Pneumoconiosis, an interstitial lung disease that occurs from breathing in certain kinds of damaging dust particles, is a major occupational disease in China. Patients diagnosed with occupational pneumoconiosis can avail of free medical treatment, whereas patients without a diagnosis of occupational diseases cannot not claim free medical treatment in most provinces from the government before 2019. This study aimed to analyze the priority of medical facility selection and its influencing factors among patients with pneumoconiosis. A total of 1,037 patients with pneumoconiosis from nine provinces in China were investigated. The health service institutions most frequently selected by the patients were county-level hospitals (37.5%). The main reason for the choice was these hospitals' close distance to the patients' homes (47.3%). The factors for the choice of health care institutions were living in the eastern region (
Adult ; Aged ; China ; Female ; Hospitals ; Humans ; Insurance Coverage ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Patient Acceptance of Health Care/statistics & numerical data* ; Pneumoconiosis/therapy* ; Rural Population ; Silicosis ; Smoking

BACKGROUND: Despite increasing the number of newly licensed nurses across Korea, shortages caused by geographical imbalances remains a significant concern. Therefore, understanding nursing students' attitudes to working and living, factors influencing where they first choose to work after graduation is useful in formulating appropriate interventions to retain nurses in regional areas. METHODS: A total of 329 senior nursing students from areas outside Metropolitan Seoul completed self-report questionnaires. Data were analyzed using t-test, chi-square test and multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Of the respondents, 57.8% reported that they planned to work in the region in which their school was located. The three factors ranked as having the greatest influence on their decision to work in non-metropolitan regions were: the cost of living, housing costs, and the proximity to family. Enjoyable aspects of rural life contributed positively to students' intentions to work in non-metropolitan regions, whereas isolation and socialization problems negatively affected their intentions to work in such areas. CONCLUSIONS: Greater consideration should be given to improving working conditions and housing environments in non-metropolitan regions.
Employment ; Hospitals, Rural ; Housing ; Humans ; Intention ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Nursing ; Seoul ; Socialization ; Students, Nursing ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: Maintaining a sufficient and competent rural nursing workforce is an important goal of the Chinese health delivery system. However, few studies have investigated the health training status or conducted a needs assessment of rural Chinese nurses during this time of great transformations in health policy. This study was conducted to explore the current health training status of nurses working in rural Chinese township health centers (THCs) and to ascertain their perceived needs. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey using a self-administered structured questionnaire was conducted among 240 THC nurses in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China from March 2014 to August 2014. The survey questionnaire was adapted from the Second Chinese Survey of Demographic Data and Training Demand for Health Professionals in THCs developed by the Ministry of Education. RESULTS: The nurses in THCs were young, with a low educational level. Their perceived needs for health training included further clinical studies at city-level hospitals to improve their skills and theoretical studies at medical universities in emergency medicine and general practice. Overall, 71.9% of the nurses with a secondary technical school background expected to pursue junior college studies, and 68.5% of the nurses with a junior college education expected to pursue a bachelor's degree. A decentralized program with theoretical studies at medical universities and practical studies at county hospitals was regarded as feasible by 66.9% of the respondents. CONCLUSION: Health-training programs for nurses in Chinese THCs must be improved in terms of coverage, delivery mode, and content. A decentralized degree-linked training program in which medical universities and city hospitals collaborate would be an appropriate mode of delivery.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; China ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dronabinol ; Education ; Emergency Medicine ; General Practice ; Health Occupations ; Health Policy ; Hospitals, County ; Hospitals, Urban ; Humans ; Models, Theoretical ; Needs Assessment ; Rural Nursing ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to measure the levels of adherence and to identify factors associated with adherence to option B+ prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) among pregnant and lactating mothers in selected government health facilities of South Wollo Zone, Amhara Region, northeast Ethiopia. METHODS: An institution-based cross-sectional quantitative study design was employed from March 1, 2016 to April 14, 2016, using a standard structured data collection instrument. A sample of 191 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive pregnant and lactating mothers who were receiving PMTCT follow-up in the selected health facilities participated in the study. The data were entered using EpiData 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 21. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed to identify factors associated with adherence. The p-values <0.05 and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to identify associations between independent predictors and the outcome variable. RESULTS: The level of adherence to option B+ PMTCT drugs was 87.9%. Women who received in-hospital treatment, who lived in rural areas, and faced challenges in initiating lifelong option B+ treatment on the same-day that they were diagnosed with HIV were less likely to adhere to the treatment (adjusted odds ratios [95% CI] of 0.3 [0.11 to 0.82], 0.26 [0.1 to 0.73], and 0.08 [0.02 to 0.37], respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Collaborative efforts of zonal health departments with health facility administrators and counselors are recommended for effective and efficient interventions focusing on hospitals, rural areas, and patients who face challenges on the day of their diagnosis.
Breast Feeding ; Counseling ; Data Collection ; Diagnosis ; Ethiopia* ; Female ; Fluconazole ; Follow-Up Studies ; Health Facilities* ; Health Facility Administrators ; HIV ; Hospitals, Rural ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Medication Adherence ; Mothers* ; Odds Ratio ; Pregnant Women

Toxoplasmosis is considered as an important risk factor for bad obstetric history (BOH) and one of the major causes of congenitally acquired infections. The present study aimed to estimate the seropositivity of T. gondii infection and associated risk factors among the attendees of high risk pregnancy and low risk antenatal care clinic of Minia Maternity and Pediatric University Hospital, Minia, Egypt. The study was carried out from April 2013 to April 2014 through 2 phases, the first phase was case-control study, and the second phase was follow-up with intervention. A total of 120 high risk pregnant and 120 normal pregnant females were submitted to clinical examinations, serological screening for anti-Toxoplasma IgM and IgG antibodies by ELISA, and an interview questionnaire. Seropositive cases were subjected to spiramycin course treatment. The results showed that the seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in high-risk pregnancy group was 50.8%, which was significantly different from that of normal pregnancy group (P<0.05). Analysis of seropositive women in relation to BOH showed that abortion was the commonest form of the pregnancy wastage (56.5%). The high prevalence of T. gondii seropositive cases was observed in the age group of 21-30 years. Post-delivery adverse outcome was observed in 80.3% of high-risk pregnancy group compared to 20% of normal pregnancy group. There was a statistically significant relationship between seropositivity and living in rural area, low socioeconomic level, and undercooked meat consumption (P<0.05). Serological screening for anti-Toxoplasma antibodies should be routine tests especially among high-risk pregnant women.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Antibodies, Protozoan/*blood ; Case-Control Studies ; Egypt ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Feeding Behavior ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G/blood ; Immunoglobulin M/blood ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/*epidemiology ; Risk Factors ; Rural Population ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Toxoplasma/*immunology ; Toxoplasmosis/*epidemiology ; Young Adult

"The Supporting Program for Obstetric Care Underserved Areas (SPOU)" provides financial aids to rural community (or district) hospitals to reopen prenatal care and delivery services for regions without obstetrics and gynecology clinics or hospitals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the early stage effect of the SPOU program. The proportion of the number of birth through SPOU was calculated by each region. Also survey was conducted to investigate the extent of overall satisfaction, elements of dissatisfaction, and suggestions for improvement of the program; 209 subjects participated from 7 to 12 December, 2012. Overall, 20% of pregnant women in Youngdong (71 cases) and Gangjin (106 cases) used their community (or district) hospitals through the SPOU whereas Yecheon (23 cases) was 8%; their satisfaction rates were high. Short distance and easy accessibility was the main reason among women choosing community (or district) hospital whereas the reasons of not selecting the community (or district) hospital were favor of the outside hospital's facility, system, and trust in the medical staffs. The SPOU seems to be currently effective at an early stage. However, to successfully implement this program, the government should make continuous efforts to recruit highly qualified medical staffs and improve medical facility and equipment.
Adult ; Delivery, Obstetric/economics/*utilization ; Female ; Hospitals ; Humans ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Care/economics ; *Program Evaluation ; Republic of Korea ; Rural Population

PURPOSE: To examine geographical imbalances by analyzing new graduate nurses' migration patterns among regions where they grew up, attended nursing school, and had their first employment and to identify factors related to working in non-metropolitan areas. METHODS: The sample consisted of 507 new graduates working in hospitals as full-time registered nurses in South Korea. Migration patterns were categorized into 5 patterns based on sequential transitions of "geographic origin-nursing school-hospital." Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with working in non-metropolitan hospitals. RESULTS: Nurses who grew up, graduated, and worked in the same region accounted for the greatest proportion (54%). Sixty-five percent had their first employment in the region where they graduated. Nurses tended to move from poor to rich regions and from non-metropolitan to metropolitan areas. Working in non-metropolitan hospitals was related to older age, the father having completed less than 4 years of college education, non-metropolitan origin, non-capital city school graduation, and a diploma (vs. baccalaureate) degree. CONCLUSION: Admitting students with rural backgrounds, increasing rural nursing school admission capacities, and providing service-requiring scholarships, particularly for students from low-income families, are recommended to address geographical imbalances.
Adult ; Attitude of Health Personnel ; Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate ; Employment ; Female ; Hospitals, Rural ; Hospitals, Urban ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Nursing Staff, Hospital/*psychology ; Poverty ; Professional Practice Location

INTRODUCTIONThis study was conducted to determine the epidemiological pattern and risk factors associated with corneal ulcers in rural areas of western Maharashtra, India, and to identify the bacterial and fungal agents responsible for causing keratitis.

METHODSA total of 852 patients with corneal ulceration were included in the study. Sociodemographic data and information pertaining to risk factors were collected. Corneal scrapings obtained from these patients were processed for bacterial and fungal agents using standard techniques.

RESULTSOut of the 852 patients studied, 537 (63.02%) were culture positive. A majority of the culture-positive patients were farmers (52.32%), and ocular trauma was the most common predisposing factor (60.15%). Among these patients, fungal isolates (57.91%) were more frequent than bacterial isolates (42.08%). The most common fungal isolate was Fusarium spp. (35.04%) followed by Aspergillus spp. (18.00%). Streptococcus pneumoniae was the predominant bacterial isolates (32.74%) followed by Staphylococcus spp. (17.25%).

CONCLUSIONCorneal trauma from plant parts or organic matter was found to be the most common risk factor associated with corneal ulceration in the rural areas of western Maharashtra. Epidemiology and aetiology of microbial keratitis vary from region to region, and therefore, careful history taking and proper identification of aetiological agents are necessary for the institution of appropriate therapy.

Adult ; Cornea ; microbiology ; Corneal Ulcer ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; Eye Infections, Bacterial ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; Eye Infections, Fungal ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; Female ; Hospitals, Rural ; Humans ; India ; epidemiology ; Male ; Risk Factors ; Young Adult

Recently, the disaster emergency medical system (DEMS) has been considered an important component of social safety, since the incidence of various kinds of disasters such as man-made disasters, biological disasters, chemical disasters and nuclear disasters are increasing each year. To minimize the mortality of emergency patients and mass casualties, emergency physicians should directly participate in both emergency care and DEMS. However, most primary emergency care in hospitals depends on residents of emergency medicine, especially at night and holidays, and few certified emergency physicians work at emergency control centers, military hospitals, and rural hospitals that are part of the DEMS. To strengthen DEMS and improve the quality of emergency care, emergency physicians are needed at emergency centers at all times to provide emergency care, and to maintain communication with the DEMS offices that are outside of hospitals. To make DEMS cost-effective, the governments should unify the 119 and 1339 emergency call centers, and also establish a plan for integrating the DEMS components of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, National Emergency Management Agency, and Military Services. By securing the financial support plan for emergency centers, the survival rate of emergency patients and disaster victims will be improved.
Disasters ; Emergencies ; Emergency Medical Services ; Emergency Medicine ; Financial Support ; Holidays ; Hospitals, Military ; Hospitals, Rural ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mass Casualty Incidents ; Military Personnel ; Survival Rate

A fully-automated biochemical analysis system is developed, intending for primary medical units. It features high reliability, high usability, strong adaptability, low operation cost, low maintenance cost, and low requirements for operators.
Automation ; instrumentation ; methods ; Biochemistry ; instrumentation ; methods ; Equipment Design ; Equipment and Supplies, Hospital ; Hospitals, Rural