Background: Flu and avian flu in humans are events in a number of countries all over the world. In Vietnam, there were some investigations on knowledge, attitude and practice for preventing flu and avian flu on several groups of the population and pharmacists in Tra Vinh province. However, there is no research for this issue in Hanoi city while the evident need for the planning of public health programs is required. Objective: To describe knowledge and identify the requirement of flu and avian flu information among pharmacists in Hanoi city. From that, some recommendations for intervention programs are proposed. Subject and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 143 pharmacists in Hanoi city with a structured questionnaire of knowledge and requirement of flu and avian flu information from October, 2007 to January, 2008. Results and Conclusion: Generally, knowledge on flu and avian flu is not yet comprehensive and sufficient. Requirement for flu and avian flu information was quite in demand, especially via television, capacity building training, having more communication materials and experience exchange workshops. Several interventions need to be directed towards: comprehensive communication on flu and avian flu to pharmacists, which aims to help them understand sufficiently and comprehensive about flu and avian flu; capacity improvement for pharmacists should pay attention to several channels such as television broadcasting communication, short-term training, disseminating relevant materials and perhaps experience exchange through seminars.
avian flu ; drug-sellers ; information needs

OBJECTIVES: A patient accounting system is a subsystem of a hospital information system. This system like other information systems should be carefully designed to be able to meet users' requirements. The main aim of this research was to investigate users' requirements and to determine whether current patient accounting systems meet users' needs or not. METHODS: This was a survey study, and the participants were the users of six patient accounting systems used in 24 teaching hospitals. A stratified sampling method was used to select the participants (n = 216). The research instruments were a questionnaire and a checklist. The mean value of > or =3 showed the importance of each data element and the capability of the system. RESULTS: Generally, the findings showed that the current patient accounting systems had some weaknesses and were able to meet between 70% and 80% of users' requirements. CONCLUSIONS: The current patient accounting systems need to be improved to be able to meet users' requirements. This approach can also help to provide hospitals with more usable and reliable financial information.
Checklist ; Hospital Information Systems ; Hospitals, Teaching ; Humans ; Information Systems ; Needs Assessment

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the needs for the Nursing Information System(NIS) according to the level of nursing informatization in general hospitals and to provide effective NIS development strategies reflecting nurses' needs. METHODS: Informatics nurses or nurses in charge of Nursing Information Systems in 41 general hospitals in Seoul and Kyeonggi province were surveyed using a questionnaire developed by the researchers based on literature reviews and a pilot study conducted in four teaching hospitals. Data were analyzed using the ANOVA and Scheffe tests. RESULTS: It was found that the higher level of informatization, the higher user satisfaction level. There were significant differences in demands for vital sign records and the nursing manpower management programs according to nursing informatization level. The higher level of informatization is, the more needs for computerization are. There were significant differences in need for 'Support from director' for system development and need for 'Office Automation(OA) application' for education by nursing informatization level. The higher level of informatizaion is, the less needs for OA application education are. CONCLUSION: We found that the needs for the NIS were varied according to the level of nursing informatization. This study asserts that when developing nursing information system, differences in system demand by nurses according to the level of informatization should be taken into consideration.
Fees and Charges ; Hospital Information Systems ; Hospitals, General ; Hospitals, Teaching ; Informatics ; Information Systems ; Needs Assessment ; Pilot Projects ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Vital Signs

PURPOSE: The vaccination level of rotavirus vaccine not supported by the government is not known. As vaccines not included in the national immunization schedule are not registered in the computerized national immunization registry system, their vaccination rate cannot be calculated according to the same method used in government-supported vaccines. Therefore, this study aimed to measure the status of the vaccination rate of rotavirus not included in the national immunization schedule. METHODS: The target population is the 0-year-old cohort. The survey population was composed of registered children born in 2017 enrolled in the Immunization Registry Information System. The survey was conducted through a computerized telephone survey method. The survey variables were as follows: vaccination order and date, provider, and data source. Factors related to complete vaccination were the child's sex, residence, birth order, and parents' age, educational level, and job status. RESULTS: Children's vaccination rates for the rotavirus vaccine by 2017 were 88.0%, 86.9%, and 96.6% for the first, second, and third doses, respectively. The rate of complete vaccination was 85.6%. The factors related to rotavirus complete vaccination were the child's sex and birth order, area of residence, parents' age and job status, and father's education level. CONCLUSION: In the future, it is necessary to conduct regular investigations on the rate of rotavirus vaccination as a tool for the development of the rotavirus infectious diseases control policy or as an evaluation tool for vaccine programs.
Birth Order ; Child ; Cohort Studies ; Communicable Diseases ; Education ; Health Services Needs and Demand ; Humans ; Immunization ; Immunization Schedule ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; Information Systems ; Methods ; Rotavirus ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Telephone ; Vaccination ; Vaccines

Objective To investigate the demand for scientific information among cervical cancer patients and to evaluate the quality of the relevant information available for these patients.Methods The demand for medical science information among patients with cervical cancer was investigated via questionnaire.The Discernn scoring system was used to score the cervical cancer science articles retrieved by Baidu and Sogou.A model was established to analyse the reading difficulty of these articles.Results Nearly half(53.6%)of the respondents searched for online science information at least weekly.The main target readings were the etiology and risk factors of diseases,symptoms,treatment options,adverse reactions of treatments,and prognosis.Most respondents(96.4%)thought that the network science information was reliable.Of the 104 search results included in the sample bank,13(12.5%)met the inclusion criteria,91(87.5%)were not selected,including 32 duplicates(30.8%),6 non-text webpages(5.8%),18 short texts(less than 300 Chinese characters)(17.3%),7 advertisements(6.7%),3 news articles(2.9%),22 forum posts(21.2%),and 3 academic articles(2.9%).According to the Discern scoring system,the reliability(=0.728, <0.001),the quality of treatment-related information(=0.431, <0.001),and the overall scores(=0.559,<0.001)of the enrolled 13 publications were consistent,as evaluated by two professional physicians.The mean overall score was 3.A lower score(less than 3)in the reliability assessment was due to the source of the content,generation methods,sponsors,citations,and the undefined parts.During the evaluation of treatment information,the average score was below 3 for each item.Analysis of the reading difficulty showed that,among these 13 articles,4 were at postgraduate thesis level(level 5),4 at undergraduate thesis level(level 4),0 at high school textbook level(level 3),and 8 was higher than middle school level(≥level 3).Eight articles(61.5%)were suitable for readers with an education background of higher middle school and only 5 articles(38.5%)were suitable for readers with an education background of middle school or lower(≤ level 2).Conclusions The vast majority of patients with cervical cancer search for clinical information through the Internet and trust their reliability.Chinese search engines have lower detection rates for high-quality medical science articles.The currently available high-quality medical science articles are small in number and difficult to read.More physicians are urged to write easy-to-read high-quality articles for these patients.
Female ; Health Services Needs and Demand ; Humans ; Information Seeking Behavior ; Internet ; Reproducibility of Results ; Search Engine ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to develop a web-based multimedia heath information system for maternal health care using principles of user-centered design. METHODS: Research process includes needs assessment, needs analysis, design, development/testing, and application release. Research methods for needs assessment included literature review, interviews, focus groups, and surveys. RESULTS: Based on the user's needs studies, this information service system contains an introduction, pregnancy test, fetal assessment, maternal and fetal development during pregnancy, maternal self-care methods, complications of pregnancy, complications of postpartum period, information for parenting, father's page, self-help group, FAQ, counseling and hyperlinked on Internet sites of resources pages. The web site was released using the URL: http://www.baejy.com/im. CONCLUSION: Through this health information system, clients can obtain information on maternal and baby care such as maternity care guidelines, daily instructions for families. This system will be a new way of nursing intervention and contribute to the maternal health promotion.
Counseling ; Female ; Fetal Development ; Focus Groups ; Health Information Systems ; Health Services* ; Humans ; Information Services ; Information Systems ; Internet ; Maternal Health Services ; Maternal Health* ; Multimedia* ; Needs Assessment ; Nursing ; Parenting ; Parents ; Postpartum Period ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Tests ; Self Care ; Self-Help Groups ; Women's Health

The purpose of the study is to develop a Web-based health information service system for the middle-aged women. To identify users' information needs, we conducted an online survey of 189 middle-aged women. It was found that they had various health problems but very few did any health prevention or health promotion activities. We developed following contents in the following areas based on the result of needs assessment. They were exercise, diet including weight control, osteoporosis, climacteric, aging, breast and cervical cancer. Besides this health information, FAQ on women's health, my health knowledge test, statistics, link to related institutes and web sites, newspaper articles/mass media clips, journal articles, conferences papers, and other educational information were added. The homepage was developed as a subsystem of the Healthguide. It was evaluated by the users and the expert panel. The users rated 3.6 out of 5 point in their satisfaction rating and the experts rated 3.9 out of 5 in their site evaluation. It is expected that a Web-based women's health information service system will contribute to women's health promotion as well as provide a community for women's health related researchers and experts to share information on women's health.
Academies and Institutes ; Aging ; Breast ; Climacteric ; Congresses as Topic ; Diet ; Female ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Information Services* ; Internet ; Middle Aged ; Needs Assessment ; Periodicals ; Osteoporosis ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; Women's Health*

PURPOSE: The Korean National Cancer Screening Program began in 1999. To provide essential evidence related to breast cancer screening in Korean women, we analyzed data from the KNCSP in 2008. METHODS: Using data obtained from the National Cancer Screening Information System, breast cancer screening participation rates were calculated. Recall rates were estimated with 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: The target population of breast cancer screening in 2008 included 3,706,062 women, 1,294,060 of whom utilized mammography as a screening tool (participation rate, 34.9%). Compared to the participation rate of women covered by the National Health Insurance Program (37.3%), women covered by the Medical Aid Program was lower (21.3%). The overall recall rate of breast cancer screening was 6.4% (95% CI, 6.39-6.47). CONCLUSION: According to our study, efforts to facilitate the participation and to reduce disparities in breast cancer screening among Korean women are needed. These results will provide essential data for evidence-based strategies in breast cancer control in Korea.
Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Early Detection of Cancer ; Female ; Health Services Needs and Demand ; Humans ; Information Systems ; Korea ; Mammography ; Mass Screening ; National Health Programs

OBJECTIVE: The National Cancer Screening Program (NCSP) began in 1999. In this report, we evaluate the results of the NCSP for cervical cancer in 2009 and provide participation rates in an organized cervical cancer screening program in Korea. METHODS: Using data obtained from the National Cancer Screening Information System, cervical cancer screening participation rates were calculated. Recall rates, defined as the proportion of abnormal cases among women screened, were also estimated with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: The target population of cervical cancer screening in 2009 included 4,577,200 Korean women aged 30 and over, 1,349,668 of whom underwent the Papanicolaou smear test (29.5% participation rate). Compared with the participation rate of women covered by the National Health Insurance Program (31.3%), the participation rate of women covered by the Medical Aid Program was lower (18.4%). Participation rates also varied in different age groups (the highest of 39.3% in women aged 50 to 59 and the lowest of 14.4% in those aged 70 and older), and different areas (the highest of 34.1% in Busan and the lowest of 21.5% in Chungnam). The overall recall rate for cervical cancer screening was 0.41% (95% confidence interval, 0.40 to 0.42). CONCLUSION: According to our study, efforts to facilitate participation and reduce disparities in cervical cancer screening among Korean women are needed.
Age Distribution ; Aged ; Early Detection of Cancer ; Female ; Health Services Needs and Demand ; Humans ; Information Systems ; Insurance, Health ; Korea ; Mass Screening ; National Health Programs ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; Vaginal Smears

PURPOSE: Previous evaluation studies of the visiting nursing program explained an average change of the participants' health status, without considering socio-ecological characteristics and their impacts. However, these factors must affect individual health problems and lifestyles. For effective and appropriate community based programs, the Geographical Information System(GIS) can be utilized. GIS is a computer-based tool for mapping and analyzing things that happen on earth, and integrates statistical analysis with unique visualization. The purpose of this study was to evaluate visiting nursing care and to advocate the usefulness of planning and evaluating visiting nursing programs using Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis(ESDA) with GIS technology. METHODS: One hundred eighty-four elderly participants with cerebrovascular risk factors who lived in 13 areas of one community received visiting nursing care. The data analyzed characteristics of pre-post change and autocorrelation by ESDA using GIS technology. RESULTS: Visiting nursing care showed an improvement in the participants' lifestyle habits, and family management ability and stress level, while the improvements were different depending on the regions. The change of family management ability and stress level correlated with neighborhoods (Morgan's I= 0.1841, 0.1675). CONCLUSIONS: Community health providers need to consider the individual participant's health status as well as socio-ecological factors. Analysis using GIS technology will contribute to the effective monitoring, evaluation and design of a visiting nursing program.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; *Community Health Planning ; Female ; *Geographic Information Systems ; *Health Services for the Aged ; Health Status ; *Home Care Services ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Needs Assessment ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Task Performance and Analysis