SAGE Open Medicine最新文献

{"title":"Pharmacist knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding nicotine replacement therapy usage in Iraq.","authors":"Khansaa A Ibrahim Albaroodi","doi":"10.1177/20503121251368246","DOIUrl":"10.1177/20503121251368246","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The tobacco epidemic represents one of the most significant public health challenges faced globally. Nicotine replacement therapy was developed to substitute for the nicotine contained in tobacco products temporarily. The objective of this study was to investigate pharmacists' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding the utilization of nicotine replacement therapy in Iraq.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This cross-sectional study involved 300 pharmacists across five provinces from October 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Indicate that 300 pharmacists participated in the analysis, with approximately two-thirds identifying as male. About two-thirds of the participants (95% confidence interval: 65.3%) expressed that they knew how to use nicotine replacement therapy. Furthermore, about half of them (95% confidence interval: 50.3%) reported their awareness of how to make dose titration, with a majority agreeing that the assessment of nicotine dependence influences the selection of nicotine replacement therapy products. Fair knowledge was associated with each degree of education, not attending training programs, and the availability of nicotine replacement therapy in their pharmacies (0.01, 0.002, 0.003, respectively).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>There exists a critical necessity for pharmacists to augment their comprehension of the medications utilized in smoking cessation. Such enhancement is essential to improve their practices and, consequently, to attain superior outcomes in supporting individuals in their efforts to quit smoking.</p>","PeriodicalId":21398,"journal":{"name":"SAGE Open Medicine","volume":"13 ","pages":"20503121251368246"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12375149/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144966861","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhancing diabetes self-management and reducing stress through food skills education with medically under-insured individuals with type-2 diabetes.","authors":"Hannah-Therese Rayala, Brandon J Stroud, Lauren R Sastre","doi":"10.1177/20503121251346020","DOIUrl":"10.1177/20503121251346020","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Diabetes self-management education supports healthy dietary behaviors but often lacks food skill-building education to plan, budget for, select, and prepare (cook) healthier food.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study examined the relationship between food skills, diabetes self-management, and stress with medically underinsured patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus within the Fresh Start Food is Medicine (FIM) program. A secondary objective was to examine the impact on diet quality and clinical outcomes.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Adults (<i>n</i> = 150) with type-2 diabetes mellitus participated in the 20-week Fresh Start FIM intervention, which included nine group education classes, a produce prescription, and telephone-based health coaching. Group education and skill-building centered around food skills and diabetes self-management. Measures included surveys (e.g., food skills confidence, diet quality, and stress) and clinical measures (e.g., weight, HbA1c, and blood pressure). Data analysis included paired <i>t</i>-tests, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and linear regression.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Significant improvements were observed in food skills confidence (<i>p</i> < 0.001), diet quality (e.g., fruit <i>p</i> = 0.03; vegetable <i>p</i> < 0.001; whole grain <i>p</i> < 0.001 consumption), diabetes self-management (<i>p</i> < 0.001), and perceived stress (<i>p</i> = 0.01). Food skills confidence and diabetes self-management were significant predictors of perceived stress (<i>p</i> = 0.05 and 0.009, respectively). Blood pressure significantly declined (systolic: -6.7 mmHg, <i>p</i> = 0.007; diastolic, <i>p</i> = 0.02).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Integrating food skills education and individualized behavioral support within an FIM intervention improved food skills confidence, diabetes self-management, and diet quality while reducing perceived stress among medically underinsured patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus. Enhanced self-efficacy in diabetes management and food skills were key contributors to stress reduction, emphasizing the importance of skill-oriented education within diabetes self-management education. These findings underscore the critical role of food skills in building capacity to improve dietary behaviors and health with resource-limited populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":21398,"journal":{"name":"SAGE Open Medicine","volume":"13 ","pages":"20503121251346020"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12375162/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144966898","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Developing a measurement tool for assessing animal-assisted activity effectiveness on children with special educational needs' socialization: A pilot study.","authors":"Liuzhi Hong, Xingyu Shen, Terence King-Heng Hui, Ronda Ka-Wai Luk, Hung-Kwan So, Wilfred Hing-Sang Wong","doi":"10.1177/20503121251363015","DOIUrl":"10.1177/20503121251363015","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aimed to develop an observational tool to assess the social interactive behaviors of children with special education needs during animal-assisted activity and to examine its reliability and validity.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The study comprised two phases: developing and evaluating the measurement tool. The tool was created through literature reviews and expert interviews. The pilot observational study was conducted in a special educational school in Hong Kong, China, involving 138 children with intellectual disability participating in animal-assisted activity sessions to examine the tool's reliability and validity.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Initially, the measurement tool included 26 observational variables across three dimensions (inter-rater reliability of 0.74). After excluding variables with low discriminability, the final tool contained seven observational variables. The tool demonstrated strong reliability (inter-rater reliability of 0.81) and satisfactory validity, significantly discriminating among different intellectually disabled students (<i>p</i>s < 0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study developed and validated an observational tool for measuring the social behaviors of children with special education need during animal-assisted activity sessions. More extensive studies are needed to further evaluate the instrument.</p>","PeriodicalId":21398,"journal":{"name":"SAGE Open Medicine","volume":"13 ","pages":"20503121251363015"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12375171/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144966905","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A comparison of the image quality between deep learning reconstruction algorithm and iDose4 using low dose abdominopelvic computed tomography for individuals with normal BMI.","authors":"Thejas Marike Shivakumar, Nitika C Panakkal, Shailesh Nayak, Rajagopal Kadavigere, Tanushree R Kamath, Suresh Sukumar","doi":"10.1177/20503121251336046","DOIUrl":"10.1177/20503121251336046","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Radiation exposure has been a cause of concern in computed tomography imaging. Reducing radiation dose increases the image noise which can be compensated by using reconstruction techniques. Recently artificial intelligence-based reconstruction technique has been introduced. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to prospectively compare the image quality between Idose4 and Precise Image in normal BMI individuals.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Sixty-six consecutive patients with a normal body habitus undergoing contrast-enhanced abdomen and pelvis scan were included in the study. All scans were performed using 100 kVp and tube current modulation. The acquired images were reconstructed to iDose4 and precise imaging. Quantitatively images were analyzed by placing regions of interest in different organs to estimate the image noise, signal-to-noise ratio, and contrast-to-noise ratio. Qualitative analysis was done by two radiologists on a five-point Likert scale.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Image noise was significantly reduced using Precise Image across the plain (9.11 ± 1.43 vs 8.18 ± 1.2), arterial (14.34 ± 2.1 vs 10.21 ± 1.5), and portovenous phase (14.78 ± 2.30 vs 11.97 ± 2.07) with maximum noise reduction in the arterial and portovenous phases. Signal-to-noise ratio and contrast-to-noise ratio was significantly improved in all the organs across the plain, arterial, and portovenous phases. Qualitative analysis showed no significant difference between Idose4 and Precise Image with regards to visualization of large vessels in the arterial and portovenous phases. However, precise image was graded better than Idose4 with respect to visualization/conspicuity, image noise, and artifacts.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Precise Image can be useful in reducing the image noise and improving the signal-to-noise ratio and contrast-to-noise ratio in low-dose computed tomography protocol among normal BMI individuals.</p>","PeriodicalId":21398,"journal":{"name":"SAGE Open Medicine","volume":"13 ","pages":"20503121251336046"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12374083/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144966903","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prediction model for cytomegalovirus infection following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with β-thalassemia major.","authors":"Lin Pan, Zhenbin Wei, Yanni Xie, Zhaoping Gan, Hongwen Xiao, Lianjin Liu, Lingling Shi, Zhongming Zhang, Meiqing Wu, Yinghua Chen, Yanye Liu, Xuemei Zhou, Chan Li, Chunjie Qin, Yongrong Lai, Rongrong Liu","doi":"10.1177/20503121251360132","DOIUrl":"10.1177/20503121251360132","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Cytomegalovirus infection is a common complication following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation that significantly influences clinical outcomes.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To develop and validate a predictive model for cytomegalovirus infection risk in patients with β-thalassemia major undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Retrospective cohort study.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Clinical data from 291 β-thalassemia major patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation were retrospectively analyzed. Independent risk factors identified via univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses formed the basis of a predictive nomogram. The model's performance was evaluated by the concordance index (C-index), receiver operating characteristic curves, calibration plots, and decision curve analysis. Internal validation was performed using bootstrap resampling, and external validation was conducted with an independent cohort of 84 patients from another center.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Three independent predictors of cytomegalovirus infection were identified: serum albumin levels, donor type, and grade III-IV acute graft-versus-host disease. A nomogram incorporating these predictors was established, demonstrating good discriminative ability (C-index: 0.745; 95% CI: 0.684-0.807). Internal and external validations yielded C-indices of 0.746 and 0.649, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed an area under the curve of 0.745 in the training cohort and 0.649 in the validation cohort.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>We developed and validated a reliable predictive model for assessing cytomegalovirus infection risk after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in β-thalassemia major patients. This scoring system offers clinicians a practical tool for early risk stratification and intervention.</p>","PeriodicalId":21398,"journal":{"name":"SAGE Open Medicine","volume":"13 ","pages":"20503121251360132"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12314255/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144776160","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring the causal genetic relationship between 41 inflammatory cytokines and osteoporosis: a bidirectional Mendelian randomization analysis.","authors":"Kai Zhang, Hongqiang Wang, Chuang Wang, Runze Liu, Xinge Shi, Weiran Hu","doi":"10.1177/20503121251360176","DOIUrl":"10.1177/20503121251360176","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Previous studies reported that many inflammatory factors have associations with osteoporosis. This study use Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to explore the causal genetic relationship between 41 inflammatory factors and osteoporosis.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A bidirectional two-sample MR analysis was performed by employing five Mendelian randomization analysis methods including MR Egger regression, weighted median, inverse-variance weighted and weight mode methods. Summary statistics from the genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 41 inflammatory cytokines and osteoporosis were included in this study. This study examined the MR analysis results for heterogeneity and horizontal pleiotropy.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Using the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method, this analysis indicated that elevated monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) levels were potentially linked to a 22% increased likelihood of osteoporosis (Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.04-1.43, <i>p</i> = 0.014). Additionally, through the IVW approach, we observed that higher tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL) levels were possibly associated with a 15% greater risk of osteoporosis (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.03-1.29, <i>p</i> = 0.012). Other 39 inflammatory cytokines don't have casual genetic association with osteoporosis. When this study use MR to estimate the influence of osteoporosis on inflammatory factors, none of the p-values with IVW method were lower than 0.05.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This is the first bidirectional MR analysis to explore the causal genetic relationship between inflammatory cytokines and osteoporosis. This study found that MCP-1 and TRAIL are probably the upstream factors correlated with osteoporosis, and no inflammatory cytokine was involved in osteoporosis development downstream.</p>","PeriodicalId":21398,"journal":{"name":"SAGE Open Medicine","volume":"13 ","pages":"20503121251360176"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12314258/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144776147","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Glycemic management in patients with immune-related diabetes mellitus: A scoping review.","authors":"Yuan Jiang, Xiaoyan Wang, Lei Lei, Lihua Liu, Danfeng Wu, Siqi Zhang, Dairong Tang, Lingli Fan, Zhou Wen, Xiaojing Xue, Gang Feng","doi":"10.1177/20503121251358313","DOIUrl":"10.1177/20503121251358313","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Immune checkpoint inhibitors therapy in cancer patients may induce immune-related diabetes mellitus through islet β-cell destruction, necessitating systematic glycemic management. This scoping review aims to identify and synthesize evidence on glycemic management strategies for immune-related diabetes mellitus. Guided by Arksey and O'Malley's five-stage scoping review framework, we strictly adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews checklist. A systematic search was conducted across guideline repositories, academic databases, and professional oncology/endocrinology association websites. The search period spanned from database inception to June 30, 2024. Of 5085 initially identified records, 9 studies met inclusion criteria. Evidence was synthesized into five key domains: (1) risk assessment and early detection, (2) therapeutic interventions and monitoring, (3) patient education, (4) glycemic target optimization, and (5) multidisciplinary care coordination. This review consolidates evidence-based best practices for immune-related diabetes mellitus management derived from rigorous methodology. Clinicians should tailor these strategies to individual patient profiles to optimize outcomes while mitigating treatment disruptions.</p>","PeriodicalId":21398,"journal":{"name":"SAGE Open Medicine","volume":"13 ","pages":"20503121251358313"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12314252/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144776159","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evidence-based intrapartum care practice and associated factors among obstetric care providers in Jimma Zone public hospitals, southwest Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study.","authors":"Diriba Wakjira, Eneyew Melkamu Andualem, Azmeraw Bekele, Desalew Tilahun Beyene","doi":"10.1177/20503121251358969","DOIUrl":"10.1177/20503121251358969","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Evidence-based practice in intrapartum care is critical for lowering maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity. Evidence-based practice, according to the World Health Organization Quality of Care Framework for Maternal and Newborn Health, is an important component of intrapartum care. However, little is understood about evidence-based intrapartum care practice in Ethiopia, particularly in the study setting.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To assess evidence-based intrapartum care practice and associated factors among obstetric care professionals in Jimma Zone public hospitals in Southwest Ethiopia.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A facility-based cross-sectional study was carried out on 217 obstetric care providers in Jimma Zone public hospitals in southwest Ethiopia. The study used a census approach to include all eligible participants within the specified population. Data were collected from June 1 to 30, 2023, using semistructured self-administered questionnaires. The collected data were entered into EpiData version 4.6 and exported to Statistical Packages for Social Sciences version 25 for analysis. Multivariable logistic regression was run to see the association between evidence-based intrapartum care practice and predictor variables. Statistical significance was set at <i>p</i>-values less than 0.05 in the multivariable logistic regression.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Overall, 41.2% (95% CI: 40.8-42.3) of obstetric care providers in Jimma Zone public hospitals used evidence-based practices for intrapartum care. Attending in-service training (AOR (95% CI): 3.5 (1.61-9.71)), accessibility of obstetric care guidelines (AOR (95% CI): 2.082 (1.222-3.547)), having regular case presentation (AOR (95% CI): 2.5 (1.234-6.743)), having knowledge (AOR (95% CI): 2.3 (1.222-3.547)), attitude of obstetric care providers (AOR (95% CI): 1.847 (1.065-3.204)), having less than 2 years of work experience (AOR (95% CI): 1.32 (1.012-3.56)), and having 2-5 years of work experience (AOR (95% CI): 3.49 (1.23-6.312)) were among factors significantly associated with evidence-based intra-partum care practice of obstetric care providers in Jimma Zone public hospitals.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study indicated that the majority of obstetric care providers did not practice evidence-based intrapartum care, which requires attention from all stakeholders. It is recommended for hospitals in the Jimma Zone to make guidelines available, provide in-service trainings, and identify systematic strategies to improve the knowledge and attitude of obstetric care providers.</p>","PeriodicalId":21398,"journal":{"name":"SAGE Open Medicine","volume":"13 ","pages":"20503121251358969"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12301604/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144733021","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pediatric BurnNet: Robust multi-class segmentation and severity recognition under real-world imaging conditions.","authors":"Xiang Li, Zhen Liu, Lei Liu","doi":"10.1177/20503121251360090","DOIUrl":"10.1177/20503121251360090","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To establish and validate a deep learning model that simultaneously segments pediatric burn wounds and grades burn depth under complex, real-world imaging conditions.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We retrospectively collected 4785 smartphone or camera photographs from hospitalized children over 5 years and annotated 14,355 burn regions as superficial second-degree, deep second-degree, or third-degree. Images were resized to 256 × 256 pixels and augmented by flipping and random rotation. A DeepLabv3 network with a ResNet101 backbone was enhanced with channel- and spatial attention modules, dropout-reinforced Atrous Spatial Pyramid Pooling, and a weighted cross-entropy loss to counter class imbalance. Ten-fold cross-validation (60 epochs, batch size 8) was performed using the Adam optimizer (learning rate 1 × 10⁻⁴).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The proposed Deep Fusion Network (attention-enhanced DeepLabv3-ResNet101, Dfusion) model achieved a mean segmentation Dice coefficient of 0.8766 ± 0.012 and an intersection-over-union of 0.8052 ± 0.015. Classification results demonstrated an accuracy of 97.65%, precision of 88.26%, recall of 86.76%, and an F1-score of 85.33%. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis yielded area under the curve values of 0.82 for superficial second-degree, 0.76 for deep second-degree, and 0.78 for third-degree burns. Compared with baseline DeepLabv3, FCN-ResNet101, U-Net-ResNet101, and MobileNet models, Dfusion improved Dice by 15.2%-19.7% and intersection-over-union by 14.9%-23.5% (all <i>p</i> < 0.01). Inference speed was 0.38 ± 0.03 s per image on an NVIDIA GTX 1060 GPU, highlighting the modest computational demands suitable for mobile deployment.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Dfusion provides accurate, end-to-end segmentation and depth grading of pediatric burn wounds captured in uncontrolled environments. Its robust performance and modest computational demand support deployment on mobile devices, offering rapid, objective assistance for clinicians in resource-limited settings and enabling more precise triage and treatment planning for pediatric burn care.</p>","PeriodicalId":21398,"journal":{"name":"SAGE Open Medicine","volume":"13 ","pages":"20503121251360090"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12301600/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144733023","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"'Beyond Treatment': Clinical and psychosocial predictors of health-related quality of life of patients with prostate cancer.","authors":"Michael Effah Ntiamoah, Vivian Efua Senoo-Dogbey","doi":"10.1177/20503121251360120","DOIUrl":"10.1177/20503121251360120","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Objective: &lt;/strong&gt;This study sought to assess the health-related quality of life and its predictors among patients diagnosed with prostate cancer in two municipalities in the Volta Region of Ghana and to compare the scores between patients receiving treatment and those not receiving treatment.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods: &lt;/strong&gt;A cross-sectional hospital-based analytical study was conducted among 205 prostate cancer patients attending 2 hospitals in the Volta Region. Health-related quality of life was measured using the functional assessment of cancer therapy-prostate instrument, comprising subscales for physical, emotional, social and functional well-being. Group differences were assessed using Kruskal-Wallis &lt;i&gt;H&lt;/i&gt; tests, and multiple linear regression was used to identify predictors of overall health-related quality of life.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;The performance under the individual domains or subscales was 14.8 ± 8.7, 14.1 ± 5.6, 13.7 ± 6.6, 9.6 ± 7.7, and 20.1 ± 9.9 for the physical well-being, social/family well-being, emotional well-being, functional well-being and PC subscales, respectively. The functional assessment of cancer therapy-trial outcome index was 44.6 (standard deviation ±16.2). The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) total score among the study participants was 52.2 (standard deviation ±15.5). The participants in this study had an overall functional assessment of cancer therapy-prostate total score of 72 (standard deviation ±22), an indication of a lower health-related quality of life performance. Contrary to expectations, untreated patients reported slightly better scores in physical and emotional well-being and higher overall health-related quality of life scores compared to those who received treatment. Emotional well-being was significantly lower among treated patients (mean = 12.6) compared to untreated patients (mean = 16.9). Treated patients showed marginally better social and functional well-being. While differences in total scores between the groups were not statistically significant (&lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt; = 0.27), clinical variables such as urinary incontinence, pain, anxiety, erectile dysfunction and bowel problems were significantly associated with lower quality of life (all &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt; &lt; 0.001). Regression analysis identified older age (β = -0.12, &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt; = 0.03), erectile dysfunction (β = -0.47, &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt; &lt; 0.001), bowel problems (β = -0.19, &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt; &lt; 0.001) and anxiety (β = -0.18, &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt; &lt; 0.001) as independent predictors of poorer scores, whereas being married was associated with higher performance on the scale (β = 0.13, &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt; = 0.01).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusion: &lt;/strong&gt;The functional assessment of cancer therapy-prostate scale revealed notably low health-related quality of life scores among men with prostate cancer in the two municipalities of Ghana's Volta Region. Untreated patients reported better emotional and physical well-being, while treated patients had slightly better","PeriodicalId":21398,"journal":{"name":"SAGE Open Medicine","volume":"13 ","pages":"20503121251360120"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12301606/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144733020","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}