Factors associated with uptake of vaccination against pandemic influenza: a systematic review.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus COVID-19 a pandemic. There are patients in psychiatric hospitals in China who have been infected with COVID-19, however, the knowledge and attitudes of psychiatric hospital staff towards infectious diseases and their willingness to work during the COVID-19 outbreak has not yet been investigated. This study was performed to assess the knowledge and attitudes of medical staff in two Chinese mental health centers during the COVID-19 outbreak. We included 141 psychiatrists and 170 psychiatric nurses in the study. We found that during the COVID-19 epidemic, 89.51% of the medical staff of the psychiatric hospitals studied had extensive knowledge of COVID-19, and 64.63% of them received the relevant training in hospitals. Furthermore, about 77.17% of participants expressed a willingness to care for psychiatric patients suffering from COVID-19 virus infection. Independent predictors of willingness to care for patients included advanced training and experience of caring for patients with COVID-19. In conclusion, this study suggests that increased attention should be paid to the knowledge and attitudes of medical staff at psychiatric hospitals during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Knowledge and attitudes of medical staff in Chinese psychiatric hospitals regarding COVID-19

Alcohol drinking is an established risk factor for several malignancies, and it is a potentially modifiable risk factor for cancer. The Cancer Prevention Committee of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) believes that a proactive stance by the Society to minimize excessive exposure to alcohol has important implications for cancer prevention. In addition, the role of alcohol drinking on outcomes in patients with cancer is in its formative stages, and ASCO can play a key role by generating a research agenda. Also, ASCO could provide needed leadership in the cancer community on this issue. In the issuance of this statement, ASCO joins a growing number of international organizations by establishing a platform to support effective public health strategies in this area. The goals of this statement are to:• Promote public education about the risks between alcohol abuse and certain types of cancer;• Support policy efforts to reduce the risk of cancer through evidence-based strategies that prevent exce...

https://ascopubs.org/doi/pdfdirect/10.1200/JCO.2017.76.1155

Alcohol and Cancer: A Statement of the American Society of Clinical Oncology

Background
Childhood vaccination is an effective way to prevent serious childhood illnesses, but many children do not receive all the recommended vaccines. There are various reasons for this; some parents lack access because of poor quality health services, long distances or lack of money. Other parents may not trust vaccines or the healthcare workers who provide them, or they may not see the need for vaccination due to a lack of information or misinformation about how vaccinations work and the diseases they can prevent.

Communication with parents about childhood vaccinations is one way of addressing these issues. Communication can take place at healthcare facilities, at home or in the community. Communication can be two-way, for example face-to-face discussions between parents and healthcare providers, or one-way, for instance via text messages, posters or radio programmes. Some types of communication enable parents to actively discuss vaccines and their benefits and harms, as well as diseases they can prevent. Other communication types simply give information about vaccination issues or when and where vaccines are available. People involved in vaccine programmes need to understand how parents experience different types of communication about vaccination and how this influences their decision to vaccinate.

Objectives
The specific objectives of the review were to identify, appraise and synthesise qualitative studies exploring: parents' and informal caregivers' views and experiences regarding communication about childhood vaccinations and the manner in which it is communicated; and the influence that vaccination communication has on parents' and informal caregivers' decisions regarding childhood vaccination.

Search methods
We searched MEDLINE (OvidSP), MEDLINE In-process and Other Non-Index Citations (Ovid SP), Embase (Ovid), CINAHL (EbscoHOST), and Anthropology Plus (EbscoHost) databases for eligible studies from inception to 30 August 2016. We developed search strategies for each database, using guidelines developed by the Cochrane Qualitative Research Methods Group for searching for qualitative evidence as well as modified versions of the search developed for three related reviews of effectiveness. There were no date or geographic restrictions for the search.

Selection criteria
We included studies that utilised qualitative methods for data collection and analysis; focused on the views and experiences of parents and informal caregivers regarding information about vaccination for children aged up to six years; and were from any setting globally where information about childhood vaccinations was communicated or distributed.

Data collection and analysis
We used maximum variation purposive sampling for data synthesis, using a three-step sampling frame. We conducted a thematic analysis using a constant comparison strategy for data extraction and synthesis. We assessed our confidence in the findings using the GRADE-CERQual approach. High confidence suggests that it is highly likely that the review finding is a reasonable representation of the phenomenon of interest, while very low confidence indicates that it is not clear whether the review finding is a reasonable representation of it. Using a matrix model, we then integrated our findings with those from other Cochrane reviews that assessed the effects of different communication strategies on parents' knowledge, attitudes and behaviour about childhood vaccination.

Main results
We included 38 studies, mostly from high-income countries, many of which explored mothers' perceptions of vaccine communication. Some focused on the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine.

In general, parents wanted more information than they were getting (high confidence in the evidence). Lack of information led to worry and regret about vaccination decisions among some parents (moderate confidence).

Parents wanted balanced information about vaccination benefits and harms (high confidence), presented clearly and simply (moderate confidence) and tailored to their situation (low confidence in the evidence). Parents wanted vaccination information to be available at a wider variety of locations, including outside health services (low confidence) and in good time before each vaccination appointment (moderate confidence).

Parents viewed health workers as an important source of information and had specific expectations of their interactions with them (high confidence). Poor communication and negative relationships with health workers sometimes impacted on vaccination decisions (moderate confidence).

Parents generally found it difficult to know which vaccination information source to trust and challenging to find information they felt was unbiased and balanced (high confidence).

The amount of information parents wanted and the sources they felt could be trusted appeared to be linked to acceptance of vaccination, with parents who were more hesitant wanting more information (low to moderate confidence).

Our synthesis and comparison of the qualitative evidence shows that most of the trial interventions addressed at least one or two key aspects of communication, including the provision of information prior to the vaccination appointment and tailoring information to parents' needs. None of the interventions appeared to respond to negative media stories or address parental perceptions of health worker motives.

Authors' conclusions
We have high or moderate confidence in the evidence contributing to several review findings. Further research, especially in rural and low- to middle-income country settings, could strengthen evidence for the findings where we had low or very low confidence. Planners should consider the timing for making vaccination information available to parents, the settings where information is available, the provision of impartial and clear information tailored to parental needs, and parents' perceptions of health workers and the information provided.

/pdf/parents-and-informal-caregivers-views-and-experiences-of-471avnx9n3.pdf

Parents' and informal caregivers' views and experiences of communication about routine childhood vaccination: a synthesis of qualitative evidence

Culture consists of shared beliefs, ideas, and symbols among a group of people. Culture guides our placement of meaning in the world; it channels our behavior. All realms of human endeavor hang in webs of cultural norms and expectations—including medicine. Consider the following questions: What is the relationship between health beliefs and accepted treatments? How are biological processes influenced by culture? What happens when Western medicine is introduced into a foreign culture? And, how are people chosen and trained in a curing system? Questions such as these fill the minds and works of medical anthropologists who study the relationships among culture, health, and illness. Health professionals are increasingly turning to medical anthropology to learn how people from different cultural backgrounds define and explain illness and what types of treatments they believe are effective. Medical anthropology is essential to improving health care in our own heterogeneous society and in underdeveloped countries

Culture, Health and Illness: An Introduction for Health Professionals

Radionuclide concentrations in soil and lifetime cancer risk due to gamma radioactivity in Kirklareli, Turkey.

Resistance to vaccination: the attitudes and practices of primary healthcare workers confronting the H1N1 pandemic.

The use of generic drugs has increased significantly in recent years Since generic drugs are available at a lower cost, they provide an opportunity for savings in drug expenditure Thus, use of generic drugs is encouraged especially in developing countries There are only a few studies concerning the perceptions and attitudes of the healthcare providers and patients towards generic drug useMethods: The present study was conducted by a face to face questionnaire in the Kadikoy district of Istanbul in April 2010 From randomly chosen respondents, 68 pharmacists, 56 prescribers and 101 patients consented to participate in the studyResults: Thirty one and 32 % of the pharmacists and prescribers, respectively, expressed that they believed that the generics did not differ from the original drugs, whereas only 24% of the patients believed so Forty percent of the pharmacists and 82% of the prescribers told that they were unsure about the bioequivalence of the generics Ten percent of the patients claimed that they immediately accept generic substitution by the pharmacist, while 26% accepted it if it was substituted by the prescriber Cost was the most important factor taken into consideration about generic substitution (92% for prescribers; 83% for patients and 82% for pharmacists)Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that healthcare providers as well as the drug consumers have insufficient knowledge about generic drugs Therefore, they should be better educated with respect to generic substitution

http://scielo.isciii.es/pdf/pharmacin/v10n4/original4.pdf

Knowledge and attitudes of the pharmacists, prescribers and patients towards generic drug use in Istanbul – Turkey

Background: The socio-economically disadvantaged populations are among the most vulnerable groups that are under-vaccinated. Therefore, the aim of this qualitative study was to understand the behaviours of mothers concerning the immunization of their children, the decision-making process, the perceived barriers, and the enabling factors to access the services in a suburban population in Istanbul. Method: Eight focus group discussions and two in-depth interviews were carried out with the mothers who have children younger than five years. Results: While the responsibility of immunization was left totally to the mother, the socially subordinate role of women did not provide the means of getting the immunization services. The women were dependent mostly on social networks for getting the immunization services. Another important barrier to the services was related to the economical constraints and accessibility of the services. In addition, the lack of effective communication and information transfer between the health personnel and the mothers formed an important obstacle. Conclusion: This study underlines a need for an effective counselling tailored to the immunization session, which will maintain a positive relationship between the personnel and the mother.

The barriers against childhood immunizations: a qualitative research among socio-economically disadvantaged mothers.

Objective To determine the frequency and pattern of energy drink consumption among medical school students, their knowledge of its effects and side effects and to see its relation with alcohol and cigarette usage. Method The descriptive analytical study was conducted at Marmara University Medical School, Istanbul, Turkey from October 2011 and January 2012. A semi-structured questionnaire was filled by students who were asked about their socio-demographic status and their energy drink consumption. SPSS 12 was used for statistical analysis. Results The mean age of the 390 students in the study was 20.98+/-1.96 years (range:16-27). Of them, 204 (52.3%) were females and 186 (47.7%) were males. Overall 52(13.3%) were smoking regularly at least one cigarette per day; 122(31.3%) were consuming alcohol; 127 (32.6%) had consumed energy drinks at least once and 73(18.8%)more than once. In terms of perception, 110(28.2%) students said energy drinks were similar to sports drinks, while only 121(41.1%) named the brands correctly; 96 (24.6%) students did not answer this particular question. Conclusion Although consumption of energy drinks was common among medical students, the knowledge of ingredients and knowledge of health risks of energy drinks among them was unsatisfactory.

Seyhan Hıdıroğlu

Papers

Radionuclide concentrations in soil and lifetime cancer risk due to gamma radioactivity in Kirklareli, Turkey.

Resistance to vaccination: the attitudes and practices of primary healthcare workers confronting the H1N1 pandemic.

Knowledge and attitudes of the pharmacists, prescribers and patients towards generic drug use in Istanbul – Turkey

The barriers against childhood immunizations: a qualitative research among socio-economically disadvantaged mothers.

A survey of energy-drink consumption among medical students.