Jieun Jang, Anna Kim, Mingee Choi, Ellen P McCarthy, Brianne Olivieri-Mui, Chan Mi Park, Jae-Hyun Kim, Jaeyong Shin, Dae Hyun Kim
{"title":"Association of Frailty Index at 66 Years of Age with Health Care Costs and Utilization Over 10 Years in Korea: Retrospective Cohort Study.","authors":"Jieun Jang, Anna Kim, Mingee Choi, Ellen P McCarthy, Brianne Olivieri-Mui, Chan Mi Park, Jae-Hyun Kim, Jaeyong Shin, Dae Hyun Kim","doi":"10.2196/50026","DOIUrl":"10.2196/50026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The long-term economic impact of frailty measured at the beginning of elderhood is unknown.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>The objective of our study was to examine the association between an individual's frailty index at 66 years of age and their health care costs and utilization over 10 years.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This retrospective cohort study included 215,887 Koreans who participated in the National Screening Program for Transitional Ages at 66 years of age between 2007-2009. Frailty was categorized using a 39-item deficit accumulation frailty index: robust (<0.15), prefrail (0.15-0.24), and frail (≥0.25). The primary outcome was total health care cost, while the secondary outcomes were inpatient and outpatient health care costs, inpatient days, and number of outpatient visits. Generalized estimating equations with a gamma distribution and identity link function were used to investigate the association between the frailty index and health care costs and utilization until December 31, 2019.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The study population included 53.3% (n=115,113) women, 32.9% (n=71,082) with prefrailty, and 9.7% (n=21,010) with frailty. The frailty level at 66 years of age was associated with higher cumulative total costs (robust to frail: $19,815 to $28.281; P<.001), inpatient costs (US $11,189 to US $16,627; P<.001), and outpatient costs (US $8,625 to US $11,654; P<.001) over the next 10 years. In the robust group, a one-year increase in age was associated with increased total health care costs (mean change per beneficiary per year: US $206.2; SE: $1.2; P<.001), inpatient costs (US $126.8; SE: $1.0; P<.001), and outpatient costs (US $74.4; SE: $0.4; P<.001). In the frail group, the increase in total health care costs was greater compared to the robust group (difference in mean cost per beneficiary per year: US $120.9; SE: $5.3; P<.001), inpatient costs (US $102.8; SE: $5.22; P<.001), and outpatient costs (US $15.6; SE: $1.5; P<.001). Similar results were observed for health care utilization (P<.001). Among the robust group, a one-year increase in age was associated with increased inpatient days (mean change per beneficiary per year: 0.9 d; P<.001) and outpatient visits (2.1 visits; P<.001). In the frail group, inpatient days increased annually compared to the robust group (difference in the mean inpatient days per beneficiary per year: 1.5 d; P<.001), while outpatient visits increased to a lesser extent (difference in the mean outpatient visits per beneficiary per year: -0.2 visits; P<.001).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our study demonstrates the potential utility of assessing frailty at 66 years of age in identifying older adults who are more likely to incur high health care costs and utilize health care services over the subsequent 10 years. The long-term high health care costs and utilization associated with frailty and prefrailty warrants public health strategies to prevent and ","PeriodicalId":14765,"journal":{"name":"JMIR Public Health and Surveillance","volume":"11 ","pages":"e50026"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11870028/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143058910","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abdullah A Alharbi, Nawfal A Aljerian, Meshary S Binhotan, Hani A Alghamdi, Ali K Alsultan, Mohammed S Arafat, Abdulrahman Aldhabib, Yasser A Alaska, Eid B Alwahbi, Mohammed A Muaddi, Ahmad Y Alqassim, Ronnie D Horner
{"title":"Digital Surveillance of Mental Health Care Services in Saudi Arabia: Cross-Sectional Study of National e-Referral System Data.","authors":"Abdullah A Alharbi, Nawfal A Aljerian, Meshary S Binhotan, Hani A Alghamdi, Ali K Alsultan, Mohammed S Arafat, Abdulrahman Aldhabib, Yasser A Alaska, Eid B Alwahbi, Mohammed A Muaddi, Ahmad Y Alqassim, Ronnie D Horner","doi":"10.2196/64257","DOIUrl":"10.2196/64257","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Mental illness affects an estimated 25% of the global population, with treatment gaps persisting worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these challenges, leading to a significant increase in mental health issues globally. In Saudi Arabia, the lifetime prevalence of mental disorders is estimated at 34.2%, yet 86.1% of those with a 12-month mental disorder report no service use. To address these challenges, digital health solutions, particularly electronic referral (e-referral) systems, have emerged as powerful tools to improve care coordination and access. Saudi Arabia has pioneered the nationwide Saudi Medical Appointments and Referrals Centre (SMARC), a centralized e-referral system using artificial intelligence and predictive analytics.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aims to analyze Saudi Arabia's novel nationwide e-referral system for mental health services, using SMARC platform data to examine referral patterns, and service accessibility. This study also aims to demonstrate how digital health technology can inform and improve mental health care delivery and policy making.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This retrospective, cross-sectional study used secondary data from SMARC on 10,033 psychiatric e-referrals in Saudi Arabia during 2020-2021. Referrals were assessed by patient sociodemographic variables, geographic data, and e-referral characteristics including date, type, bed type, and reason for e-referral. Descriptive statistical analyses identified referral patterns, while regression modeling determined predictors of external referrals to other regions.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Analysis of 10,033 psychiatric e-referrals revealed that 58.99% (n=5918) were for patients aged 18-44 years, 63.93% (n=6414) were for men, and 87.10% (n=8739) were for Saudi nationals. The Western Business Unit generated 45.17% (n=4532) of all e-referral requests. Emergency cases were the most common type of referral overall, followed by routine inpatient and routine outpatient department referrals. However, in the Northern Business Unit, routine inpatient referrals were most frequent. Two-thirds of requests were for ward beds, while critical beds were rarely requested. \"Unavailable subspecialty\" was the primary reason for referrals across all regions. The utilization of the mental health e-referral system varied across regions, with the Northern Border and Albaha regions showing the highest rates, while Madinah, Eastern, and Riyadh regions demonstrated lower use. Temporal analysis showed almost similar monthly patterns in 2020 and 2021. There was an overall increase in referrals in 2021 compared with 2020.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This pioneering study of mental health e-referrals in Saudi Arabia demonstrates how digital health transformation, particularly through an e-referral system, has significantly enhanced access to mental health services nationwide in Saudi Arabia. The success of this","PeriodicalId":14765,"journal":{"name":"JMIR Public Health and Surveillance","volume":"11 ","pages":"e64257"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11785370/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143046543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rebekka Schröder, Tim Hamer, Ralf Suhr, Lars König
{"title":"Attitudes Toward Psychotherapeutic Treatment and Health Literacy in a Large Sample of the General Population in Germany: Cross-Sectional Study.","authors":"Rebekka Schröder, Tim Hamer, Ralf Suhr, Lars König","doi":"10.2196/67078","DOIUrl":"10.2196/67078","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Prevalences of mental disorders are increasing worldwide. However, many people with mental health problems do not receive adequate treatment. An important factor preventing individuals from seeking professional help is negative attitudes toward psychotherapeutic treatment. Although a positive shift in attitudes has been observed in recent years, there is still substantial stigma surrounding psychotherapeutic treatment. First studies have linked higher health literacy with more positive attitudes toward psychotherapy, but more research is needed in this area.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to examine how general and mental health literacy are associated with attitudes toward psychotherapeutic treatment in Germany. Additionally, associations between sociodemographic factors, experience with psychotherapy, and attitudes toward psychotherapy were explored.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A random sample was drawn from a panel representative of the German-speaking population with internet access in Germany and invited to participate in the study via email. Overall, 2000 individuals aged ≥16 years completed the web-based survey with standardized questionnaires in September and October 2022. Attitudes toward psychotherapy and both general and mental health literacy were assessed using the Questionnaire on Attitudes Towards Psychotherapeutic Treatment (QAPT) with 2 subscales (\"positive attitudes\" and \"non-acceptance of society\"), the European Health Literacy Survey instrument (HLS-EU-Q16) and the Mental Health Literacy Tool for the Workplace (MHL-W-G). Associations between the questionnaire scales were assessed with Pearson correlations. Additionally, basic sociodemographic information and information on personal and family experiences with psychotherapy were collected. Pearson correlations (age), ANOVAs (level of education and subjective social status), and t tests (experience with psychotherapy, gender, and migration background) were used to analyze how these relate to attitudes toward psychotherapy.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>More favorable attitudes toward psychotherapy and lower perceived societal nonacceptance were found in those with higher general (r=0.14, P<.001; r=-0.32, P<.001, respectively) and mental health literacy (r=0.18, P<.001; r=-0.23, P<.001, respectively). Participants with treatment experience for mental health problems (t<sub>1260.12</sub>=-10.40, P<.001, Cohen d=-0.49; t<sub>1050.95</sub>=3.06, P=.002, Cohen d=0.16) and who have relatives with treatment experience (t<sub>1912.06</sub>=-5.66, P<.001, Cohen d=-0.26; t<sub>1926</sub>=4.77, P<.001, Cohen d=0.22) reported more positive attitudes and higher perceived societal acceptance than those without treatment experience. In terms of sociodemographic differences, being a woman (t<sub>1992</sub>=-3.60, P<.001, Cohen d=-0.16), younger age (r=-0.11, P<.001), higher subjective social status (F<sub>2,1991</sub>=5.25, P=.005, η<sup","PeriodicalId":14765,"journal":{"name":"JMIR Public Health and Surveillance","volume":"11 ","pages":"e67078"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11806273/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143033172","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exploring Social-Ecological Pathways From Sexual Identity to Sleep Among Chinese Women: Structural Equation Modeling Analysis.","authors":"Chanchan Wu, Pui Hing Chau, Edmond Pui Hang Choi","doi":"10.2196/53549","DOIUrl":"10.2196/53549","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Women and sexual minority individuals have been found to be at higher risk for experiencing poor sleep health compared to their counterparts. However, research on the sleep health of sexual minority women (SMW) is lacking in China.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to examine sleep quality and social support for Chinese women with varied sexual identities, and then investigate the in-depth relationships between sexual identity and sleep.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This was a cross-sectional web-based survey. All participants completed a structured questionnaire containing a set of sociodemographic items referring to the social-ecological model of sleep health, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Social Support Rating Scale, and social relationships and environment domains of the World Health Organization Quality of Life-abbreviated short version. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to examine the relationship between sleep quality and social support as well as the two domains of quality of life. Structural equation modeling analysis was used to explore the social-ecological relationships.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 250 cisgender heterosexual women (CHW) and 259 SMW were recruited from July to September 2021. A total of 241 (47.3%) women experienced poor sleep quality and the rate was significantly higher in SMW than in CHW (55.2% vs 39.2%, P<.001). Around one-fifth of SMW reported low levels of social support, which was significantly higher than that of CHW (21.6% vs 5.6%, P<.001). Pearson correlations showed that overall sleep quality was significantly negatively associated with social support with weak correlations (r=-0.26, P<.001). The final structural equation modeling analysis with satisfactory fit indices identified 6 social-ecological pathways, showing that alcohol use, objective support, utilization of support, and perceived social relationship and environment quality of life played important roles in the sleep quality of individuals from their sexual identity.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>SMW experienced poorer sleep quality compared to CHW. Further research is recommended to address the modifiable factors affecting sleep and then implement tailored sleep improvement programs.</p>","PeriodicalId":14765,"journal":{"name":"JMIR Public Health and Surveillance","volume":"11 ","pages":"e53549"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11774323/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143005454","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anna Cantarutti, Riccardo Boracchini, Roberto Bellù, Raffaella Ronco, Federico Rea, Anna Locatelli, Rinaldo Zanini, Giovanni Corrao
{"title":"Assessing the Impact of Distance Traveled and Birth Volumes of Hospital Maternity Units on Newborn Outcomes: Population-Based Cohort Study.","authors":"Anna Cantarutti, Riccardo Boracchini, Roberto Bellù, Raffaella Ronco, Federico Rea, Anna Locatelli, Rinaldo Zanini, Giovanni Corrao","doi":"10.2196/58944","DOIUrl":"10.2196/58944","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The centralization of childbirth and newborn care in large maternity units has become increasingly prevalent in Europe. While this trend offers potential benefits such as specialized care and improved outcomes, it can also lead to longer travel and waiting times, especially for women in rural areas.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to evaluate the association between hospital maternity unit (HMU) volumes, road travel distance (RTD) to the hospital, and other neonatal outcomes.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a population-based cohort study including all live births in hospitals without intensive care units between 2016 and 2019 in the Lombardy region, Italy. Given the hierarchical structure of our data (births nested within hospitals), we employed log-binomial regression models with random intercepts to estimate relative risks and 95% CIs for evaluating the association between HMU volumes (≥1500 births/year) and RTD (<5 km) with the risk of being transferred and/or death after birth (primary outcome). Secondary outcomes included a low Apgar score at 5 minutes and low adherence to antenatal care (ANC). We controlled for several potential confounders including adherence to the ANC pathway for the primary and low Apgar outcomes. To explore the influence of HMU volumes on the primary outcome, we identified the fractional polynomial model that best described this relationship.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of 65,083 live births, 71% (n=45,955) occurred in low-volume hospitals (<1000 births/year), 21% (n=13,560) involved long-distance travel (>15 km), 1% (n=735) were transferred and/or died after birth, 0.5% (n=305) had a low Apgar score at 5 minutes, and 64% (n=41,317) completely adhered to ANC. The risk of transfer and/or death increased as HMU volume decreased, ranging from 1% for hospitals with 1000-1500 births/year to a 3.6-fold high risk for hospitals with <500 births/year (compared to high-volume hospitals). Travel distance did not affect the primary outcome. Neither HMU volume nor RTD were associated with low Apgar scores. Conversely, the risk of complete adherence to ANC decreased with lower HMU volumes but increased with shorter RTD. Additionally, high-volume hospitals demonstrated a decreasing trend in the frequency of the primary outcome, with transfer and/or death rates ranging from 2% to 0.5% and flattening to 0.5% in hospitals, with activity volume ≥1000 mean births/year.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings showed an excess risk of neonatal transfer and/or death for live births in HMUs with low activity volumes without an intensive care unit. In contrast, RTD primarily affected adherence to ANC. Moreover, data suggest that 1000 births/year could be an optimal cutoff for maternity hospitals to ensure an appropriate standard of care at delivery.</p>","PeriodicalId":14765,"journal":{"name":"JMIR Public Health and Surveillance","volume":"11 ","pages":"e58944"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11773989/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143005452","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Doron Amsalem, Merlin Greuel, Shuyan Liu, Andrés Martin, Maya Adam
{"title":"Effect of a Short, Animated Storytelling Video on Transphobia Among US Parents: Randomized Controlled Trial.","authors":"Doron Amsalem, Merlin Greuel, Shuyan Liu, Andrés Martin, Maya Adam","doi":"10.2196/66496","DOIUrl":"10.2196/66496","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Parents play a pivotal role in supporting transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth. Yet only 35% of TGD youth describe their home as a gender-affirming place. Lack of parental support contributes to recent findings that TGD youth are approximately three times more likely to attempt suicide than their cisgender peers. In contrast, parents' affirmation of their children's gender identity significantly improves their mental health outcomes, by reducing anxiety, depression, and suicidality.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>Addressing the urgent need for effective, scalable interventions, this study evaluates a novel digital approach: short, animated storytelling videos. We hypothesized that our 2.5-minute video intervention would reduce antitransgender stigma, or transphobia, and improve attitudes toward gender diverse children among US parents.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We recruited 1267 US parents, through the Prolific Academic (Prolific) online research platform, and randomized them into video intervention or control groups. We measured transphobia using the Transgender Stigma Scale, and attitudes toward transgender children using the gender thermometer, before and after watching the video. We compared outcomes between the two groups using 2 × 3 ANOVA. Both groups were invited to return 30 days later for follow-up assessment, before being offered posttrial access to the intervention video, which portrayed an authentic conversation between a mother and her transgender child.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Single exposure to a short, animated story video significantly reduced transphobia and improved attitudes toward transgender children among US parents, immediately post intervention. We observed a significant group-by-time interaction in mean Transgender Stigma Scale scores (F2,1=3.7, P=.02) and significant between-group changes when comparing the video and control groups from baseline to post intervention (F1=27.4, P<.001). Effect sizes (Cohen d) indicated small to moderate immediate changes in response to the 2.5-minute video, though the effect was no longer observed at the 30-day follow-up. Gender thermometer scores revealed significant immediate improvements in the attitudes of participants in the video intervention arm, and this improvement was sustained at the 30-day time point.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Short, animated storytelling is a novel digital approach with the potential to boost support and affirmation of transgender children, by offering authentic insights into the lived experiences of TGD youth. Repeated exposures to such interventions may be necessary to sustain improvements over time. Future studies could test a series of short, animated storytelling videos featuring the lived experiences of several TGD youth. Evaluating the effect of such a series could contribute to the fields of digital health communication and transgender health. Digital approaches, such as short, animated ","PeriodicalId":14765,"journal":{"name":"JMIR Public Health and Surveillance","volume":"11 ","pages":"e66496"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11769780/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143046547","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Liuren Zhang, Linchen Chu, Maria E Sundaram, Yi Zhou, Xiu Sun, Zheng Wei, Chuanxi Fu
{"title":"Identifying Preferred Features of Influenza Vaccination Programs Among Chinese Clinicians Practicing Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine: Discrete Choice Experiment.","authors":"Liuren Zhang, Linchen Chu, Maria E Sundaram, Yi Zhou, Xiu Sun, Zheng Wei, Chuanxi Fu","doi":"10.2196/63314","DOIUrl":"10.2196/63314","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Achieving high vaccine coverage among clinicians is crucial to curb the spread of influenza. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), rooted in cultural symbols and concepts without direct parallels in modern Western medicine, may influence perspectives on vaccination. Therefore, understanding the preferences of TCM clinicians towards influenza vaccines is of great importance.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To understand preferences for features of influenza vaccination programs and identify the optimal influenza vaccination program among clinicians practicing TCM and Western medicine.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a discrete choice experiment with a national sample of 3085 Chinese clinicians from various hospital levels (n=1013 practicing TCM) from January to May 2022. Simulations from choice models using the experimental data generated the coefficients of preference and predicted the uptake rate of different influenza vaccination programs. Clinicians were grouped by vaccine preference classification through a latent class analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>All included attributes significantly influenced clinicians' preferences for choosing an influenza vaccination program. An approximate hypothetical 60% increase of vaccine uptake could be obtained when the attitude of the workplace changed from \"no notice\" to \"encouraging of vaccination\"; there was an approximate hypothetical 35% increase of vaccine uptake when vaccination campaign strategies changed from \"individual appointment\" to \"vaccination in a workplace setting.\" In the entire sample, about 30% (946/3085) of clinicians preferred free vaccinations, while 26.5% (819/3085) comprehensively considered all attributes, except vaccination campaign strategies, when making a decision about choosing an influenza vaccination program. Clinicians who practiced TCM, worked in tertiary hospital, or had at least a postgraduate degree exhibited a lower preference for free vaccinations. Clinicians who practiced Western medicine, worked in primary hospital, or had at most a bachelor's degree had a higher preference for vaccinations in workplace settings.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Offering a range of influenza vaccination programs targeting the preferred attributes of different clinician groups could potentially encourage more clinicians, including those practicing TCM, to participate in influenza vaccination programs.</p>","PeriodicalId":14765,"journal":{"name":"JMIR Public Health and Surveillance","volume":"11 ","pages":"e63314"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11769775/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143046636","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kaitlyn Atkins, Thomas Carpino, Amrita Rao, Travis Sanchez, O Winslow Edwards, Marissa Hannah, Patrick S Sullivan, Yasmin P Ogale, Winston E Abara, Kevin P Delaney, Stefan D Baral
{"title":"Suspected Mpox Symptoms and Testing in Men Who Have Sex With Men in the United States: Cross-Sectional Study.","authors":"Kaitlyn Atkins, Thomas Carpino, Amrita Rao, Travis Sanchez, O Winslow Edwards, Marissa Hannah, Patrick S Sullivan, Yasmin P Ogale, Winston E Abara, Kevin P Delaney, Stefan D Baral","doi":"10.2196/57399","DOIUrl":"10.2196/57399","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The 2022 mpox outbreak in the United States disproportionately affected gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM). Uptake of mpox testing may be related to symptomology, sociodemographic characteristics, and behavioral characteristics.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to describe suspected mpox symptoms and testing uptake among a sample of GBMSM recruited via the internet in the United States in August 2022.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a rapid internet-based mpox survey from August 5 to 15, 2022, among cisgender men 15 years and older who had previously participated in the 2021 American Men's Internet Survey. We estimated the prevalence of suspected mpox symptoms (fever or rash or sores with unknown cause in the last 3 mo) and uptake of mpox testing. We calculated adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) and 95% CIs for associations between participant characteristics and suspected mpox symptoms and summarized characteristics of GBMSM reporting mpox testing. Among symptomatic GBMSM who did not receive mpox testing, we described testing self-efficacy, barriers, and facilitators.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of 824 GBMSM, 126 (15.3%) reported at least 1 mpox symptom in the last 3 months; 58/126 (46%) with rash or sores, 57 (45.2%) with fever, and 11 (8.7%) with both. Increased prevalence of suspected mpox symptoms was associated with condomless anal sex (CAS; aPR 1.53, 95% CI 1.06-2.20). Mpox testing was reported by 9/824 GBMSM (1%), including 5 with symptoms. Most GBMSM reporting mpox testing were non-Hispanic White men (7/9 vs 1 Black and 1 Hispanic or Latino man), and all 9 lived in urban areas. Most reported having an sexually transmitted infections test (8/9), 2 or more partners (8/9), CAS (7/9), and group sex (6/9) in the last 3 months. Of those tested, 3 reported living with HIV and all were on treatment, whereas the remaining 6 men without HIV reported current pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use. Of symptomatic GBMSM who did not report mpox testing, 47/105 (44.8%) had low mpox testing self-efficacy. Among those with low self-efficacy, the most common barriers to testing were not knowing where to get tested (40/47, 85.1%) and difficulty getting appointments (23/47, 48.9%). Among those with high testing self-efficacy (58/105, 55.2%), the most common facilitators to testing were knowing where to test (52/58, 89.7%), convenient site hours (40/58, 69%), and low-cost testing (38/58, 65.5%).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>While all GBMSM who reported testing for mpox were linked to HIV treatment or PrEP, those with symptoms but no mpox testing reported fewer such links. This suggests targeted outreach is needed to reduce structural barriers to mpox services among GBMSM in rural areas, Black and Hispanic or Latino GBMSM, and GBMSM living with HIV. Sustaining and scaling community-tailored messaging to promote testing and vaccination represent critical interventions","PeriodicalId":14765,"journal":{"name":"JMIR Public Health and Surveillance","volume":"11 ","pages":"e57399"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11756838/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143005527","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ana María Cintora-Sanz, Cristina Horrillo-García, Víctor Quesada-Cubo, Ana María Pérez-Alonso, Alicia Gutiérrez-Misis
{"title":"Prevalence and Economic Impact of Acute Respiratory Failure in the Prehospital Emergency Medical Service of the Madrid Community: Retrospective Cohort Study.","authors":"Ana María Cintora-Sanz, Cristina Horrillo-García, Víctor Quesada-Cubo, Ana María Pérez-Alonso, Alicia Gutiérrez-Misis","doi":"10.2196/66179","DOIUrl":"10.2196/66179","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure (CHF), and acute pulmonary edema (APE) are serious illnesses that often require acute care from prehospital emergency medical services (EMSs). These respiratory diseases that cause acute respiratory failure (ARF) are one of the main reasons for hospitalization and death, generating high health care costs. The prevalence of the main respiratory diseases treated in a prehospital environment in the prepandemic period and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain is unknown. The Madrid Community EMS is a public service that serves all types of populations and represents an epidemiological reference for supporting a population of 6.4 million inhabitants. The high volume of patients treated by Madrid's medical advanced life supports (ALSs) allows us to analyze this little-studied problem.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Our goal was to lay the groundwork for comprehensive data collection and surveillance of respiratory failure, with an emphasis on the most prevalent diseases that cause it, an aspect that has been largely overlooked in previous initiatives. By achieving these objectives, we hope to inform efforts to address respiratory failure and establish a standardized methodology and framework that can facilitate expansion to a continuous community-wide registry in Madrid, driving advances in emergency care and care practices in these pathologies. The aim of this retrospective observational study was to determine the pathologies that have mainly caused respiratory failure in patients and required medicalized ALS and to evaluate the cost of care for these pathologies collected through this pilot registry.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A multicenter descriptive study was carried out in the Madrid Community EMS. The anonymized medical records of patients treated with medical ALS, who received any of the following medical diagnoses, were extracted: ARF not related to chronic respiratory disease, ARF in chronic respiratory failure, exacerbations of COPD, APE, CHF, and bronchospasm (not from asthma or COPD). The prevalence of each pathology, its evolution from 2014 to 2020, and the economic impact of the Medical ALSs were calculated.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The study included 96,221 patients. The most common pathology was exacerbation of COPD, with a prevalence of 0.07% in 2014; it decreased to 0.03% in 2020. CHF followed at 0.06% in 2014 and 0.03% in 2020. APE had a prevalence of 0.01% in 2014, decreasing to 0.005% in 2020 with the pandemic. The greatest economic impact was on exacerbation of COPD in 2015, with an annual cost of €2,726,893 (which equals to US $2,864,628).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>COPD exacerbations had the higher prevalence in the Madrid region among the respiratory diseases studied. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence and costs of almost all these diseases decreased, except for ARF not related to chronic dise","PeriodicalId":14765,"journal":{"name":"JMIR Public Health and Surveillance","volume":"11 ","pages":"e66179"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11756833/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143005514","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jessica Iera, Claudia Isonne, Chiara Seghieri, Lara Tavoschi, Mariateresa Ceparano, Antonio Sciurti, Alessia D'Alisera, Monica Sane Schepisi, Giuseppe Migliara, Carolina Marzuillo, Paolo Villari, Fortunato D'Ancona, Valentina Baccolini
{"title":"Availability and Key Characteristics of National Early Warning Systems for Emerging Profiles of Antimicrobial Resistance in High-Income Countries: Systematic Review.","authors":"Jessica Iera, Claudia Isonne, Chiara Seghieri, Lara Tavoschi, Mariateresa Ceparano, Antonio Sciurti, Alessia D'Alisera, Monica Sane Schepisi, Giuseppe Migliara, Carolina Marzuillo, Paolo Villari, Fortunato D'Ancona, Valentina Baccolini","doi":"10.2196/57457","DOIUrl":"10.2196/57457","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The World Health Organization (WHO) recently advocated an urgent need for implementing national surveillance systems for the timely detection and reporting of emerging antimicrobial resistance (AMR). However, public information on the existing national early warning systems (EWSs) is often incomplete, and a comprehensive overview on this topic is currently lacking.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This review aimed to map the availability of EWSs for emerging AMR in high-income countries and describe their main characteristics.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic review was performed on bibliographic databases, and a targeted search was conducted on national websites. Any article, report, or web page describing national EWSs in high-income countries was eligible for inclusion. EWSs were identified considering the emerging AMR-reporting WHO framework.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We identified 7 national EWSs from 72 high-income countries: 2 in the East Asia and Pacific Region (Australia and Japan), 3 in Europe and Central Asia (France, Sweden, and the United Kingdom), and 2 in North America (the United States and Canada). The systems were established quite recently; in most cases, they covered both community and hospital settings, but their main characteristics varied widely across countries in terms of the organization and microorganisms under surveillance, with also different definitions of emerging AMR and alert functioning. A formal system assessment was available only in Australia.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>A broader implementation and investment of national surveillance systems for the early detection of emerging AMR are still needed to establish EWSs in countries and regions lacking such capabilities. More standardized data collection and reporting are also advisable to improve cooperation on a global scale. Further research is required to provide an in-depth analysis of EWSs, as this study is limited to publicly available data in high-income countries.</p>","PeriodicalId":14765,"journal":{"name":"JMIR Public Health and Surveillance","volume":"11 ","pages":"e57457"},"PeriodicalIF":3.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11753579/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143005453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}