To understand the current status of neonatal surgery in Korea, a suvey was made among the 27 members of Korean Association of Pediatric Surgeons. Response rate among surgeons was 78 perecnt, eighteen hospitals participated in this study. Five hundred and three cases of neonatal surgical patients were analyzed. In Korea, about 50% of cases were treated at the hospital in the capital city area. Regional number of patients were closely related to the regional population. Imperforate anus(19%), atresia/stenosis of gut(12%), and Hirschsprung's diseases(12%) were sitting at the top in the list. Majority of operation was done within the first week of life, especially during the first 24 hour period. Eighty per cent was major or so called index cases. Mortality in so-called index cases was 17%. High mortality was observed in patients with diaphragmatic hernia(47%), gastrointestinal perforation(65%) and esophageal atresia(28%). Low birth weight babies showed higher mortality in gastro -intestinal perforation, esophageal atresia and abdominal wall defect. These were compared to 1993 survey of Japanese Society of Pediatric Surgeons.
Abdominal Wall ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Esophageal Perforation ; Humans ; Infant, Low Birth Weight ; Infant, Newborn ; Korea ; Mortality ; Surgeons

INTRODUCTIONThis paper presents the results of a community survey on urinary abnormalities which covered 1/80th of the population of Singapore in 1975. These findings were compared with the data from the Singapore National Service Registrants in 1974 as well as data from a recent survey in Singapore and that of other Asian and Western countries.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThe study covered 18,000 persons aged 15 years and above, representing a sampling fraction of 1/80th of the population. A total of 16,808 respondents attended the field examination centres, of whom 16,497 had their urine sample tested representing 92.7% of the sample population.

RESULTSIn the dipstick urine testing at the field examination centres, 769 subjects (4.6%) were found to have urinary abnormalities. Two hundred and eighty-two (36.7%) of these 769 subjects were found to have urinary abnormalities based on urine microscopy constituting a prevalence of 1.71%. The prevalence of proteinuria was 0.63% and for both haematuria and proteinuria was 0.73%. The prevalence for hypertension was 0.43% and renal insufficiency was 0.1%.

DISCUSSIONThe consensus is that routine screening for chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the general population is not cost effective as the yield is too low. Whilst, most studies showed that screening of the general population was not cost effective, it has been suggested that screening for targeted groups of subjects could help to identify certain risk groups who may benefit from early intervention to prevent or retard the progression of CKD.

CONCLUSIONThe prevalence of urinary abnormalities in Singapore has remained the same, now and three decades ago.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Hematuria ; epidemiology ; pathology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Proteinuria ; epidemiology ; pathology ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic ; epidemiology ; pathology ; Risk Assessment ; Singapore ; epidemiology ; Urinalysis ; Urinary Tract Infections ; epidemiology ; Young Adult

Apart from clinical, histological and biochemical indices, genomics are now being employed to unravel the pathogenetic mechanisms in the disease progression of IgA nephritis (IgAN). The results of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene polymorphism have been controversial. Those patients with the DD genotype seem to have a poorer prognosis. However, with high dose angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) therapy, the ACE gene polymorphism status of a patient may no longer be a matter for concern as those with the DD genotype would also respond favourably to high dose ARB therapy. Association studies with gene sequencing and haplotypes have suggested that multiple genes are involved in the pathogenesis of IgAN. Some workers have reported a synergistic effect in the combined analysis of AGT-M235T and ACE I/D polymorphism. With the use of deoxyribo nucleic acid (DNA) microarray, tens of thousands of gene expressions genome-wide can be examined together simultaneously. A locus of familial IgAN has been described with strong evidence of linkage to IgAN1 on chromosome 6q22-23. Two other loci were reported at 4q26-31 and 17q12-22. DNA microarray techniques could also help in the identification of specific pathogenic genes that are up- or down-regulated and this may allow genome wide analyses of these genes and their role in the pathogenesis and progression of IgAN. Recently, using genome-wide association studies (GWAS) more loci for disease susceptibility for IgAN have been identified at 17p13, 8p23, 22q12, 1q32 and 6p21.
Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists ; administration & dosage ; Disease Progression ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Genomics ; methods ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA ; drug therapy ; genetics ; pathology ; Haplotypes ; Humans ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

Sample size computations, which should be done at the planning stage of the study, are necessary for research to estimate a population parameter or test a hypothesis. For causal analysis of observational databases, sample size computations are generally not needed. Post-hoc power analyses, which are typically done with non-significant findings, should not be performed since reporting post-hoc power is nothing more than reporting p values differently. While sample size calculations are typically based on the tradition of significance testing, sample size calculations based on precision are feasible – if not preferred – alternatives. Sample size calculations depend on several factors such as the study objective, scale of measurement of the outcome variable, study design, and sampling design. Computing for sample size is not as straightforward as presented in textbooks but specific strategies may be resorted to in the face of challenges and constraints.
Sample Size ; Power, Psychological

Background: Workplace bullying is defined as frequent, ongoing, and detrimental incidence of unreasonable acts/behaviors directed towards an individual. The consequences of bullying to individuals often lead to absenteeism, resignation, job dissatisfaction, and suicidal ideation making it a major public health concern. This organizational issue, when not addressed, will greatly affect the workflow in any organization. There is a paucity of literature on this problem in the Southeast Asian countries Objective: This study aimed to describe the extent of workplace bullying among employees of a public higher education institution. Methodology: The researchers used a descriptive, cross-sectional study design. Survey questionnaires in Google Form were emailed to all employees with a 35.96% participation rate. The survey instrument asked participants to indicate their awareness about any bullying behavior in their unit and to specify the typical profile of bullies and victims they know of. Responses to quantitative variables were summarized using the mean and standard deviation, while qualitative variables were reported as frequency and percentage distribution. The software used for analysis were Microsoft Excel and EpiInfo 7. Results: At least one-third (36.94%) of survey respondents indicated that they witnessed a form of bullying in the workplace with more awareness seen among faculty members and permanent employees. The most common type of bullying observed in the workplace was criticism in public. Notably, this type of bullying was similar across employee categories. The predominant reactions of victims of bullying include feeling of fear and loss of trust, and confiding to a friend or co-worker. Conclusion The phenomenon of bullying has been witnessed by the employees and reported to have adverse effects on victims. Informational campaigns coupled with anti-bullying policy and programs are necessary to promote employee well-being.
Occupational Stress ; Universities ; Occupational Stress ; Philippines

Objectives: The Pharmacy DOTS Initiative (PDI) was relaunched on a larger scale in 2014 through the Innovations and Multi-Sectoral Partnerships to Achieve Control of Tuberculosis (IMPACT) project. This paper aimed to assess the PDI program through IMPACT by identifying the facilitating and hindering factors in its implementation. The identified factors are classified as to the affected stakeholders or processes.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the PDI Program Manager and four NTP coordinators from selected project sites. Thematic analysis was done to determine the recurring facilitating and hindering factors as identified by the key informants.

Results: Facilitating factors identified include cooperation of the stakeholders, capability-building and a good referral system. The barriers to the implementation were grouped into patient-related, pharmacy-related, health center-related, program-related as well as external factors.

Conclusion: The referral system created through PDI facilitated the flow of referrals starting from the pharmacy. This enabled presumptive patients to have access to health facilities for TB. Hindering factors contributed to the inability of the engaged pharmacies to sustain their consistency and commitment in conducting the PDI interventions.

Key Words: barriers, facilitators, tuberculosis, directly observed therapy, program evaluation, pharmacy

Tuberculosis ; Directly Observed Therapy ; Program Evaluation ; Pharmacy

Avian influenza subtype A(HxNy) viruses are zoonotic and may occasionally infect humans through direct or indirect contact, resulting in mild to severe illness and death. Member States in the Western Pacific Region (WPR) communicate and notify the World Health Organization of any human cases of A(HxNy) through the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) mechanism. This report includes all notifications in the WPR with illness onset dates from 1 November 2003 to 31 July 2022. During this period, there were 1972 human infections with nine different A(HxNy) subtypes notified in the WPR. Since the last report, an additional 134 human avian influenza infections were notified from 1 October 2017 to 31 July 2022. In recent years there has been a change in the primary subtypes and frequency of reports of human A(HxNy) in the region, with a reduction of A(H7N9) and A(H5N1), and conversely an increase of A(H5N6) and A(H9N2). Furthermore, three new subtypes A(H7N4), A(H10N3) and A(H3N8) notified from the People’s Republic of China were the first ever recorded globally. The public health risk from known A(HxNy) viruses remains low as there is no evidence of person-to-person transmission. However, the observed changes in A(HxNy) trends reinforce the need for effective and rapid identification to mitigate the threat of a pandemic from avian influenza if person-to-person transmission were to occur.

Objective: We aimed to provide practical guidance on the scoping review process, building on the methodologies and general steps outlined by Arksey and O’Malley, Levac et al. and The Joanna Briggs Institute. Methods: We reviewed the methodologies of three scoping studies conducted by the authors in the College of Public Health, University of the Philippines Manila between 2016 and 2017. For each project, we outlined the steps, tools utilized, good practices performed, challenges encountered, and recommendations for improving the scoping review process in relation to existing guidelines. We compared the similarities and differences across the three reviews and guidelines to come up with a list of good practices and recommendations. Results: We propose an expanded 10-step and iterative framework based on our analysis of three scoping studies: Define your research question; 2. Specify your research statement according to population, concept, and context; Prepare the necessary tools, forms, and software packages; 4. Assemble your expert panel and/or consultants; Develop your search strategy; 6. Implement the search strategy and retrieve identified studies; 7. Screen and assess studies for inclusion in the scoping review; 8. Chart the data; 9. Synthesize your results; and 10. Prepare your final report. Conclusion Scoping reviews as a method of evidence synthesis are increasingly gaining popularity among researchers due to the scope of what can be reviewed in a relatively short amount of time. With only three scoping studies informing our proposed methodology, other issues and challenges in the conduct of a scoping review may have been missed in the expanded framework presented in this paper. We suggest future studies to apply existing scoping review methodologies, to further enhance this rapidly evolving framework in research, policy, and practice.
Review ; Methods

Objective: This paper aims to characterize existing financial assistance available to patients with schizophrenia. Specifically, we described (1) the funding mechanisms for the treatment of patients with schizophrenia; (2) the process for accessing financial assistance; and (3) the experiences of consumers of services of these support mechanisms.

Methods: We employed qualitative techniques using key informant interviews (KII) and focus group discussion (FGD). Key informants were officials from institutions providing or offering financial assistance for patients with any health-related concerns, including schizophrenia. Focus group participants were support group members or caregivers of patients with schizophrenia. Purposive sampling was used to select participants for both providers and consumers of financial assistance or scheme. Topic guides for KII and FGD were used for data collection. Thematic analysis was performed on the qualitative data gathered from the informants and focus group participants.

Results: Securing financial assistance for schizophrenia followed a generally similar process, whether the source is from government offices or civil society organizations, and can be grouped into three main stages: (a) pre-application, (b) application, and (c) post-application. While the process of seeking financial assistance appears to be straightforward, issues were encountered in all of the stages by both providers and recipients alike, namely: (a) Financial assistance as an augmentation to patient resources; (b) Mismatch between demand and service capability; (c) Measures of organizational effectiveness; (d) Health professionals and support groups as "bridges" / "facilitators" to financial assistance providers; (e) Financial and non-financial costs incurred by caregivers in applying for financial assistance; and (f) Recipient-provider relationship as a barrier to the feedback process.

Conclusion: This study provides a glimpse of available financial and other relevant assistance to clients, including clients suffering from schizophrenia. More extensive research covering more organizations, support groups, and caregivers from different parts of the country is recommended.

Schizophrenia