reasons for living

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) are found in the blood of humans and wildlife worldwide. Since the beginning of the 21st century, a downward trend in the human body burden, especially for PFOS and PFOA, has been observed while there is no clear temporal trend in wildlife. The inconsistency between the concentration decline in human serum and in wildlife could be indicative of a historical exposure pathway for humans linked to consumer products that has been reduced or eliminated...

BACKGROUND: Healthcare renunciation for economic reasons is a major health concern, but it has been scarcely investigated among drug users, even if drug users constitute a vulnerable population in need of medical care. This study investigated associations of healthcare renunciation for economic reasons and addictive behaviors (alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, illicit drug use, and gambling) in a population-based sample of adults living in France, a country with universal health coverage. METHODS: Data were collected using the 2014 Health Barometer, a French cross-sectional survey conducted among a random representative sample of the general population aged 18-64 (n=12,852)...

BACKGROUND: In 2011, the Botswana National Tuberculosis Program adopted World Health Organization guidelines and introduced Xpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) assay to support intensified case finding among people living with HIV enrolling in care. An evaluation was designed to assess performance under operational conditions to inform the national Xpert scale-up. METHODS: Xpert was implemented from August 2012 through November 2014 with 13 GeneXpert instruments (GeneXpert) deployed in a phased approach over nine months: nine centralized laboratory and four point-of-care (POC) peripheral clinics...

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to analyze, from the data in a national survey, the use of oral care and the oral health status of patients living at home or in an institution. BACKGROUND: Patients aged 60 years and older have important oral health needs, but their oral management may differ according to their immediate environment. The fact of living at home or in an institution can influence the use of care and alter the patients' perception of their oral health status. METHODS: The data analyzed were taken from a survey on disability and health carried out in 2008-2009, which is representative of the population living in France...

BACKGROUND: Health care spending in the U.S. totaled $3 trillion in 2014 and continues to increase rapidly. Minimizing waste through clinical guidelines is a promising strategy to reduce spending without compromising patient care. In 2011, clinical guidelines recommended against the use of chest X-ray (CXR) for diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in pediatric ambulatory settings. However, use of CXR has not changed post-guideline. Thus, understanding the drivers of CXR utilization prior to guideline implementation could improve guideline adherence...

BACKGROUND: During the summer of 2014, ISIS overran Nineveh governorate in Northern Iraq. Yazidis and other religious minorities were subjected to brutal attacks and forced to seek refuge into the neighbouring Kurdistan Region, where they remain living in local communities or in camps. This survey provides a population-based assessment of the health needs and care seeking behaviours of Yazidis and other groups currently residing in camps. METHODS: The survey covered 13 camps managed by the Kurdish Board of Relief and Humanitarian Affairs...

INTRODUCTION: Military suicide rates have been rising over the past decade and continue to challenge military treatment facilities. Assessing suicide risk and improving treatments are a large part of the mission for clinicians who work with uniformed service members. This study attempts to expand the toolkit of military suicide prevention by focusing on protective factors over risk factors. In 1983, Marsha Linehan published a checklist called the Reasons for Living Scale, which asked subjects to check the reasons they choose to continue living, rather than choosing suicide...

Purpose Patients with severe asthma were choosing not to use the emergency department (ED) in extremis and were self-medicating when experiencing severe asthma, putting their lives at risk. This local issue reflected a nationwide situation. The purpose of this paper is to better understand the reasons behind patients' reluctance to attend ED and to consider practical solutions in a structured way. Design/methodology/approach Systems thinking (soft systems methodology) was used to examine the issues resulting in this reluctance to attend the ED...

BACKGROUND: Taking predictors of hospitalization characteristics into consideration internationally would broaden our understanding of this population on a local basis. AIMS: We aimed to examine and compare socio-demographic profiles along with hospitalization characteristics including length of hospital stay (LOS), reasons for admission and diagnoses among older adult inpatients hospitalized in Ireland and Turkey, and to assess factors predicting these features...

The declaration of a caliphate by Islamic State in June 2014 witnessed the recruitment of increasing numbers of foreign terrorist fighters drawn from a diverse range of nations across the globe. This paper seeks to explore the appeal of extreme groups and how recruiters persuade young people to risk either their lives or lengthy terms of imprisonment. The processes of radicalization and recruitment are differentiated and compared with conventional means of encouraging individuals to enlist in state-sanctioned armed forces...

CONTEXT: From December 2015 to August 2016, a large epidemic of cholera affected the fishermen of Lake Chilwa in Malawi. A first reactive Oral Cholera Vaccines (OCV) campaign was organized, in February, in a 2km radius of the lake followed by a preemptive one, conducted in November, in a 25km radius. We present the vaccine coverage reached in hard-to-reach population using simplified delivery strategies. METHOD: We conducted two-stage random-sampling cross-sectional surveys among individuals living in a 2km and 25km radius of Lake Chilwa (islands and floating homes included)...

PURPOSE: To evaluate the long-term outcomes of artificial iris intraocular lenses sutured to the sclera for managing traumatic aphakia and aniridia. METHODS: All consecutive cases receiving a Morcher(®) combination implant from June 2008 to February 2016 in Edouard-Herriot Hospital (Lyon, France) were included in this single-center retrospective study. Visual acuity, subjective degree of glare, quality of life and surgical complications were evaluated. RESULTS: Seventeen eyes of 17 patients were included, among which 82% were male...

BACKGROUND: Analysis of the nursing registration databases is a highly informative approach that provides accurate and reliable information supporting evidence based decisions relevant to the nursing workforce planning, management and development. This study presents the first systematic analysis of the nursing registration database in Lebanon. It Reports on the workforce distribution and trends using an updated version of the Order of Nurses in Lebanon (ONL) databases. METHODS: This study presents a secondary data analysis of a de-identified subset of the updated ONL registration database...

BACKGROUND: The reasons for the increased risk of gestational diabetes among South Asian women are not well understood. We sought to identify the determinants of gestational diabetes and its impact on newborn health in a prospective birth cohort of South Asian women and their babies. METHODS: As part of the South Asian Birth Cohort (START) prospective birth cohort study in Ontario, we recruited 1012 South Asian women with singleton pregnancies in the second trimester of pregnancy between July 11, 2011, and Nov...

Data on the incidence of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in the first 6 hours of life together with the implementation of therapeutic hypothermia (TH) are relevant to delineate actions to achieve the lowest rates of neonatal mortality, morbidity, and long-term impact on health associated with HIE. This is population-based national survey study, including newborns ≥35 weeks of gestation with moderate-to-severe HIE from all level III neonatal care units, to provide the incidence of HIE for the period 2012-2013, and the implementation of TH up to June 2015 in Spain...

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a preventable and treatable disease, characterized by airflow limitation. The disease has a significant impact on the lives of patients and is a challenge for the health care due to readmissions to hospitals. OBJECTIVES: This review aimed to identify, appraise and synthesize the best available evidence on the effectiveness of discharge interventions that can reduce readmission of patients with COPD. TYPES OF PARTICIPANTS: Hospitalized patients, aged 18 years or over, who had been diagnosed with COPD and were admitted to hospital due to acute exacerbation...

BACKGROUND: Epilepsy affects about 70 million people worldwide, nearly 90% of whom live in developing countries. Epilepsy is surrounded by myths and stigma in these countries. Discrimination and social stigmatization are difficult obstacles for patients to overcome. Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards epilepsy are often inadequate, even sometimes totally false and then dangerous. METHODS: The goal was to present the situation and analyse the determinants of using antiepileptic drugs in developing countries...

Sensory ecology is a discipline that focuses on how living creatures use information to survive, but not to live. By trans-defining the orthodox concept of sensory ecology, a serious heterodox question arises: how do organisms use their senses to live, i.e. to enjoy or suffer life? To respond to such a query the objective (time-independent) and emotional (non-rational) meaning of symbols must be revealed. Our program is distinct from both the neo-Darwinian and the classical ecological perspective because it does not focus on survival values of phenotypes and their functions, but asks for the aesthetic effect of biological structures and their symbolism...

OBJECTIVES: Careful characterization of how functional decline co-evolves with cognitive decline in older adults has yet to be well described. Most models of neurodegenerative disease postulate that cognitive decline predates and potentially leads to declines in everyday functional abilities; however, there is mounting evidence that subtle decline in instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) may be detectable in older individuals who are still cognitively normal. METHODS: The present study examines how the relationship between change in cognition and change in IADLs are best characterized among older adults who participated in the ACTIVE trial...

BACKGROUND: Persons with serious mental illnesses (SMI) can lead productive lives, and the majority want to work. Mental health providers can play an important role in helping their clients gain and maintain employment. AIMS: The Provider Survey was developed to shed additional light on providers' views toward employment and recovery, and the utilization of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) supported employment (SE) services for people with SMI. METHODS: A total of 1,306 providers of the State of Connecticut participated in the survey...