A study on managers, health staffs in functional divisions in 6 selected district health center (DHC) and health staffs in 12 communes in 3/16 provinces with National health support projects has shown that health staffs were not trained on management, supervision and evaluation of the activities of local health. The health staffs in district and commune levels should be trained on these aspects according to the orientation of 10 contents of the primary health care
Hospitals, District ; education

During 2 months from December 1979 to January 1980, Medical practitioners in chonnam province were grouped into Si (city), Eup(town) and Myun (rural area) groups according to the locations of their clinic. 40 practitioners were randomly selected in each group and were asked their opinions about rural medical care in general. Total of 88 practitioners replied to the question as 73.3 percent of response rate in average. The most frequently mentioned advantages of rural practice were ease of clinic opening in Si-and Myun-group respondents and good social relationship in Eup-group respondents. The most frequently mentioned disadvantages were medical isolation in Si-group respondents and resident's ignorance in medicine in Eup-and Myun-group respondents. In all groups, most respondents though that rural medicine care should be delivered by and controled by physician. Suggestions made by Eup-and Myun-group respondents for improving rural medical care by structural change focused on the regional medical insurance system, while Si-group respondents noted district hospital or hospital linkage as most preferable system.
Surveys and Questionnaires ; Hospitals, District ; Insurance ; Jeollanam-do

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to assess the applicability of the Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol (AEP) for public hospitals in Korea. METHODS: In May 2016, 1500 admission claims were collected from Korean public district hospitals using stratified random sampling. Of these claims, 560 admissions to 37 hospitals were retrieved for analysis. Medical records administrators determined the appropriateness of admission using the criteria detailed in the AEP, and a physician separately assessed the appropriateness of admission based on her clinical judgment. To examine the applicability of the AEP, the concordance of the decisions made between a pair of AEP reviewers and between an AEP reviewer and a physician reviewer was compared. RESULTS: The results showed an almost perfect inter-rater agreement between the AEP reviewers and a moderate agreement between the AEP reviewers and the physician. The sensitivity and specificity of the AEP were calculated as 0.86 and 0.56, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the AEP could potentially be applied to Korean public hospitals as a reliable and valid instrument for assessing the appropriateness of admissions.
Administrative Personnel ; Hospitals, District ; Hospitals, Public ; Humans ; Judgment ; Korea ; Medical Records ; Reproducibility of Results ; Sensitivity and Specificity

A review of cases of ectopic pregnancy operated upon at Vila Central Hospital during 1992 with an analysis of clinical presenting features and diagnostic factors is presented. Comparison is made between hospital, regional and national figures and possible explanations for the differences are given. Recommendations are made to ensure that ectopic pregnancy is always at the forefront of differential diagnosis in women presenting with abdominal pain.
Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Hospitals, District - statistics & ; numerical data ; Hospitals, District - trends ; Medical Audit ; Pelvic Inflammatory Disease - complications ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Ectopic - surgery ; Referral and Consultation - statistics & ; numerical data ; Vanuatu

PURPOSE: Medical professionals from Korea and Laos have been working together to develop a continuing professional development training program covering the major clinical fields of primary care. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the program from 2013 to 2014 using the Kirkpatrick model. METHODS: A questionnaire was used to evaluate the reaction of the trainees, and the trainers assessed the level of trainees' performance at the beginning and the end of each clinical section. The transfer (behavioral change) of the trainees was evaluated through the review of medical records written by the trainees before and after the training program. RESULTS: The trainees were satisfied with the training program, for which the average score was 4.48 out of 5.0. The average score of the trainees' performance at the beginning was 2.39 out of 5.0, and rose to 3.88 at the end of each section. The average score of the medical records written before the training was 2.92 out of 5.0, and it rose to 3.34 after the training. The number of patient visits to the district hospitals increased. CONCLUSION: The continuing professional development training program, which was planned and implemented with the full engagement and responsibility of Lao health professionals, proved to be effective.
Education* ; Health Occupations ; Hospitals, District ; Humans ; Korea ; Laos* ; Medical Records ; Physician Assistants* ; Primary Health Care ; Program Evaluation

BACKGROUND: Metabolic syndrome is associated with increased risk of breast cancer, but little is known about the association between metabolic syndrome and mammographic density as an independent predictor of breast cancer. In this study, we investigated the association between metabolic syndrome or its components and three-dimensional breast density using digital mammography. METHODS: We analyzed cross-sectional data of 166 women, aged 20 or over (61 premenopausal and 105 postmenopausal women) in a district hospital. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the modified National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) guideline. We measured volume percentage of dense breast tissue using digital mammography. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to estimate the association between mammographic density and metabolic syndrome, as well as its components. RESULTS: The Mean mammographic density was lower in the group with metabolic syndrome compared with the group without it. After adjusting for age and menopausal status, multiple regression analysis showed waist circumference (beta=-3.112, S.E.=0.927, P=0.001) and low HDL-cholesterol (beta=-2.967, S.E.=1.109, P=0.008) were independent variables for the percentage of mammographic density, although metabolic syndrome itself was not. After additional adjustment for body mass index, only low HDL-cholesterol was associated with percentage of mammographic density (beta=-2.953, S.E.=0.882, P=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, only low HDL cholesterol was associated with three-dimensional mammographic density independently after adjusting for age, menopausal status and body mass index. These findings need to be confirmed in further larger prospective studies.
Adult ; Body Mass Index ; Breast Neoplasms ; Breast* ; Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Education ; Female ; Hospitals, District ; Humans ; Mammography* ; Prospective Studies ; Waist Circumference

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to estimate the risk of bleeding following minor oral surgical procedures and uninterrupted aspirin therapy in high-risk patients or patients with existing chronic diseases compared to patients who did not use aspirin during minor oral surgery at a public hospital. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study analyzed the data of 2912 patients, aged 20 years or older, who underwent 5251 minor oral surgical procedures at a district hospital in Thailand. The aspirin group was comprised of patients continuing aspirin therapy during oral surgery. The non-aspirin group (reference) included all those who did not use aspirin during surgery. Immediate and late-onset bleeding was evaluated in each procedure. The risk ratio of bleeding was estimated using a multilevel Poisson regression. RESULTS: The overall cumulative incidence of immediate bleeding was 1.3% of total procedures. No late-onset bleeding was found. A significantly greater incidence of bleeding was found in the aspirin group (5.8% of procedures, p<0.001). After adjusting for covariates, a multilevel Poisson regression model estimated that the bleeding risk in the aspirin group was 4.5 times higher than that of the non-aspirin group (95% confidence interval, 2.0 to 10.0; p<0.001). However, all bleeding events were controlled by simple hemostatic measures. CONCLUSIONS: High-risk patients or patients with existing chronic diseases who continued aspirin therapy following minor oral surgery were at a higher risk of hemorrhage than general patients who had not used aspirin. Nonetheless, bleeding complications were not life-threatening and could be promptly managed by simple hemostatic measures. The procedures could therefore be provided with an awareness of increased bleeding risk, prepared hemostatic measures, and postoperative monitoring, without the need for discontinuing aspirin, which could lead to more serious complications.
Aspirin* ; Chronic Disease* ; Cohort Studies* ; Dentistry ; Epidemiology ; Hemorrhage* ; Hospitals, District ; Hospitals, Public ; Humans ; Incidence ; Odds Ratio ; Oral Surgical Procedures* ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors ; Retrospective Studies* ; Surgery, Oral ; Thailand

PURPOSE: Recently, the number of laparoscopic gastric surgeries increased in Korea. But since many patients prefer to attend larger hospitals, most operations have been performed in high volume center by experienced surgeons, and also most reported studies on laparoscopic gastric surgery have been performed in these hospitals. For better health service and increased access of local residents, district hospitals that have a smaller number of surgical cases also need to perform this surgery safely. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 58 patients who underwent laparoscopic assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) from April 2009 to January 2012 in Dankook University Hospital. We compared our data with the retrospective data of the Korean Laparoendoscopic Gastrointestinal Surgery Study (KLASS) group because we thought the KLASS study was a representative study of LADG. RESULTS: A total of 58 patients underwent LADG during a period of 32 months. The male to female ratio, mean age and body mass index were 34:19, 62.4 years and 23.0 kg/m2, respectively. More than D1 + beta lymph node was dissected in all patients and the mean number of harvested lymph nodes was 31.4. Mean operation time, estimated blood loss and mean hospital stays were 235 minutes, 176 mL and 7.4 days respectively. During the operation, there were no complication and no conversions to open surgery. After the operation, there were 2 cases of wound complication and 1 case of intra-abdominal abscess which improved with conservative treatment and there was no mortality. These data were not different to the data of high volume centers, especially KLASS. CONCLUSION: We report first experience with LADG and concluded that LADG could be performed safely in smaller scale hospitals.
Abdominal Abscess ; Body Mass Index ; Female ; Gastrectomy ; Health Services ; Hospitals, District ; Humans ; Korea ; Laparoscopy ; Length of Stay ; Lymph Nodes ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms

BACKGROUND: Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) guidance for patients with metal-on-metal (MoM) hip replacements was provided in 2012 and updated in 2017 to assist in the early detection of soft-tissue reactions due to metal wear debris. A large number of MoM hip replacements were undertaken at our hospital trust. A program of recall for all patients with MoM hip replacements was undertaken and MHRA guidelines were implemented. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the revised MHRA guidelines in the detection of early adverse reactions to metal debris and to re-evaluate the indications for metal artifact reduction sequence magnetic resonance imaging (MARS-MRI) and revision surgery. METHODS: Identification and recall of all patients with MoM hip replacements from 2001 were conducted by using theatre logs, patient records, clinical coding information, and consultant logbooks. Two senior arthroplasty consultants reviewed X-rays and patient records. Postal questionnaires were forwarded to patients, together with requests for general practitioners to complete cobalt and chromium blood tests. The two consultant-led review of MOM replacements was undertaken with further radiological investigations (X-rays, MARS-MRI) performed according to the 2017 guidance with support of consultant radiologists. RESULTS: Of 674 identified patients, 297 were available for review: 26 patients did not have MoM implants, 36 were untraceable, 59 refused follow-up, 87 moved out of area, 147 had died, and 22 already had revision. Of 297 patients, 126 were women and 171 were men; age range was 39 to 95 years (mean age, 69 years); 126 had resurfacing and 171 had MoM replacements. Twenty-six patients had elevated metal ions. Thirty-three patients underwent MARS-MRI: MARS-MRI results were positive in 17 and negative in 16. Of 17 patients with positive MARS-MRI, 10 patients were asymptomatic and seven were waiting revision. CONCLUSIONS: Positive MARS-MRI can often occur in the absence of elevated metal ion levels; elevated blood metal ion levels do not mean MARS-MRI will be positive. All patients with MoM replacements were at risk. It is imperative to assess patients regularly for symptoms that may raise clinical suspicion and maintain a low threshold to performing MARS-MRI.
Arthroplasty ; Artifacts ; Chromium ; Clinical Coding ; Cobalt ; Consultants ; Delivery of Health Care ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; General Practitioners ; Hematologic Tests ; Hip ; Hospitals, District ; Humans ; Ions ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male

OBJECTIVES: To understand the prevalence of postpartum morbidities and factors associated with treatment-seeking behaviour among currently married women aged 15-49 residing in rural India. METHODS: We used data from the nationally representative District Level Household Survey from 2007-2008. Cross-tabulation was used to understand the differentials for the prevalence of postpartum morbidities and treatment-seeking behaviours across selected background characteristics. Two-level binary logistic regression was applied to understand the factors associated with treatment-seeking behaviour. RESULTS: Approximately 39.8% of rural women suffered from at least one of the six postpartum morbidities including high fever, lower abdominal pain, foul-smelling vaginal discharge, excessive bleeding, convulsions, and severe headache. Morbidities were more prevalent among poor, illiterate, Muslim, and high-parity women. About 55.1% of these rural women sought treatment/consultation for their problems. The odds of seeking treatment/consultation increased as economic status and years of schooling among both the woman and her husband increased. Poor, uneducated, unemployed, Hindu, and tribal women were less likely to seek treatment/consultation for postpartum morbidities than their counterparts were. The odds of seeking treatment/consultation decreased as the distance to the nearest private health facility increased. Most women visited a private hospital (46.3%) or a friend/family member's home (20.8%) for treatment/consultation. Only a small percentage visited publicly funded health institutions such as a primary health centre (8.8%), community health centre (6.5%), health sub-centre (2.8%), or district hospital (13.1%). Rural women from the northeast region of India were 50% less likely to seek treatment/consultation than women from the central region were. CONCLUSIONS: Providing antenatal and delivery care, and ensuring nearby government healthcare facilities are available to serve rural women might increase the likelihood of care-seeking for postpartum morbidities. Targeted interventions for vulnerable groups should be considered in future policies to increase the likelihood women will seek treatment or advice postpartum.
Abdominal Pain ; Delivery of Health Care ; Family Characteristics ; Family Conflict ; Female ; Fever ; Financial Management ; Headache ; Health Facilities ; Hemorrhage ; Hospitals, District ; Hospitals, Private ; Humans ; India* ; Islam ; Logistic Models ; Postpartum Period* ; Prevalence ; Seizures ; Spouses ; Vaginal Discharge