BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

With the global population aging, there is an emerging need for access to quality longterm care (LTC) services. Many countries have developed LTC systems while others are at the infancy stage. This paper aimed to provide an overview of the country’s readiness for LTC based on the perspectives of relevant stakeholders. Specifically, it described the roles, initiatives, and challenges of relevant organizations and community leaders for LTC provision. It also described the older persons (OPs) and carers’ perspectives towards LTC including their awareness, capacity, and preferences.

The study utilized a descriptive design using qualitative methods of data collection namely key informant interviews (KIIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs). Participating institutions and their designated representatives were purposively sampled as key informants. OPs and carers from select barangays in NCR and Region IVA participated in the FGDs. Guided by the interpretivism approach, thematic analysis was performed. A trained research assistant coded the FGD and KII transcripts through the Nvivo PRO plus software and verified by the first author. Themes were reviewed and validated by the multidisciplinary team.

A total of 15 KIIs and two FGDs were conducted. The participating institutions and organizations were found to have varied roles and initiatives relevant to LTC; from strategic planning, development of policies and standards of care, training and capacity-building, and up to the actual implementation of LTC services. Identified challenges include implementation issues, financial issues, lack of political and stakeholder support, OPs and familial issues, and lack of knowledge on LTC.

Participants shared their description on what LTC is, an LTC facility, and the conditions of those in LTC facility. OPs expressed their willingness to utilize LTC services and identified several factors related to their preferred LTC arrangements. Carers identified various topics related to taking care of OPs that they would like to learn.

The roles, initiatives, and awareness of relevant stakeholders, older persons, and carers towards LTC were found to greatly vary. Policy makers, health workforce, families, communities, and the older persons themselves should have a better understanding of longterm care before they can provide or utilize the system. With the current landscape of LTC provision, the country still has a long way to go in achieving the integrated continuum of LTC appropriate to promote healthy aging. Promoting awareness, integrating LTC in the current programs and services for older persons in the country, capacitating the formal and non-formal caregivers, and strengthening collaborations are recommended.

Further research on quantitative measures of readiness for long-term care with focus on the health system and in-depth studies on the varieties or models of long-term care are recommended.

The Remote Home Environment Assessment (RHEA) Framework is a guide designed to help therapists conduct structured home environment assessments remotely using tools and technology. It offers an efficient and practical approach to overcoming the limitations of facility-based home assessments. The framework offers step-by-step procedures for remote home environment assessment for adult clients with physical dysfunction. It involves four major steps that focus on assessing the client’s physical environment: a) screening for selecting the most appropriate remote home environment assessment modality/ies; b) a preparatory phase that includes signing consent forms, explaining the assessment process, and previewing preliminary information; c) administration of the remote assessment; and d) consolidation of the home information. Furthermore, supplementary materials such as screening form, client and health facility consent forms, home evaluation questionnaire and checklist, and client instructions were developed to facilitate and guide the implementing therapist through the aforementioned steps. Pilot testing is recommended to gain accurate and practical insights into the RHEA Framework’s usability and effectiveness.

INTRODUCTION

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are a leading global health concern. Modifiable behavioral risk factors are increasingly recognized in young adults, especially among medical students who often live independently. This study investigated the association between living alone and modifiable cardiovascular risk factors—sleep quality, sodium intake, physical activity, and body mass index (BMI)—among medical students at UERMMMCI during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Researchers conducted an analytical cross-sectional study among 220 medical students. Validated tools were used: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Scored Sodium Questionnaire, International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), and BMI classification. Researchers performed statistical analyses using Chi-square tests and calculated relative risks (RR) with 95% confidence intervals.

A significant positive association was found between living alone and poor sleep quality (RR 2.132 p = 0.047). No significant associations were observed between living alone and sodium intake (RR 0.96 p = 0.6868), physical activity (RR 1.18 p = 0.2239), or BMI (RR 1.03 p = 0.7367).

Among the studied cardiovascular risk factors, only poor sleep quality was significantly more prevalent among students living alone. These findings highlight the importance of interventions targeting sleep hygiene in this demographic.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The drug problem in the Philippines is influenced by various factors, but research on the specific risk factors and onset of drug use—an early predictor of severe drug abuse—is limited. This crosssectional study aims to identify factors associated with the onset of illicit drug use, focusing on variables such as sex, perceived socioeconomic status, adverse life events (including physical, verbal, and sexual abuse, and bullying), adverse home environments (like family substance abuse and parental separation), and premorbidities (such as anxiety and depression). Understanding these factors is crucial since early drug use often predicts more severe abuse later.

This cross-sectional study involved 354 participants aged 7 to 34 years, all undergoing rehabilitation for at least three months. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires at their rehabilitation centers. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between the onset of drug use and the identified risk factors.

Regression analysis revealed that, apart from premorbidities, all the examined factors were significantly correlated with the onset of drug use. Specifically, being male, having higher affluence, experiencing more adverse life events, and living in a more adverse home environment were associated with an earlier onset of drug use. Among these factors, adverse life events and home environment were the strongest predictors of the onset of illicit drug use, while premorbidities did not show a significant relationship with drug use onset.

The study highlights that sex, socioeconomic status, adverse life events, and home environment are significant in the early onset of drug use, while premorbidities are not. Early intervention should focus on these key risk factors. A risk-focused approach, guided by biopsychosocial perspectives, is recommended. Targeted interventions should address adverse life events and home environments to prevent early drug use and subsequent abuse effectively.

Background and Objectives With the global population aging, there is an emerging need for access to quality longterm care (LTC) services. Many countries have developed LTC systems while others are at the infancy stage. This paper aimed to provide an overview of the country’s readiness for LTC based on the perspectives of relevant stakeholders. Specifically, it described the roles, initiatives, and challenges of relevant organizations and community leaders for LTC provision. It also described the older persons (OPs) and carers’ perspectives towards LTC including their awareness, capacity, and preferences.
Home Care Services ; Long-Term Care ; Nursing Homes ; Philippines

OBJECTIVE: In order to grasp the quality status of the first-aid ventilator in pre-hospital and field environment in time, the quality control and detection items of invasive ventilator were optimized to form a rapid detection operation process of first-aid ventilator and ensure the safety of patient treatment. METHODS: Based on the quality control detection data of invasive ventilator in hospital in recent years, methods such as narrowing the range of qualified criteria and analyzing confidence interval were adopted to extract indicators prone to deviation and verify their correlation with similar indicators, so as to form an optimized rapid detection portfolio. RESULTS: Compared with the original quality control detection procedures, the detection indicators of the rapid detection procedures were reduced from 5 categories of 24 indicators to 3 categories of 7 indicators. The detection time was shortened by 56.1% and the coincidence rate of the detection results was 100% after the actual measurement and verification. CONCLUSIONS Under the premise of ensuring the testing quality, the operating procedure for rapid detection of emergency ventilator can greatly reduce the detection time, and realize the rapid and high frequency quality control detection, so as to ensure the quality and safety of the equipment.
Home Care Services ; Humans ; Quality Control ; Ventilators, Mechanical

Community-based home hospice care provided by community service centers and family physician teams aims to alleviate the suffering of terminally ill patients and help them to receive end-of-life care and pass away at home.The Puhuangyu Community Health Service Center established the home hospice care model of PUMCH-Puhuangyu Coordination at the end of 2019.The model has been practiced and improved to date.This paper introduces this model of home hospice care.
Humans ; Hospice Care ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Hospices ; Home Care Services ; Terminal Care

Objective To investigate the feasibility of home hospice care based on the practical experience in Puhuangyu community of Beijing.Methods We selected the patients assessed by hospice care team and receiving home hospice care from Puhuangyu Community Health Service Center of Beijing from January 1,2020 to December 31,2021.The clinical manifestations,hospice services received,and place of death of the patients were analyzed. Results A total of 24 patients were included in this study.They mainly suffered from malignant tumors(18 patients,75.0%),with pain as the most common symptom(12 patients,50.0%).The patients received a variety of hospice services through a combination of outpatient visits,home visits,and WeChat follow-up.The service time of each patient was(2.8±1.7) h each week on average and 57.9%(11/19) of the patients passed away at home. Conclusions The home hospice care in Puhuangyu community has a stable source of patients.The members of this hospice team can provide a variety of home hospice services.With this model,the wish to pass away at home can be achievable for most patients.Therefore,this model of community-based home hospice care is feasible.
Humans ; Hospice Care ; Hospices ; Beijing ; Home Care Services

Ventilator is an indispensable emergency medical equipment in hospitals. The global outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has highlighted the importance of the ventilator, which has attracted the attention and research on ventilators of all countries in the world. This article reviews the development history of the ventilator, briefly introduces the main air circuit structure and working principle of the ventilator, and then deeply analyzes the key technologies of this device. In addition, it compares some major brands of ventilators from several aspects in the market. Finally, the development trend and perspective of ventilators are presented.
COVID-19 ; Equipment Design ; Home Care Services ; Humans ; Respiration, Artificial ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Ventilators, Mechanical

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is the only well-established home-based dialysis therapy in Singapore. As it is a home-based modality, PD should be considered as a preferred mode of kidney replacement therapy (KRT) for patients with kidney failure during this COVID-19 pandemic as it avoids frequent visits to hospitals and/or satellite dialysis centres. The highly infectious nature of this virus has led to the implementation of the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition orange status in Singapore since early February 2020. This paper summarises the strategies for management of several aspects of PD in Singapore during this COVID-19 pandemic, including PD catheter insertion, PD training, home visit and assisted PD, outpatient PD clinic, inpatient management of PD patients with or without COVID-19 infection, PD as KRT for COVID-19 patients with acute kidney injury, management of common complications in PD (peritonitis and fluid overload), and management of PD inventory.
Ambulatory Care/methods* ; COVID-19/prevention & control* ; Home Care Services ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Infection Control/methods* ; Pandemics ; Peritoneal Dialysis/methods* ; Self Care/methods* ; Singapore/epidemiology*