Narratives of incarcerated women in a Prison in Malawi: a qualitative study.

Background: In Malawi, women in prisons make up 2.7% of the total prison population. However, the experiences of women incarcerated are not well documented in the literature.

Machine-learning-based cost prediction models for inpatients with mental disorders in China.

Background: Mental disorders are increasingly prevalent, leading to increased medical expenditures. To refine the reimbursement of medical costs for inpatients with mental disorders by health insurance, an accurate prediction model is essential. Per-diem payment is a common internationally implemented payment method for medical insurance of inpatients with mental disorders, necessitating the exploration of advanced machine learning methods for predicting the average daily hospitalization costs (ADHC) based on the characteristics of inpatients with mental disorders.

Investigating the effectiveness of whole-virus, protein-based, and vector-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines on the rates of COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, and mortality: a historical cohort study in Iran.

Background: Each of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines has its characteristics that can affect their effectiveness in preventing hospitalization and patient mortality. The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, including whole-virus, protein-based, and vector-based on COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, and mortality.

Methods: The current cohort study was conducted using the data of all people who received at least two doses of each type of COVID-19 vaccine from March 2020 to August 2022 in Khorasan Rzavi province.

Differences in anxiety, depression and pain experience among adults with chronic low back pain as a function of nicotine product use.

The landscape of nicotine use in the United States (US) has continued to evolve, with electronic cigarette use (hereafter e-cigarette) becoming more evident in recent years. Patterns of dual nicotine use, or using combustible nicotine in conjunction with e-cigarettes, may increase dependence on nicotine, continued exposure to toxins, and corresponding health risks. One of the most prevalent health problems related to nicotine use is the experience of chronic pain.

Conditional Deletion of Gremlin-1 in Cathepsin K-expressing Mature Osteoclasts Altered the Skeletal Response to Calcium Depletion in Sex-Dependent Manner.

This study assessed the novel concept that osteoclast-derived Grem1 has regulatory functions in the skeletal response to calcium stress using an osteoclastic Grem1 conditional knockout (cKO) mouse model. The calcium stress was initiated by feeding cKO mutants and wildtype (WT) littermates a calcium-deficient diet for 2 weeks. Deletion of Grem1 in mature osteoclasts did not affect developmental bone growth nor basal bone turnover.

Systemic regulation of retinal medium-chain fatty acid oxidation repletes TCA cycle flux in oxygen-induced retinopathy.

Activation of anaplerosis takes away glutamine from the biosynthetic pathways to the energy-producing TCA cycle. Especially, induction of hyperoxia driven anaplerosis in neurovascular tissues such as the retina during early stages of development could deplete biosynthetic precursors from newly proliferating endothelial cells impeding physiological angiogenesis and leading to vasoobliteration. Using an oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) mouse model, we investigated the metabolic differences between OIR-resistant BALB/cByJ and OIR susceptible C57BL/6J strains at system levels to understand the molecular underpinnings that potentially contribute to hyperoxia-induced vascular abnormalities in the neural retina.

Harmful Marketing: An Overlooked Social Determinant of Health.

This paper reviews evidence about the impact of marketing on ill health. We summarize evidence that marketing practices in six industries (tobacco, alcohol, pharmaceutical, processed food, firearm, and fossil fuel) are causal influences on the occurrence of injury, disease, and premature death. For each industry, we provide a brief overview on the extent of harmful marketing, efforts from each industry to obscure or otherwise conceal the impact of their marketing strategies, and efforts to counter the impact of harmful marketing in these industries.

A Trauma-Focused Screening Approach for Teen Dating Violence Prevention.

Developing accurate and equitable screening protocols can lead to more targeted, efficient, and effective, teen dating violence (TDV) prevention programming. Current TDV screening protocols perform poorly and are rarely implemented, but recent research and policy emphasizes the importance of leveraging more trauma-focused screening measures for improved prevention outcomes. In response, the present study examined which adversities (i.

Understanding the Medical Education Experiences of Low-Income Students Through a Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Lens: An Exploratory Qualitative Study.

Background: Diversity in the physician workforce is critical for quality patient care. Students from low-income backgrounds represent an increasing proportion of medical school matriculants, yet little research has addressed their medical school experiences.

Objective: To explore the medical school experiences of students from low-income backgrounds using a modified version of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (physiologic, safety, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization) as a theoretical framework.

A reform of value-added taxes on foods can have health, environmental and economic benefits in Europe.

Fiscal policies can provide important incentives for encouraging the dietary changes needed to achieve global policy targets. Across Europe, the foods relevant to health and the environment often incur reduced but non-zero value-added tax (VAT) rates at about half the maximum rates, which allows for providing both incentives and disincentives. Integrating economic, health and environmental modelling, we show that reforming VAT rates on foods, including increasing rates on meat and dairy, and reducing VAT rates on fruits and vegetables can improve diets and result in health, environmental and economic benefits in most European countries.

Water, sanitation, handwashing, and nutritional interventions can reduce child antibiotic use: evidence from Bangladesh and Kenya.

Antibiotics can trigger antimicrobial resistance and microbiome alterations. Reducing pathogen exposure and undernutrition can reduce infections and antibiotic use. We assess effects of water, sanitation, handwashing (WSH) and nutrition interventions on caregiver-reported antibiotic use in Bangladesh and Kenya, longitudinally measured at three timepoints among birth cohorts (ages 3-28 months) in a cluster-randomized trial.

Impact of exposure to opioids in pregnancy on offspring developmental outcomes in the preschool years: an umbrella review.

Background: Early child development sets the course for optimal outcomes across life. Increasing numbers of children worldwide are exposed to opioids in pregnancy and frequently live in environments associated with adverse developmental outcomes. Although multiple systematic reviews have been published in this area, they use different exposures and different types of outcomes.

Scaling up integrated care for chronic diseases in belgium: A process evaluation.

Introduction: Few integrated care studies elaborate how interventions are brought to wider scale. The SCUBY project developed interventions for scale-up of an Integrated Care Package (ICP) for two common diseases - type 2 diabetes and hypertension-, comprising evidence-based roadmaps and policy dialogues. This paper's aim is to report on the process evaluation of the ICP scale-up in Belgium.

Disability-Related Disparities in Screening for Intimate Partner Violence During the Perinatal Period: A Population-Based Study.

Background: Persons with disabilities are at higher risk of experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) during the perinatal period than persons without disabilities. Although screening for IPV during the perinatal period is recommended by many organizations, little is known about screening rates for IPV by disability status.

Methods: Our objective was to compare rates of IPV screening during the perinatal period among persons with and without disabilities in the United States.

Impact of pandemic service changes on ethnic inequalities in maternal and perinatal outcomes in England: a population-based study.

Objective: In the UK and worldwide, there are substantial ethnic inequalities in maternal and perinatal care and outcomes. We aim to assess the impact of the unprecedented change in care provision during the COVID-19 pandemic on inequalities in adverse maternity outcomes.

Design: Retrospective cohort study using structured electronic health record data.

Do European regulatory measures accelerate national market access in Belgium? A retrospective analysis of medicines centrally authorised between 2015 and 2020.

Background: At the European level, several regulatory measures (ie, priority medicines (PRIME) scheme, accelerated assessment, conditional marketing authorisation and authorisation under exceptional circumstances) are in place with the aim to expedite the marketing authorisation process for medicines targeting unmet medical needs (UMNs). However, the potential impact of these measures on subsequent decisions regarding market access at the national level, and ultimately if medicines making use of these supporting measures reach the patient earlier, remains unclear.

Objectives: This study seeks to (1) assess the impact of such European regulatory measures on the number of successful applications and time to reimbursement of this group of medicines in the national context of Belgium and (2) evaluate the association between the application of European regulatory measures and Belgian measures (ie, early access pathways and managed entry agreements).

Identifying high-impact-opportunity hospitals for improving healthcare quality based on a national population analysis of inter-hospital variation in mortality, readmissions and prolonged length of stay.

Objectives: To study between-hospital variation in mortality, readmissions and prolonged length of stay across Belgian hospitals.

Design: A retrospective nationwide observational study.

Setting: Secondary and tertiary acute-care hospitals in Belgium.

Using routine primary care data in research: (in)efficient case studies and perspectives from the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research.

Aim: We aimed to identify enablers and barriers of using primary care routine data for healthcare research, to formulate recommendations for improving efficiency in knowledge discovery.

Background: Data recorded routinely in primary care can be used for estimating the impact of interventions provided within routine care for all people who are clinically eligible. Despite official promotion of 'efficient trial designs', anecdotally researchers in the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research (AUKCAR) have encountered multiple barriers to accessing and using routine data.

Utilization of Acid Suppressants After Withdrawal of Ranitidine in Korea: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis.

Objectives: This study was performed to evaluate the utilization patterns of acid suppressants following the withdrawal of ranitidine in Korea.

Methods: Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) data from January 2016 to May 2023 were utilized to assess the usage of histamine H2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs) and proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) for acid-related diseases. Drug utilization was calculated for each agent based on the defined daily dose (DDD).

Increased respiratory syncytial virus-associated hospitalizations and ambulatory visits in very preterm infants in the first year of life following discontinuation of access to palivizumab.

Background: From 2002 to 2023, palivizumab was the only intervention to reduce RSV-associated hospitalizations in high-risk infants in Canada, but advances in RSV prevention are drastically changing this landscape. Eligibility criteria for this monoclonal antibody for preterm infants varied over time across each of 10 Canadian provinces and 3 territories. The national professional pediatric association (Canadian Paediatric Society) revised its eligibility recommendations in 2015, removing access for preterm infants 30 to 32 weeks gestation (WG).

Opportunities in programs and policies to address the underlying drivers of sugary drink and water consumption in the Washington DC metro area: a qualitative community-based system dynamics approach.

Background: Though the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that individuals drink water instead of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), this behavior is influenced and reinforced by a complex network of structures and systems.

Objective: The objectives of this study were to develop a shared understanding among multiple stakeholders about the structural and underlying, interconnected drivers of SSB and water consumption in the Washington D.C.

British Society of Gastroenterology National Evaluation of Colonoscopy Quality: Findings from the National Endoscopy Database.

Background And Aims: Analysis of national colonoscopy quality using automatically uploaded data from a national database, including exploring performance variation.

Methods: Data on all colonoscopies performed in the UK 01/03/2019-29/02/2020 and recorded in the National Endoscopy Database were analysed. Unadjusted key performance indicators were calculated and proportions of endoscopists achieving national standards were determined.

Global Epidemiology of Alcohol-Related Liver Disease, Liver Cancer, and Alcohol Use Disorder, 2000-2021.

Background/aims: Alcohol represents a leading burden of disease worldwide, including alcohol use disorder (AUD) and alcohol-related liver disease (ALD). We aim to assess the global burden of AUD, ALD, and alcohol-attributable primary liver cancer between 2000-2021.

Methods: We registered the global and regional trends of AUD, ALD, and alcohol-related liver cancer using data from the Global Burden of Disease 2021 Study, the largest and most up-to-date global epidemiology database.

A comprehensive analysis of the impact of arsenic, fluoride, and nitrate-nitrite dynamics on groundwater quality and its health implications.

Groundwater contamination is a growing global concern. The objective of the present study is to assess the groundwater quality of Khairpur district, Sindh, Pakistan-a region which is emblematic of broad environmental and public health challenges prevalent in South Asian countries. The study also aims to comprehend the impact of arsenic (As), fluoride (F), and nitrate (NO) dynamics and its health implications.