structured questionnaire-based interview, physical and laboratory examinations on 359 HG and 344 HR subjects in Northeast Hungary. Read More

J Thorac Oncol 2021 04 2;16(4):686-696. Epub 2021 Mar 2.

Centre Léon Bérard Unicancer, Lyon, France.

Introduction: Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) immunohistochemistry (IHC) is required to determine the eligibility for pembrolizumab monotherapy in advanced NSCLC worldwide and for several other indications depending on the country. Four assays have been approved/ Communauté Européene-In vitro Diagnostic (CV-IVD)-marked, but PD-L1 IHC seems diversely implemented across regions and laboratories with the application of laboratory-developed tests (LDTs).

Method: To assess the practice of PD-L1 IHC and identify issues and disparities, the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Pathology Committee conducted a global survey for pathologists from January to May 2019, comprising multiple questions on preanalytical, analytical, and postanalytical conditions. Read More

Behav Sleep Med 2021 Mar 2:1-16. Epub 2021 Mar 2.

Department of Psychiatry, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) forced Spain to implement unprecedented lockdown restriction. In this context, different factors could worsen sleep quality, but the impact of the pandemic and lockdown on sleep is still mostly unknown. In this cross-sectional study, we describe self-reported sleep disturbances in people without mental health disorders from a large Spanish sample (n = 15,070). Read More

Avian Dis 2021 Mar 1. Epub 2021 Mar 1.

Auburn University Editorial Board Members-Approved Rev. Department of Pathobiology and Department of Poultry Science 260 Lem Morrison Dr. UNITED STATES Auburn Alabama 36849 1 344 844 4152.

The aim of this study was to evaluate and quantify the parasitological challenge in pastured poultry production in the state of Georgia. Over the course of one year, fecal samples from six turkey flocks, ten broiler flocks and 13 layer flocks were collected on a pastured farm in two-week intervals to determine counts of Eimeria oocysts and nematode eggs. Average coccidia counts were 10,198 oocysts per gram of feces (OPG) in broiler flocks, 1,470 OPG in layer flocks and 695 OPG in turkey flocks. Read More

Int J Clin Pract 2021 Feb 26:e14117. Epub 2021 Feb 26.

Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.

Objectives: To assess knowledge, attitude, and beliefs about the right to privacy and confidentiality from the viewpoints of the general public (GP) and the health system (HS) professionals in Jordan.

Methods: An online-based cross-sectional descriptive questionnaire was distributed across Jordan during May & June of 2020. A total number of 388 respondents filled in the online survey assessing their knowledge, attitude, and opinion about the right to privacy and confidentiality being practiced during the professional contact between the patients and their health care providers. Read More

J Dent Hyg 2021 Feb;95(1):36-42

Associate professor, Division of Dental Hygiene, Department of Primary Dental Care, University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, Minneapolis, MN, USA.

: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common breathing disorder; however, many individuals remain undiagnosed. The purpose of this study was to assess the comfort level of community-dwelling adults to participate in OSA screening in a dental office setting and survey the OSA risk levels of an adult population. This cross-sectional study was conducted among adults presenting at the University of Minnesota Driven to Discover Research Facility during the 2018 Minnesota State Fair. Read More

BJPsych Open 2021 Feb 24;7(2):e59. Epub 2021 Feb 24.

Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Patras, Greece; and Klinikum rechts der Isar, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technical University of Munich, Germany.

Background: SARS-CoV-2 has rapidly spread worldwide, threatening public health and financial and social life.

Aims: The current study's aim was to determine the prevalence of psychological distress and post-traumatic stress symptoms in the Greek population during the first COVID-19 lockdown, and to detect potential correlates.

Method: An anonymous online survey was conducted between 10 April and 4 May 2020, to collect information regarding people's psychological functioning and COVID-19-related perceptions. Read More

J Infect Public Health 2021 Mar 30;14(3):358-364. Epub 2020 Dec 30.

Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan. Electronic address:

Background: The 2019 novel coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19) is one of the most serious health risks facing the global population. Teachers' responses are important in the management of the outbreak in schools. The purpose of this study is to examine teachers' risk perception, self-efficacy, response efficacy, and approach to disease prevention during the COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan. Read More

Eur J Oncol Nurs 2021 Apr 4;51:101903. Epub 2021 Feb 4.

Department of Care Science, Faculty of Health and Society, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden. Electronic address:

Purpose: The experience of cancer could lead to positive psychological changes following the struggle with diagnosis and treatment. Understanding post-traumatic growth and its influencing factors in women affected by gynecological cancer is essential to enhance their possibility of achieving positive changes. The purpose of this study was to describe the post-traumatic growth level and explore the influencing factors of post-traumatic growth in Chinese women diagnosed with gynecological cancer. Read More

J Educ Health Promot 2020 29;9:344. Epub 2020 Dec 29.

Department of Community Medicine, Vardhaman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, New Delhi, India.

Background: In health care, the rapid proliferation of health information on the internet has resulted in more patients turning to the digital media as their first source of health information and acquiring knowledge. The present study was conducted to assess use of the digital medium as a medical information resource in health-related states and to determine their experience and perceptions about the quality and reliability of the information available among the participants.

Methodology: The study was done in an urban settlement of Delhi among adults who use any digital media. Read More

Hosp Top 2021 Feb 11:1-10. Epub 2021 Feb 11.

Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

This study aims to access the quality of work-life and characteristics between medical representatives and hospital pharmacists to understand the current QWL status among these health workers. This research was led with a cross-sectional design conducted with a survey using the work-related quality of life scale-2. There were 296 medical representatives and 344 hospital pharmacists participating in this study. Read More