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1 – 10 of over 3000
Article
Publication date: 13 August 2021

Eric Arnaud Diendéré, Karim Traoré, Jean-Jacques Bernatas, Ouedan Idogo, Abdoul Kader Dao, Go Karim Traoré, P. Delphine Napon/Zongo, Solange Ouédraogo/Dioma, René Bognounou, Ismael Diallo, Apoline Kongnimissom Ouédraogo/Sondo and Pascal Antoine Niamba

The purpose of this paper is to study the factors associated with the occurrence of diseases and beriberi among prisoners incarcerated in the two largest Remand and Correctional…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the factors associated with the occurrence of diseases and beriberi among prisoners incarcerated in the two largest Remand and Correctional Facilities (RCF).

Design/methodology/approach

This was a cross-sectional descriptive and analytical study carried out from April 20 to May 19, 2017, in the RCFs of Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso. All prisoners who consulted and those referred to the health center by the health-care team were included in the study. Complaints and diagnosed diseases information were collected using the second version of the International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC-2). The authors used a logistic regression model to perform univariate and multivariate analyses.

Findings

Of the 1,004 prisoners from the two RCFs included in the study (32.6%), 966 (96%) were male. The median age was 31.6 years. The distribution of diseases diagnosed using the ICPC-2 showed a predominance of gastrointestinal tract, skin and respiratory tract diseases among 206 (19.3%), 188 (17.6%) and 184 (17.2%) prisoners, respectively. A total of 302 prisoners (30.1%) had clinical beriberi, and 80 prisoners (8%) were underweight. Being incarcerated for more than nine months was independently associated with a high risk of digestive and respiratory diseases as well as beriberi.

Research limitations/implications

This study highlighted higher frequencies of digestive, skin and respiratory complaints and diseases in the two largest detention centers in Burkina Faso. These diseases are variously related to age, penal status and length of incarceration. In addition, underweight and thiamin vitamin deficiency responsible for beriberi are more frequent in adult prisoners, those not attending school, convicted prisoners and those with a length of stay in detention of more than nine months. These concrete results should help define a strategy and priority actions needed to reduce morbidity in prisons.

Practical implications

The actions should include the intervention of specialists in the field of common diseases in prisons, the improvement of individual hygiene conditions and environment, the improvement of the quality and quantity of the food ration, a strategy to reduce prison overcrowding. Other actions must be planned to allow specific groups such as women and minors to have access to health care that is adapted to them. Beyond the central concern of promoting the rights of prisoners and humanizing prisons, actions to improve the health of prisoners are part of an overall public health approach with its socio-economic and environmental implications.

Social implications

There is a need for a strong commitment from the State to develop a prison health policy that prioritizes the prevention of communicable and non-communicable diseases that are particularly prevalent in this context, without forgetting mental health and nutrition. This requires a collaboration of stakeholders based on better intersectorial communication, the implementation of a monitoring and evaluation system for the health of prisoners, an enhancement of the status of health-care providers working in prisons and an increase in the funding allocated to the health of prisoners with the mobilization of the necessary funds.

Originality/value

This study uses a primary health care classification to assess the health of inmates in a prison in Africa. It contributes to the weak evidence around prison health surveillance and health profiling of prisoners in Africa.

Details

International Journal of Prisoner Health, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-9200

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 August 2021

Antonio Koceski and Vladimir Trajkovski

The aim of this study is to determine what changes occur in the health status of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to neurotypical controls.

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study is to determine what changes occur in the health status of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to neurotypical controls.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors performed a comparative analysis of data collected from 72 subjects with ASD and 75 neurotypical controls aged 3–24 years using the Rochester Health Status Survey IV (RHSS-IV). A structured individual interview was conducted to compare the health status of subjects in Macedonia.

Findings

A majority of people with ASD take vitamins, supplements and use recommended drug therapies compared to the neurotypical population and experience a larger number of side effects (p = 0.000). Compared to people with neurotypical development, children with ASD have a higher prevalence of oral ulcers (31.9% vs 17.3%; p = 0.039), changes in neurological health status – epilepsy (19.4% vs 2.7%; p = 0.001) and ADD/ADHD (only persons with ASD-19.4%; p = 0.000); respiratory diseases – angina (30.5% vs 8%; p = 0.000), rhinitis and/or sinusitis (40.3% vs 17.3%; p = 0.02); changes in the gastrointestinal system – constipation (31.9% vs 10.6%; p = 0.02), intestinal inflammation (19.4% vs 8%; p = 0.043), permeable intestines (only persons with ASD – 13.9%; p = 0.000) and the presence of the fungus Candida albicans (19.4% vs 4%; p = 0.043); psychiatric disorders – sleep problems (only in people with ASD – 18%; p = 0.000) and tics (6.9% vs 2.6%; p = 0.25) and skin diseases – eczema/allergic skin rash (36.1% vs 18.7%; p = 0.02).

Originality/value

Many children with ASD have health problems. These findings support and complement the professional literature on their mutual causality.

Details

Advances in Autism, vol. 8 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-3868

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 August 2004

178

Abstract

Details

Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, vol. 51 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0003-5599

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 March 2023

Frederick Owusu Danso, Kofi Agyekum, Patrick Manu, Emmanuel Adinyira, Divine K. Ahadzie and Edward Badu

Although many health and safety (H&S) studies have widely examined safety risk perception in the construction industry, few studies have explored how this perception influences…

Abstract

Purpose

Although many health and safety (H&S) studies have widely examined safety risk perception in the construction industry, few studies have explored how this perception influences site workers' risk-taking behaviours during construction. This study aims to examine how construction site workers perceive and judge safety risks in risk-taking behaviours of site workers for intervention safety policy framework that may encourage safe work.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employed Pictorial-based Q-Methodology, which documented 63 picture scenarios of risk-taking behaviours from building sites and submitted them for validation from H&S inspectors. In total, 33 pictures emerged as having great potential to cause harm. After using these 33 pictures to elicit data from randomised site workers, the study used Frequency Tabulation, Relative Importance Index (RII) and Kruskal–Wallis Test to analyse the collected data. To fully explain the analysed data for deeper understanding, the study conducted Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with these site workers to share the thoughts of site workers on these pictures.

Findings

Two distinctive pictures emerged from these analyses: one showing risk-taking behaviour likely to contract internal and skin disease and the other likely to fall from height. One of the implications is that construction site workers are unfamiliar with the dangerous contaminants in the materials the site workers use to work, which can potentially harm the site workers' skin and internal organs. Hence, site workers continue engaging in risk-taking behaviours. The other is that site workers are aware of and can mention catastrophic physical injuries attached to site workers' jobs. However, site workers continue engaging in risk-taking behaviours because of site workers' safety plights and rely on the favour and mercies of a supreme being as coping strategies to escape from these physical injuries.

Originality/value

This study is original in that the study uses picture scenarios of risk-taking behaviours to amass an empirical-based understanding of how site workers perceive and respond to H&S risks during construction. This piece of evidence is missing in the numerous research studies in this area. Again, the findings contribute to the state-of-the-art literature regarding risk-taking behaviours on construction sites.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 April 2020

Sivasankari S, Dinah Punnoose and Krishnamoorthy D

Erythemato-squamous disease (ESD) is one of the complex diseases related to the dermatology field. Due to common morphological features, the diagnosis of ESDs become stringent and…

Abstract

Purpose

Erythemato-squamous disease (ESD) is one of the complex diseases related to the dermatology field. Due to common morphological features, the diagnosis of ESDs become stringent and leads to inconsistency. Besides, diagnosis has been done on the basis of inculcated visible symptoms pertinent with the expertise of the physician. Hence, ontology construction for ESD is essential to ensure credibility, consistency, to resolve lack of time, labor and competence and to diminish human error.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents the design of an automatic ontology framework through data mining techniques and subsequently depicts the diagnosis of ESD using the available knowledge- and rule-based system.

Findings

The rule language (Semantic Web Rule Language) and rule engine (Jess and Drools) have been integrated to explore the severity of the ESD and foresee the most appropriate class to be suggested.

Social implications

In this paper, the authors identify the efficiency of the rule engine and investigate the performance of the computational techniques in predicting ESD using three different measures.

Originality/value

Primarily, the approach assesses transfer time for total number of axioms exported to rule engine (Jess and Drools) while the other approach measures the number of inferred axioms (process time) using the rule engine while the third measure calculates the time to translate the inferred axioms to OWL knowledge (execution time).

Details

International Journal of Intelligent Unmanned Systems, vol. 8 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-6427

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2007

Roberta Novis

This paper demonstrates that the health of juveniles in deprivation of liberty in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, deteriorates while in detention and that conditions of detention are the…

Abstract

This paper demonstrates that the health of juveniles in deprivation of liberty in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, deteriorates while in detention and that conditions of detention are the major catalyst for offenders’ declining health status. The environment is conducive to the propagation and contamination of health‐related problems such as skin, respiratory, dental, and ear illness and viruses and parasitic infections. The paper concludes that at the moment, both inmates and the environment are disease carriers, deteriorating juveniles’ health status.

Details

International Journal of Prisoner Health, vol. 3 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-9200

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 11 August 2014

Md. Anwarul Abedin and Rajib Shaw

Millions of people in Southwestern Bangladesh drink groundwater that has arsenic contamination levels above both Bangladeshi and WHO standards. Thus, arsenic, the king of poisons…

Abstract

Millions of people in Southwestern Bangladesh drink groundwater that has arsenic contamination levels above both Bangladeshi and WHO standards. Thus, arsenic, the king of poisons, presents significant social problems in the rural communities of Bangladesh. Lacking arsenic-free drinking water, the local populations are most adversely affected. Arsenic contamination of drinking water and food is the main pathway by which arsenic enters people’s lives, producing diseases such as melanosis, keratosis, skin lesions, skin cancers, and kidney failure. Therefore, to cope with and alleviate arsenic poisoning, whatever adaptation and mitigation strategy is adopted, it should, however, start with and be led by the local community wherever possible for it is local villagers who are often the real experts on arsenic contamination. Rather than implementing highly technical, expensive, and outsider-led interventions that are often untried in field conditions, priority should be given to using modified traditional coping and mitigation mechanisms developed in the communities in Bangladesh. Hence, this chapter highlights first the extent of arsenic poisoning in the Southwestern part; its adverse impact on livelihood, water sector, and social aspect; and then the focus shifts to community-level mitigation strategy led by the people along with the assistance of GO and nongovernmental organization (NGO); and finally there is the conclusion along with recommendations.

Details

Water Insecurity: A Social Dilemma
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-882-2

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 15 May 2018

Konstantinos Kontoangelos, Marina Ecomomou and Charalambos Papageorgiou

Clinical manifestations of drug-induced skin reactions include a wide range of symptoms, from mild drug-induced exanthemas to dangerous and life-threatening generalized systematic…

Abstract

Clinical manifestations of drug-induced skin reactions include a wide range of symptoms, from mild drug-induced exanthemas to dangerous and life-threatening generalized systematic reactions. Drug-induced skin reactions to psychotropic medication are usually associated with antiepileptic drugs. However, a significant role can be assigned to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. We report a case of a female patient, who after approximately one month therapy with escitalopram developed a bilateral ankle edema, which resolved completely within the first week following its discontinuation. Although serious complications are rare, clinicians should be aware of severe skin complications in patients treated with antidepressants, which necessitate careful clinical monitoring and management. Individualization of pharmacotherapy is crucial, together with regular evaluation of safety and tolerance of the treatment.

Details

Mental Illness, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2036-7465

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 January 2024

Amrollah Shamsi, Ting Wang, Narayanaswamy Vasantha Raju, Arezoo Ghamgosar, Golbarg Mahdizadeh Davani and Mohammad Javad Mansourzadeh

By distorting the peer review process, predatory journals lure researchers and collect article processing charges (APCs) to earn income, thereby threatening clinical decisions…

114

Abstract

Purpose

By distorting the peer review process, predatory journals lure researchers and collect article processing charges (APCs) to earn income, thereby threatening clinical decisions. This study aims to identifying the characteristics of predatory publishing in the dermatology literature.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used Kscien's list to detect dermatology-related predatory journals. Bibliometric parameters were analyzed at the level of journals, publishers, documents and authors.

Findings

Sixty-one potential predatory dermatology publishers published 4,164 articles in 57 journals from 2000 to 2020, with most publishers claiming to be located in the United States. Most journals were 1–5 years old. Six journals were indexed in PubMed, two in Scopus and 43 in Google Scholar (GS). The average APC was 1,049 USD. Skin, patient, cutaneous, psoriasis, dermatitis and acne were the most frequently used keywords in the article's title. A total of 1,146 articles in GS received 4,725 citations. More than half of the journals had <10 citations. Also, 318 articles in Web of Science were contaminated by the most cited articles and 4.49% of the articles had reported their funding source. The average number of authors per article was 3.7. India, the United States and Japan had the most articles from 119 involved countries. Asia, Europe and North America had the most contributed authors; 5.2% of articles were written through international collaboration. A majority of authors were from high- and low-middle-income countries. Women contributed 43.57% and 39.66% as the first and corresponding authors, respectively.

Research limitations/implications

The study had limitations, including heavy reliance on Kscien's list, potential for human error in manual data extraction and nonseparation of types of articles. Journals that only published dermatology articles were reviewed, so those occasionally publishing dermatology articles were missed. Predatory journals covering multiple subjects (Petrisor, 2016) may have resulted in overlooking some dermatology papers. This study did not claim to have covered all articles in predatory dermatology journals (PDJs) but evaluated many of them. The authors accept the claim that Kscien's list may have made a mistake in including journals.

Originality/value

The wide dispersion of authors involved in PDJs highlights the need to increase awareness among these authors.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 September 2020

Hamka Hamka, Ni'matuzahroh Ni'matuzahroh, Tri Astuti, Mein-Woei Suen and Fu-An Shieh

The purpose of this study is to explore the psychological well-being of people living around landfills, which constitutes a preliminary case study localized in Samarinda city…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the psychological well-being of people living around landfills, which constitutes a preliminary case study localized in Samarinda city, Indonesia.

Design/methodology/approach

This current study used a descriptive, participatory case study design. For data collection, interviews and participatory observation were used. Specifically, this case study took place in Samarinda City, Indonesia.

Findings

The psychological well-being of the people living around landfills was indicated very low in the light of psychological well-being such as personal growth, life’s goals and self-acceptance dimensions.

Research limitations/implications

Psychological well-being is part of an attitude of gratitude, thus making individuals happy and satisfied in life. The results of this study point to the fact that people who live around landfills have low psychological well-being due to lack of support from the community and government. In addition, with this research, people who live near landfills are very happy because they feel cared for and care about their condition. People who live near landfills expect the government and surrounding communities to know about their situation so that they become prosperous and well-being. In addition, providing medical team services, sending clean water and providing good solutions can help people who live near landfills. The limitation of this preliminary study was that researchers could deeply explore the lives of people in the next research. Besides, the next research can provide a camera or voice recorder in the state of only observation. In addition, the researcher can analyze more deeply in the next research. The final limitation was that participants could not have enough time to interact with, thus, the researcher could not collect the data to explore further.

Practical implications

Base on the result in this study, the government needs to have the policy to take care of those people who stay near landfills, for example, improving drinking water, establish the health management and giving a right to people to stay near landfills.

Social implications

By improving the growing environment, the people live near landfills can have some changes in their life. In addition, the negative stereotype and prejudice can be decreased and establish a more friendly society and increasing their well-being.

Originality/value

The participants were found to be problematic, primarily in managing their environment and influencing their personal growth. On top of that, the participants appeared to possess a lack exposure of to social interaction with other communities, which might cause them social gap and lack of caring perceived toward the surrounding environment, lack of better life’s goals, the disappointment of current conditions due to low educational and skill backgrounds. Nonetheless, the participants were still of gratefulness upon the situation for they were still granted health for studies to support their families. Besides, the participants did not show any positive attitudes toward themselves because of the disappointment of their condition and personal qualities.

Details

International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, vol. 13 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4902

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 3000