INTRODUCTION: Widespread mask use is an important intervention for control of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. However, data on the factors affecting mask use are lacking. In this observational study, we evaluated the proportion of and factors influencing face mask use and related hygiene practices. METHODS: We observed randomly selected members from the public in 367 venues across Singapore, and recorded the proportion of individuals with full compliance with mask use and mask hygiene (hand hygiene before and after touching the mask or face). Logistic regression analyses were used to determine variables associated with mask and hand hygiene compliance. RESULTS: We made 3,821 observations - 2,149 (56.2%) females, 3,569 (93.4%) adults (≥21 years), 212 (5.5%) children (6-20 years) and 40 (1.0%) children (2-5 years). The overall full compliance rate (correct mask use), poor compliance rate (incorrect mask use) and absent mask use were 84.5%, 12.9% and 2.6%, respectively. The factors - male gender, fabric mask usage and crowded indoor venues - were associated with lower mask compliance. Face or mask touching behaviour was observed in 10.7% and 13.7% of individuals observed, respectively. Only one individual performed hand hygiene before and after touching the mask. CONCLUSION The rate of mask compliance was high, probably due to legislation mandating mask usage. However, specific factors and crowded indoor venues associated with lower mask compliance were identified. We also noted an issue with the absence of hand hygiene before and after face or mask touching. These issues may benefit from targeted public health messaging.
Humans ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; Singapore ; Masks ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Child ; Adolescent ; Hand Hygiene ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Young Adult ; Child, Preschool ; Pandemics/prevention & control* ; Middle Aged ; Patient Compliance/statistics & numerical data*

Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Nursing Staff ; statistics & numerical data ; Patient Compliance ; statistics & numerical data ; Retrospective Studies ; Shock, Septic ; drug therapy ; Time Factors ; Young Adult

Objective: To determine the prevalence and relative factors on those who missed the follow-up service among newly reported HIV/AIDS cases that were infected by homosexual behavior. Methods: Data were extracted from both HIV/AIDS case-reporting and follow-up cards on HIV/AIDS in the Comprehensive Response Information Management System, between December 2008 and December 2015. Data was analyzed, using the generalized estimating equations (GEE) to explore the relative factors of influence. Results: Among the newly reported HIV infection among MSM, the proportion of those who missed the follow-up services was 5.06% (6 037/119 358), and decreased dramatically, from 37.57% (1 261/3 356) to 0.84% (267/31 935) (trend χ(2)=103.43, P<0.01). In MSM population, the younger than 20-year olds (OR=1.30, 95%CI: 1.11-1.52), 20-year olds (OR=1.52, 95%CI: 1.36-1.69), 30-year olds (OR=1.22, 95%CI: 1.12-1.34), 40-year olds (OR=1.10, 95%CI: 1.01-1.20) were receiving less follow-up services than those 50-year olds. Those who had received either junior (OR=1.52, 95%CI: 1.37-1.69) or senior high school education (OR=1.35, 95%CI: 1.23-1.49) were receiving less follow-up service than those who were more educated. MSM with the following characteristics as unspecified occupation (OR=2.06, 95%CI: 1.49-2.87),unemployed (OR=1.54, 95%CI: 1.30-1.83), working in commercial service (OR=1.31, 95%CI: 1.15-1.49) or being student (OR=1.34, 95%CI: 1.18-1.52) were more difficult to be traced or followed than the cadres. Cases being identified on site (OR=2.99, 95%CI: 2.26-3.95) or under special investigation (OR=1.43, 95%CI: 1.29-1.59) had received less follow-up service than those being identified through voluntary counsel testing service. Floating population (OR=1.46, 95%CI: 1.28-1.66) were getting less follow-up service than local residents. Conclusions: The prevalence of those who had missed the follow-up services in the newly discovered MSM HIV cases declined dramatically. Among the MSM HIV cases, those having the following characteristics as: younger than 50-year old, with less school education, with unspecified occupation or unemployment, working in commercial service, being student, having history of incarceration, recruited from special investigation, and floating population were prone to miss the follow-up program, suggesting that the follow-up service should be targeting on these patients.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; Adolescent ; Adult ; China ; Follow-Up Studies ; HIV Infections/transmission* ; Homosexuality, Male/statistics & numerical data* ; Humans ; Infections ; Lost to Follow-Up ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Patient Compliance ; Prevalence ; Sexual Behavior/ethnology* ; Young Adult

Bariatric and metabolic surgery has become the clinical hot topic of the treatment of metabolic syndromes including obesity and diabetes mellitus, but how to choose the appropriate surgical procedure remains the difficult problem in clinical practice. Clinical guidelines of American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery(ASMBS)(version 2013) introduced the procedures of bariatric and metabolic surgery mainly including biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch(BPD-DS), laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB), laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy(LSG). To choose the appropriate bariatric and metabolic procedure, the surgeons should firstly understand the indications and the contraindications of each procedure. Procedure choice should also consider personal condition (body mass index, comorbidities and severity of diabetes), family and socioeconomic status (postoperative follow-up attendance, understanding of potential surgical risk of gastrectomy and patient's will), family and disease history (patients with high risk of gastric cancer should avoid LRYGB; patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease should avoid LSG) and associated personal factors of surgeons. With the practice of bariatric and metabolic surgery, the defects, especially long-term complications, of different procedures were found. For example, LRYGB resulted in higher incidence of postoperative anemia and marginal ulcer, high risk of gastric cancer as well as the requirement of vitamin supplementation and regular follow-up. Though LSG has lower surgical risk, its efficacy of diabetes mellitus remission and long-term weight loss are inferior to the LRYGB. These results pose challenges to the surgeons to balance the benefits and risks of the bariatric procedures. A lot of factors can affect the choice of bariatric and metabolic procedure. Surgeons should choose the procedure according to patient's condition with the consideration of the choice of patients. The bariatric and metabolic surgery not only manages the diabetes mellitus and weight loss, but also results in the reconstruction of gastrointestinal tract and side effect. Postoperative surgical complications and nutritional deficiency should also be considered. Thereby, individualized bariatric procedure with the full consideration of each related factors is the ultimate objective of bariatric and metabolic surgery.
Anemia ; epidemiology ; Bariatric Surgery ; adverse effects ; methods ; statistics & numerical data ; Biliopancreatic Diversion ; adverse effects ; methods ; statistics & numerical data ; Body Mass Index ; Comorbidity ; Contraindications ; Diabetes Mellitus ; surgery ; Disease Management ; Gastrectomy ; adverse effects ; methods ; statistics & numerical data ; Gastric Bypass ; adverse effects ; methods ; statistics & numerical data ; Gastroesophageal Reflux ; Gastroplasty ; methods ; mortality ; statistics & numerical data ; Humans ; Informed Consent ; Laparoscopy ; adverse effects ; methods ; statistics & numerical data ; Long Term Adverse Effects ; epidemiology ; Malnutrition ; epidemiology ; Obesity ; surgery ; Patient Acuity ; Patient Care Planning ; Patient Compliance ; Postgastrectomy Syndromes ; epidemiology ; Postoperative Complications ; epidemiology ; Risk Assessment ; methods ; Risk Factors ; Stomach Neoplasms ; epidemiology ; Treatment Outcome ; Weight Loss

The standardized hypertension management provided by primary health care workers is an important part of China's recent health care reform efforts. Investigating 5,116 hypertensive patients from a cross-sectional survey conducted by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2012, this study found that adherence to standardized hypertension management is associated with positive effects on hypertension- related knowledge, healthy lifestyle behavior, antihypertensive medical treatments, and blood pressure control. It will be necessary to provide primary health care workers with sufficient training and reasonable incentives to ensure the implementation and effectiveness of hypertension management.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; China ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Guideline Adherence ; statistics & numerical data ; Health Care Reform ; legislation & jurisprudence ; Health Care Surveys ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Healthy Lifestyle ; Humans ; Hypertension ; psychology ; therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Patient Compliance ; psychology ; statistics & numerical data

OBJECTIVE: To explore the compliance of extramural hospital treatment and the long-term survival status in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Chongqing.
 METHODS: A total of 636 patients with AMI, from grade 3 and first-class hospitals in Chongqing during Jan 2005 and Jan 2009, were enrolled for this study. The patients were followed-up for 5 years to investigate the extramural hospital treatment and influential factors.
 RESULTS: A total of 574 patients finished a five-year follow-up, and 180 cases died from cardiac death. The mortality was 31.4%. The poor compliance was a major feature in the pass away patients.
 CONCLUSION The low treatment compliance is the independent risky factor for 5-year prognosis.
Acute Disease ; Hospitals ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction ; mortality ; therapy ; Patient Compliance ; statistics & numerical data ; Prognosis ; Risk Factors ; Survival Analysis

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the colorectal cancer incidence among compliers and non-compliers in the population of colorectal cancer screening area, and to provide scientific basis for health economic evaluation of cancer screening.

METHODSBy screening different years build queue, to retrospectively compare the data of colorectal cancer screening from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2013 and the data of cancer registration, and to analyze the colorectal cancer incidence rates among screening compliers and non-compliers, and to compare the average intervals between the end of screening and clinical cancer diagnosis using SPSS 19 statistical software. Mantel-Haenszel test was performed with a statistical significance level of α = 0.05.

RESULTSThe non-compliance rate was 38.24% among males and 28.49% among females (P < 0.001). The non-compliance rate was highest in the 40-44 and 70-74 years age groups and lowest in the 50-59 years age group. The compliers of the screening were followed up for 476,049 person-years, and there were 51 cases of colorectal cancer, with an incidence rate of 10.71/100,000. The non-compliers of the screening were followed up for 259 183 person-years, and there were 66 cases of colorectal cancer, with an incidence rate of 25.46/100,000, which was 1.38 times higher than that of the compliance group (χ2 = 21.699, P < 0.001). The incidence rate of colorectal cancer among subjects who were positive in initial screening but refused to receive an electronic colonoscopy was as high as 164.40/100,000, and the average delay time was 20.8 ± 16.8 months.

CONCLUSIONSThe colorectal cancer screening adherence among women is better than among men, and that of 50-54 years and 55-59 years age groups is better than in other age groups. The subsequent incidence rate of colorectal cancer in the non-compliance group is significantly higher than that of the compliance population.

Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; China ; epidemiology ; Cohort Studies ; Colonoscopy ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; Early Detection of Cancer ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Mass Screening ; statistics & numerical data ; Middle Aged ; Patient Compliance ; statistics & numerical data ; Retrospective Studies ; Sex Factors

We investigated the interaction effect between body weight perception and chronic disease comorbidities on body weight control behavior in overweight/obese Korean adults. We analyzed data from 9,138 overweight/obese adults > or =20 yr of age from a nationally representative cross-sectional survey. Multiple logistic regression using an interaction model was performed to estimate the effect of chronic disease comorbidities on weight control behavior regarding weight perception. Adjusted odds ratios for weight control behavior tended to increase significantly with an increasing number of comorbidities in men regardless of weight perception (P<0.05 for trend), suggesting no interaction. Unlike women who perceived their weight accurately, women who under-perceived their weight did not show significant improvements in weight control behavior even with an increasing number of comorbidities. Thus, a significant interaction between weight perception and comorbidities was found only in women (P=0.031 for interaction). The effect of the relationship between accurate weight perception and chronic disease comorbidities on weight control behavior varied by sex. Improving awareness of body image is particularly necessary for overweight and obese women to prevent complications.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; *Body Image ; Body Mass Index ; Comorbidity ; Educational Status ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Obesity/*epidemiology/*prevention & control ; Patient Compliance/*statistics & numerical data ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Factors ; Sex Characteristics ; Sex Distribution ; Smoking/epidemiology ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Treatment Outcome ; *Weight Perception ; Weight Reduction Programs/*utilization ; Young Adult

The purpose of this study was to investigate postpartum glucose testing rates in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and to determine factors affecting testing non-compliance in the Korean population. This was a retrospective study of 1,686 patients with GDM from 4 tertiary centers in Korea and data were obtained from medical records. Postpartum glucose testing was conducted using a 2-hr 75-g oral glucose tolerance, fasting glucose, or hemoglobin A1C test. Test results were categorized as normal, prediabetic, and diabetic. The postpartum glucose testing rate was 44.9% (757/1,686 patients); and of 757 patients, 44.1% and 18.4% had pre-diabetes and diabetes, respectively. According to the multivariate analysis, patients with a high parity, larger weight gain during pregnancy, and referral from private clinics due to reasons other than GDM treatment were less likely to receive postpartum glucose testing. However, patients who had pharmacotherapy for GDM were more likely to be screened. In this study, 55.1% of patients with GDM failed to complete postpartum glucose testing. Considering the high prevalence of diabetes (18.4%) at postpartum, clinicians should emphasize the importance of postpartum diabetes screening to patients with factors affecting testing noncompliance.
Blood Glucose/*metabolism ; Diabetes, Gestational/*blood ; Fasting ; Female ; *Glucose Tolerance Test ; Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated/metabolism ; Humans ; Mass Screening/statistics & numerical data ; Patient Compliance/statistics & numerical data ; Postpartum Period/*blood ; Pregnancy ; Republic of Korea ; Retrospective Studies ; Tertiary Care Centers

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has improved, and the adverse effects of antiretroviral drugs have been reduced. However, these adverse effects still significantly influence patient compliance, increasing the risk of tolerability failure. Therefore, we investigated the adverse effects and tolerability failure causing changes in the first ART regimen, and identified the regimens that were most vulnerable to switching. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We enrolled patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who commenced their first ART between January 1, 2011 and July 30, 2014. Patients who started their first ART regimen at the Kyungpook National University Hospital were included in the study if they were aged > or =18 years and were followed-up for > or =12 weeks. The primary dependent variable was the duration of treatment on the same ART regimen. We analyzed the maintenance rate of the first ART regimen based on the treatment duration between these groups using survival analysis and log rank test. The frequency of the adverse effects of ART regimens was analyzed by multiple response data analysis. RESULTS: During the investigation period, 137 patients were enrolled. Eighty-one patients were maintained on the initial treatment regimen (59.1%). In protease inhibitor (PI)-based regimen group, 54 patients were maintained on the initial treatment regimen (54/98, 55.1%). In non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-and integrase inhibitor (II)-based regimen group, 15 (15/26, 57.7%) and 12 (12/13, 92.3%) patients were maintained on the initial treatment regimen, respectively. Adverse effects that induced ART switching included rash (16/35, 45.7%), gastrointestinal discomfort or pain (7/35, 20%), diarrhea (7/35, 20%), hyperbilirubinemia (6/35, 17.1%), headache or dizziness (3/35, 8.5%). Among the treatment regimens, the group receiving an II-based regimen showed the least switching. The group receiving PI-and NRTI-based regimens were most likely to switch due to adverse effects during the early treatment period. However, after about 18 months, switching was rarely observed in these groups. Among the PI drugs, darunavir/ritonavir showed fewer drug changes than atazanavir/ritonavir (P = 0.004, log rank test) and lopinavir/ritonavir (P = 0.010). Among the NNRTI drugs, rilpivirne produced less switching than efavirenz (P = 0.045). CONCLUSION: Adverse effects to ART resulted in about a quarter of patients switching drugs during the early treatment period. II-based regimens were advantageous because they were less likely to induce switching within 18 months of treatment commencement. These findings indicated the importance of considering and monitoring the adverse effects of ART in order to improve adherence.
Diarrhea ; Dizziness ; Exanthema ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Headache ; HIV ; Humans ; Hyperbilirubinemia ; Integrases ; Patient Compliance ; Protease Inhibitors ; RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase ; Statistics as Topic