God Knows Best: Exploring the God Locus of Health Control, Race-Ethnicity, and Risk-Taking and Protective Behaviors Interrelationship in the USA.

The health implications of engaging in risk-taking or protective behaviors can have long-lasting effects on an individual's life. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in how religious attitudes and beliefs influence an individual's health behaviors. However, research on the role of the God Locus of Health Control (GLHC) in the religion-health literature is lacking.

Rabies control in Bangladesh and prediction of human rabies cases by 2030: a One Health approach.

Background: Bangladesh is making progress toward achieving zero dog-mediated rabies deaths by 2030, a global goal set in 2015.

Methods: Drawing from multiple datasets, including patient immunisation record books and mass dog vaccination (MDV) databases, we conducted a comprehensive analysis between 2011 and 2023 to understand the effectiveness of rabies control programmes and predict human rabies cases in Bangladesh by 2030 using time-series forecasting models. We also compared rabies virus sequences from GenBank in Bangladesh and other South Asian countries.

Just Plain Hot: Examining Summer Daily High Heat Indices and Community-Level Social Vulnerability on Emergency Medical Services On-Scene Responses in San Antonio, Texas, 2015-2018.

Introduction Increased summer heat has a deleterious effect on people's health and the healthcare system. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are at the healthcare system frontline, responsive to the community and environmental conditions. The present study examined how EMS on-scene response is affected by community-level social vulnerability and heat.

Presenteeism Among Healthcare Providers, Staff, and Students in Jalisco, Mexico: A Descriptive Study.

Objective We measured presenteeism (continuing to attend work or other activities while sick) in a sample of healthcare workers in Jalisco, Mexico to better understand the phenomenon, which can place patients at risk of infection. Methods An online survey link was distributed to all healthcare professionals, staff, and students registered with the Jalisco Ministry of Health starting in March 2020. Completed surveys (n = 196) collected between March and July 2020 were analyzed using bivariate and descriptive statistics including Kruskal-Wallis rank sum tests and Fisher's tests.

Knowledge, Attitudes, Behavior, and Practices of Self Breast Examination in Nicaragua.

Self breast examination (SBE) has been recommended as an important preventative practice for the early identification of breast cancer in women. However, our understanding of women's knowledge, attitudes, and practices of self breast examination in Nicaragua is limited. In the present study, we conducted a cross-sectional study of women aged 18 years and over (n=500) living in selected urban and rural areas of Nicaragua.

Signaling sickness: the role of recalled sickness behavior and psychosocial factors in shaping communication style.

Background And Objectives: Active infection results in several outward signs in humans, including visible symptoms, changes in behavior and possible alterations in skin color and gait. A potential adaptive function of these indicators is to signal distress and elicit care from close others. We hypothesized that sickness behavior, a suite of stereotypical changes in mood and behavior, also serves to communicate health status to others.

Consultation length, process quality and diagnosis quality of primary care in rural China: A cross-sectional standardized patient study.

Objective: Consultation length, the time spent between patient and health care provider during a visit, is an essential element in measuring quality of health care patients receive from a primary care facility. However, the linkage between consultation length and process quality and diagnosis quality of primary care is still uncertain. This study aims to examine the role consultation length plays in delivering process quality and diagnosis quality, two central components of overall primary care quality, in rural China.

Association between depression and HIV treatment outcomes in a US military population with HIV infection.

Background: Depression is common among HIV-infected individuals and may contribute to suboptimal adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and subsequent inability to attain viral load (VL) suppression. We evaluated associations between depression, self-reported adherence, and longitudinal HIV treatment outcomes in US Military HIV Natural History Study (NHS) participants with and without depression.

Methods: Male NHS participants with available ICD-9 data for mental health diagnoses, Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) measures, and self-reported adherence (SRA) were included.

Knowledge, Attitudes, Behavior, and Practices of Self-Breast Examination in Jalisco, Mexico.

The importance of self-breast examination to identify early signs of breast cancer has been widely discussed in scientific literature. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of women aged 18 years and over (n = 547) living in urban and rural areas in the State of Jalisco, Mexico. Survey questions included measures on knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and practices related to self-breast examination.

A latent profile analysis of the link between sociocultural factors and health-related risk-taking among U.S. adults.

Background: Research suggests that health/safety behaviors (e.g., drinking heavily) and medical behaviors (e.

Alarmingly high malnutrition in childhood and its associated factors: A study among children under 5 in Yemen.

Childhood malnutrition is a serious public health problem in Yemen. However, there is a limited information regarding association of malnutrition with different socio-economic factors. This study examines the correlates of socioeconomic and maternal behavioral factors on malnutrition in Yemeni children under 5 years of age.

Can Nepal achieve nutritional targets by 2030? A trend analysis of childhood undernutrition in Nepal from 2001 to 2016.

Objective: This study assesses the prevalence of childhood undernutrition from 2001 to 2016 and estimate projections of undernutrition for 2016-2030 in Nepal.

Design: The study used data from four rounds of a cross-sectional survey of Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) conducted in 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016. Descriptive analyses were conducted to calculate prevalence, binary logistic regression was used to test the significance of trends over time and autoregressive integrated moving average model was used to forecast the prevalence of childhood undernutrition.

Telemedicine Across the Globe-Position Paper From the COVID-19 Pandemic Health System Resilience PROGRAM (REPROGRAM) International Consortium (Part 1).

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has accelerated the adoption of telemedicine globally. The current consortium critically examines the telemedicine frameworks, identifies gaps in its implementation and investigates the changes in telemedicine framework/s during COVID-19 across the globe. Streamlining of global public health preparedness framework that is interoperable and allow for collaboration and sharing of resources, in which telemedicine is an integral part of the public health response during outbreaks such as COVID-19, should be pursued.

Antiretroviral Therapy Anchor-based Trends in Body Mass Index Following Treatment Initiation Among Military Personnel with HIV.

Introduction: Weight gain and obesity in people living with HIV have been associated with increased risk for non-AIDS-related comorbidities, and integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI)-based regimens may lead to comparatively more weight gain than other regimens. We evaluated body mass index (BMI) following antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation among participants in the U.S.

Effects of social vulnerability and heat index on emergency medical service incidents in San Antonio, Texas, in 2018.

Background: Excessive heat is a leading weather-related cause of fatalities in the USA. Vulnerable populations can face greater exposure to health risks during extreme heat events. The aim of this study is to examine the effects of excessive heat and community-level social vulnerability on morbidity in San Antonio, Texas, in 2018.

The Contribution of Sociocultural Factors in Shaping Self-Reported Sickness Behavior.

Sickness behavior is an evolutionarily conserved phenomenon found across a diverse range of animals involving a change in motivational priorities to theoretically maximize energetic investment in immune function and recovery. Typical components of sickness behavior include reduced sociability and activity, changes in diet, and depressed affect. Importantly, however, sickness behavior appears to be subject to other demands of life history in animal models, including reproduction and offspring survival.

Buddhism and Depressive Symptoms among Married Women in Urban Thailand.

A growing body of research has documented salutary associations between religious involvement and poor mental health outcomes, such as depressive symptoms and psychological distress. However, little scholarly attention has been given to the association between Buddhism, a non-Western religious faith, and depressive symptomatology in Thailand. Using random survey data collected from urban Thailand, this study examines the association between religious involvement and depressive symptoms among married women in Bangkok.

Lack of virologic suppression is associated with lower HIV-related disclosure stigma in people living with HIV.

Stigma remains a leading barrier to HIV care. To determine the influence of disclosure stigma (DS), fear of disclosing one's serostatus, on virologic suppression, a cross-sectional study was performed at the largest publicly-funded HIV clinic in South Texas. A survey was administered to participants who were: ≥18 years old, living with HIV, and receiving antiretroviral therapy.

Substance abuse and HIV/STD prevention at a Hispanic-serving institution in South Texas: A study of racial/ethnic and gender heterogeneity and intersectionality.

The purpose of this study is to examine racial/ethnic and gender variations and intersectionality in the knowledge, attitudes, intentions, and behaviors pertaining to substance abuse (SA) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention among racial/ethnic minority college students (ages 18-24) in South Texas. A total of 535 minority students completed a baseline survey between 2014 and 2016 ( = 535). Results revealed statistically significant (ranging from  < .

Relationship between depression and risk behaviors in a US Military population with HIV infection.

This study evaluated the relationships between depression trajectories, depression diagnosis and sexual risk behaviors in the US Military HIV Natural History Study. Risk behavior survey data, a coded diagnosis of depression, available Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression measures, and self-reported depressive symptoms ( = 662) were utilized. Latent class analysis created 3 classes of depression trajectories, namely, low depression (LD,  = 378), recent-onset depression (ROD,  = 170), and high depression (HD,  = 114) trajectories.

Lower Extremity Amputation among Diabetic Patients in San Antonio, Texas.

Background: In the United States, ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by diabetes-related lower extremity amputations (LEA) and have higher associated mortality rates than non-Hispanic Whites. Bexar County, a county in south Texas, had higher diabetes rates than both Texas and the national average. Bexar County also had one of the highest LEA hospital admission rates in the State.

Perceived Social Norms About Oral PrEP Use: Differences Between African-American, Latino and White Gay, Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men in Texas.

Correct and consistent condom use has been the primary method of HIV prevention until the FDA approve the use of PrEP in 2012. While strong evidence existing regarding the efficacy of PrEP, uptake has remained slower than anticipated. While work is underway to better understand the factors impacting uptake, the majority of this work as been focused on white gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) living in metropolitan regions of the coastal U.

Religion, Combat Casualty Exposure, and Sleep Disturbance in the US Military.

Does religious involvement (i.e., attendance and salience) mitigate the association between combat casualty exposure and sleep disturbance among US military veterans? To address this question, we analyze cross-sectional survey data from the public-use version of the 2011 Health Related Behaviors Survey of Active Military Personnel.

The Latina Birth Weight Paradox: the Role of Subjective Social Status.

The purpose of this project was to quantitatively test differences in subjective social status scores between non-pregnant and pregnant women to determine the role of subjective social status in birth weight variation between Mexico-born and US-born Mexican-American women. Six hundred low-income pregnant and non-pregnant Mexican immigrant and Mexican-American women in south Texas were surveyed for subjective social status, depression, perceived social stress, parity, and pregnancy intendedness. Psychosocial health variables, parity, and pregnancy intendedness were included due to their significant associations with low birth weight.