A national survey of early treatment seeking behavior among those with incident SARS-CoV-2 infection

Background: Despite effective means to treat SARS-CoV-2 infection, the early treatment seeking behavior of those newly diagnosed with infection is not clear. Methods: We surveyed users of a national SARS-CoV-2 testing company to assess the frequency and correlates of early treatment seeking behavior for a positive test result. We recruited adults (18 years or older) who had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR at a large clinical laboratory. To be eligible, individuals had to have a positive test result within 7 days of enrollment. Surveys were anonymous and voluntary. We collected data on demographic characteristics, general health care access and utilization, awareness of treatment for COVID-19, treatment seeking behavior, and treatments received. Descriptive statistics and odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated on StataSE. Results: Participants were surveyed from 3-7 January 2022: among the 15,991 who viewed a survey request, 7,647 individuals were eligible and provided responses. The median age of a respondent was 42 years (interquartile range: 32 to 54), 68.9% of respondents were women, and respondents represented 33 different states, districts, and territories. Among respondents, 23.1% reported they had sought treatment or medical advice for their current COVID-19 diagnosis. Of those who were very aware of treatment for COVID-19, 31.0% sought treatment versus 16.7% who were unaware (p-value< 0.001). The odds of treatment seeking behavior were higher for those that were contacted by a medical professional after their diagnosis (OR: 4.57 [95% CI: 3.89 to 5.37]), those with a primary doctor (OR: 2.94 [95% CI: 2.52 to 3.43]), those who self-measured their oxygen saturation (OR: 2.53 [95% CI: 2.25 to 2.84]), and those over 65 years of age (OR: 2.36 [95% CI: 2.02 to 2.76]). There was no difference in those seeking treatment based on heritage, ethnicity, prior COVID-19 diagnosis, state political affiliation, or vaccination status. The odds of seeking treatment were lower among men (OR: 0.88 [95% CI: 0.78 to 0.99]) and those without insurance (OR: 0.62 [95% CI: 0.52 to 0.72]). The most common treatment locations were clinics and most common treatments were Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Zinc, Tylenol, and NSAIDs. Conclusion: More public outreach is needed to raise awareness of the benefits of treatment for COVID-19. We found that people who were more aware about treatment for COVID-19 were more likely to seek medical advice or therapy. Efforts to increase awareness might increase early treatment for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Increased outreach with treatment facilitation from medical professionals and/or public health staff to those with newly detected SARS-CoV-2 infections, particularly among those at higher-risk of complications, might also be helpful.

A phenomenological study on barriers of adherence to medical advice among type 2 diabetic patients

Background More than three decades of research and study for overcoming the problem of “non-acceptance/non-compliance” of patients has neither resolved nor reduced the severity of this problem. This phenomenological study aimed to identify barriers of adherence to medical advice among type 2 diabetic patients. Methods This study was a qualitative research using phenomenology approach, and the data were analyzed using content analysis approach. Participants were 69 type 2 diabetic patients covered by the diabetes unit of West and East Community Health Centers of Ahvaz, Iran. The views and attitudes of patients about the barriers of adherence to medical advice were elicited by conducting 20–45 min sessions of semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was performed following Colaizzi’s seven-step method. Results Barriers of adherence to medical advice were classified into systemic and individual barriers. Individual barriers included 11 codes and 5 categories, and systemic barriers contained within 5 codes and 3 categories. Physiologic and physical factors, financial problems, occupational factors, attitudinal problems and lack of knowledge, and social and family problems were identified as individual barriers. Systemic barriers included inadequate publicizing and limited notification, inadequate equipment and facilities, and poor inter-sectional coordination. Conclusions Generally, problems stated by diabetic patients at the individual level can partly be solved by training patients and the people around them. However, as for the systemic problems, it seems that solving the barriers of adherence to medical advice requires coordination with other organizations as well as intersection coordination. Overall, these problems require not only comprehensive health service efforts, but also the support of policymakers to resolve barriers at infrastructure level.

Smartwatch helps detects lung cancer: Using personal technology to advance healthcare

Summary The prevalence of smartwatches and other wearable medical technology has been increasing yearly. These watches offer a sensitive tool for capturing cardiac dysrhythmias and can lead to patients seeking earlier medical advice. This case report highlights the importance of clinicians seeking and using the information provided by wearable medical technology which in this case resulted in both the timely treatment of non-sustained ventricular tachycardia and lung adenocarcinoma.

Good Uptake of the COVID-19 Vaccine Among Patients with Rheumatic Diseases in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Background: Many patients with rheumatic diseases are immunosuppressed and take forms of immunomodulator medication. Hence, these patients might be at a heightened risk of Covid-19 and have special concerns in regard to vaccines, such as safety and efficacy. Vaccines have been available for the population of UAE as of January 2021, these being Pfizer (the United States and Europe), Sinopharm (China), and AstraZeneca (United Kingdom). The aim of our paper was to examine the rate of vaccine uptake among our patients with rheumatic conditions in the United Arab Emirates. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed among patients with rheumatic diseases attending a rheumatology specialised clinic in the United Arab Emirates. We collected data on 149 consecutive patients who were seen during a one-month period from 10/06/2021 to 10/07/2021 in Dubai. Results: The mean age of the patients was 45.9 +/- 41.3. The majority of the patients had underlying rheumatic diseases (86.9%), the rest having conditions such as soft tissue pain or to rule out rheumatic conditions. 48.5% were taking immunomodulators. 41.7% of respondents had other chronic diseases. It was also found that 18.9% had Covid-19 previously, all of whom recovered, with the average duration of the illness being 11 days. 99.1% of individuals reported that receiving the Covid-19 vaccine was extremely important, and 95.0% had already received the vaccination. Their reasoning for receiving the vaccination varied from medical advice (17.5%), general worry about infection/ reinfection of Covid-19 (65.3%), in order to travel (8.4%), employee requirement (5.6%), and other reasons (3.2%). Specifically, 48.3% chose the Pfizer vaccine, 39.8% had Sinopharm, and 11.9% had AstraZeneca. These decisions on which vaccine to choose were influenced by the availability of the vaccine (35.1%), medical advice (16.9%), effectiveness (15.5%), safety and side effect profile (18.2%), age restrictions (2.7%), experience/ advice from friends and family (8.1%) and other reasons (3.4%). Conclusion: Overall, an overwhelming majority of our patients (95.0%) with rheumatic diseases in the specialised muscular-skeletal clinic in the UAE have received the Covid-19 vaccine. This reflects good public health service messaging and concentrated efforts from the medical community, UAE government, and the patient’s rheumatologists.

Telekonsultasi Dalam Rangka Pemutusan Rantai Penularan Covid-19 di Kota Bengkulu

Coronavirus Disease-19 (Covid-19) is a disease that has become a global epidemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Covid-19 a pandemic. Indonesia declared the status of the Covid-19 disease to be an Emergency Response. Supporting the social distancing, the right strategy is needed to continue implementing health services amid the Covid-19 pandemic. This activity aimed to provide knowledge related to Covid-19 to the community and health consultations and medical advice through applications (teleconsultation) to minimize patients queuing at Health Service Facilities directly. The activity partners were the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) Bengkulu City Branch, Bengkulu City Health Office, and the Indonesian Red Crescent (BSMI) Bengkulu City Region. The method of this activity was to provide socialization, health consultation and medical advice through applications (teleconsultation) regarding the spread, transmission and prevention of Covid-19 from May 1 to August 31 2020. The number of participants was 41 people from Bengkulu City. The highest number of diseases consulted were acute respiratory infections (38.7%.) and Covid-19 independent protocol consultation (31.58%.) Teleconsultation can be continued and developed into a patentable application. Application development is indispensable in responding to the challenges of the health world in the digital era.

The Influence of Hospital Image and Service Quality on Discharge Against Medical Advice through Patient Satisfaction

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of hospital image and quality of service on Discharge Against Medical Advice (DAMA) via patient satisfaction at Majene District Hospital. This research was performed in the hospital room of the Majene District Hospital from July to August 2020. The type of analysis used is quantitative research to explain the dependent variable's effect on the independent variable and the mediating variable. This study population was all 102 patients with DAMA at Majene Hospital, as the population was deemed limited and the whole population was sampled. The test results of the coefficient of determination of the path analysis of substructure 1 resulted in a modified R square value of 0.235. In this case, it is argued that patient satisfaction is affected by the hospital picture and quality of service by 23.5 percent. In comparison, the remaining 76.5 percent is influenced by other variables not analysed in this review. The outcome of the measurement of standardized beta coefficients, the effect of the hospital picture (X1) on patient satisfaction (Y1) is 0.228, and the service quality (X2) on patient satisfaction (Y1) is 0.325.