"Just a knife wound this week, nothing too painful": An ethnographic exploration of how primary care patients experiencing homelessness view their own health and healthcare.

Community health needs assessments (CHNA) involving qualitative techniques help tailor health services to the specific needs of the population groups for whom they are designed. In light of increasing health disparities amongst people experiencing homelessness (PEH)-and to ensure the integration of their voices into a larger CHNA-this study used an ethnographic approach grounded in a social constructivist research paradigm to explore the perspectives of PEH attending a primary care and addiction service in Ireland on their priority health and healthcare needs. Participant observations and informal interviews were conducted with clients experiencing homelessness attending the service for three hours every Monday morning between October 2022 and April 2023.

Effects of Active Chronic Cigarette-Smoke Exposure on Circulating Fibrocytes.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the hypothesis that active smoking impacts upon mediators and abundance of circulating fibrocyte cells in smoking-related disease characterised by fibrosis.

Methods: Flow cytometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used to investigate blood from five patient groups: healthy never-smokers, healthy current smokers, stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) active smokers, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) never-smokers, and IPF active smokers.

Results: A significant inverse dose-response relationship was observed in healthy smokers among cumulative smoking burden (pack-years) and fibrocyte abundance (p = 0.

Priority healthcare needs amongst people experiencing homelessness in Dublin, Ireland: A qualitative evaluation of community expert experiences and opinions.

In light of evidence that housing-related disparities in mortality are worsening over time, this study aimed to explore the perspectives of experts working in homeless health and addiction services on priority healthcare needs amongst people experiencing homelessness in Dublin, Ireland, a city facing problematic increases in homelessness. As part of a larger qualitative study, a series of semi-structured interviews were carried out with 19 community experts followed by inductive thematic framework analysis to identify emergent themes and sub-themes relating to priority healthcare needs. At the societal level, community experts identified a need to promote a culture that values health equity.

Remote training for strengthening capacity in sexual and reproductive health and rights research: a systematic review.

Background: Training has been used to develop research skills among sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) researchers. Remote education may accelerate transfer of skills and reduce barriers to strengthening research capacity. This systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness of remote training on SRHR research and describe enablers and barriers of effective remote training.

Exploring key informants' perceptions of Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy in a disadvantaged urban community in Ireland: Emergence of a '4Cs' model.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore key informants' views on and experiences with Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy in a Dublin community with a high concentration of economic and social disadvantage and to identify feasible, community-centred solutions for improving vaccination acceptance and uptake.

Methods: Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were carried out at a local community-centre and a central hair salon. Twelve key informants from the target community were selected based on their professional experience with vulnerable population groups: the unemployed, adults in recovery from addiction, the elderly, and Irish Travellers.

Employee Mental Health During COVID-19 Adaptation: Observations of Occupational Safety and Health/Human Resource Professionals in Ireland.

This study aims to understand mental health issues among Irish employees arising from COVID-19 adaptation from the perspective of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) and/or Human Resource (HR) professionals. Fifteen focus groups including 60 OSH/HR professionals from various sectors were conducted covering four predetermined themes. The data were transcribed verbatim, with transcripts entered into Nvivo for thematic analysis incorporating intercoder reliability testing.

'Communication, that is the key': a qualitative investigation of how essential workers with COVID-19 responded to public health information.

Objectives: To understand how essential workers with confirmed infections responded to information on COVID-19.

Design: Qualitative analysis of semistructured interviews conducted in collaboration with the national contact tracing management programme in Ireland.

Setting: Semistructured interviews conducted via telephone and Zoom Meetings.

Teaching design thinking as a tool to address complex public health challenges in public health students: a case study.

Background: Developing a public health workforce that can understand problems from a population perspective is essential in the design of impactful user-centred responses to current population health challenges. Design Thinking, a user-driven process for problem-defining and solution-finding, not only has utility in the field of public health but stands as a potential mechanism for developing critical skills -such as empathy, creativity and innovation- amongst future professionals. Though the literature reflects the use of DT across many health sciences disciplines, less research has been published on how students apply learned concepts using real-world challenges of their choice and what difficulties they face during the process.

Development and validation of a multi-lingual online questionnaire for surveying the COVID-19 prevention and control measures used in global workplaces.

Background: Despite widespread COVID-19 vaccination programs, there is an ongoing need for targeted disease prevention and control efforts in high-risk occupational settings. This study aimed to develop, pilot, and validate an instrument for surveying occupational COVID-19 infection prevention and control (IPC) measures available to workers in diverse geographic and occupational settings.

Methods: A 44-item online survey was developed in English and validated for face and content validity according to literature review, expert consultation, and pre-testing.

COVID-19 Prevention and Control Measures in Workplace Settings: A Rapid Review and Meta-Analysis.

Workplaces can be high-risk environments for SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks and subsequent community transmission. Identifying, understanding, and implementing effective workplace SARS-CoV-2 infection prevention and control (IPC) measures is critical to protect workers, their families, and communities. A rapid review and meta-analysis were conducted to synthesize evidence assessing the effectiveness of COVID-19 IPC measures implemented in global workplace settings through April 2021.

Cumulative Impacts and COVID-19: Implications for Low-Income, Minoritized, and Health-Compromised Communities in King County, WA.

Few studies have assessed how the intersection of social determinants of health and environmental hazards contributes to racial disparities in COVID-19. The aim of our study was to compare COVID-19 disparities in testing and positivity to cumulative environmental health impacts, and to assess how unique social and environmental determinants of health relate to COVID-19 positivity in Seattle, King County, WA, at the census tract level. Publicly available data (n = 397 census tracts) were obtained from Public Health-Seattle & King County, 2018 ACS 5-year estimates, and the Washington Tracking Network.

Community-Level Factors Associated with COVID-19 Cases and Testing Equity in King County, Washington.

Individual-level Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) case data suggest that certain populations may be more impacted by the pandemic. However, few studies have considered the communities from which positive cases are prevalent, and the variations in testing rates between communities. In this study, we assessed community factors that were associated with COVID-19 testing and test positivity at the census tract level for the Seattle, King County, Washington region at the summer peak of infection in July 2020.

Women's perceptions of home-based exercise performed during adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer.

Purpose: To describe women's perceptions of a home-based exercise intervention in which they participated while receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer.

Methods And Sample: Participants were 8 women who were involved in a home-based exercise program while receiving 24 weeks of adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. They were asked about their exercise program every 2 weeks by telephone, and completed a feasibility and acceptability questionnaire at the end of the study.

Exercise intervention to modify physiologic risk factors in cancer survivors.

Objective: To review the best current evidence regarding the effects of exercise on modifiable risk factors for adverse physiologic outcomes of cancer and its treatment.

Data Sources: Clinical practice guidelines, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and single studies.

Conclusion: There is mounting evidence that exercise improves fatigue, physical functioning, and cardio-respiratory fitness.

The effects of exercise on body weight and composition in breast cancer survivors: an integrative systematic review.

Purpose/objectives: To examine the research literature regarding the effects of exercise on body weight and composition in breast cancer survivors.

Data Sources: Primary studies in English published from 1989-2004, located through electronic databases, hand searches, and personal contacts.

Data Synthesis: Of 1,314 studies screened, 14 met all inclusion criteria.

Patterns of weight and body composition change in premenopausal women with early stage breast cancer: has weight gain been overestimated?

The widely documented problem of weight gain during adjuvant breast cancer chemotherapy has decreased in frequency and magnitude. However, adverse changes in body composition remain a problem. This study identified the frequency, magnitude, and patterns of weight and body composition change in a sample of premenopausal breast cancer survivors who were receiving 3 common chemotherapy regimens.

A comparison of problem-based and conventional curricula in nursing education.

The purpose of this study was to compare graduating baccalaureate students in a problem-based curriculum with those in a conventional nursing program with regard to perceived preparation for clinical practice, clinical functioning, knowledge and satisfaction with their education. Prior to graduation, students completed a self-report questionnaire that consisted of five sections and took about 45 minutes to complete. Following graduation, their pass rates on the National Nursing Registration Examination (RN Exam) were also compared.