Advances in Public Health

Consumption of fast‐food in adolescence is detrimental to mental and physical health. However, data on the temporal trends of fast‐food consumption in this population are scarce, particularly from non‐Western or non‐high‐income settings. Therefore, we aimed to examine this trend in representative samples of school‐going adolescents aged 12–15 years from 18 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, which were predominantly low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). Data from the Global School–based Student Health Survey (GHSH) 2009–2017 were analyzed. Fast‐food consumption referred to eating from a fast‐food restaurant at least once in the past 7 days. The prevalence of fast‐food consumption was calculated for each survey, and crude linear trends within each country were examined by linear regression models. Data on 74,055 students aged 12–15 years were analyzed (mean (standard deviation (SD)) age: 13.9 (1.0) years; 49.2% boys). The mean prevalence of fast‐food consumption was 52.7%. Of the 18 countries included in the study, significant increasing, decreasing, and stable trends were observed in 5, 2, and 11 countries, respectively. The most drastic increases were observed in Morocco between 2010 (44.2%) and 2016 (62.2%) and Lebanon between 2011 (64.6%) and 2017 (77.1%). Significant decreasing trends were observed in Kuwait between 2011 (90.5%) and 2015 (75.1%) and Samoa between 2011 (78.9%) and 2017 (67.3%). The prevalence of fast‐food consumption is overwhelmingly high among adolescents globally. Decreasing trends were only observed in two countries (Kuwait and Samoa). These data suggest that global strategies to tackle fast‐food consumption among adolescents are urgently required.

Lee Smith

Guillermo F. López Sánchez

Mark A. Tully

Masoud Rahmati

Laurie Butler

Yvonne Barnett

Helen Keyes

Karel Kostev

Hans Oh

Jae Il Shin

Ai Koyanagi

Secular Trends of Fast‐Food Consumption Among Adolescents Aged 12–15 Years: A Global Analysis Including 18 Countries

12-15岁青少年快餐消费的长期趋势：一项涵盖18个国家的全球分析

Background and Aims: Information regarding the clinical features and outcomes of severely ill COVID‐19 patients in low‐resource settings is limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics, comorbidities, and prognostic factors associated with mortality and COVID‐19 severity among COVID‐19 patients admitted to the national COVID‐19 treatment center in The Gambia. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cross‐sectional study on 930 confirmed COVID‐19 patients admitted to The Gambia’s national COVID‐19 treatment center from March 17, 2020, to March 13, 2023. We assessed the association between patients’ characteristics using the t ‐test and the chi‐square test. Prognostic factors of mortality and COVID‐19 severity were investigated using a multivariable logistic regression model. Statistical analyses were performed using the STATA/SE 12.1 statistics/data analysis. Results: Patients with COVID‐19 who had a saturation of peripheral oxygen (SPO 2 ) level below 90 (severe COVID‐19) faced a fivefold higher risk of death (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 5.15; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.08, 24.58; p = 0.040). Additionally, individuals aged 60 years and older had an approximately threefold higher risk of experiencing severe COVID‐19 (aOR = 3.43; 95% CI = 2.30, 5.13; p &lt; 0.001), while those with comorbidities showed a 60% higher risk of severe disease (aOR = 1.60; 95% CI = 1.07, 2.38; p = 0.021). Conclusion: These findings underscore the importance of early detection and management strategies targeting older patients and those with underlying health conditions to mitigate the impact of COVID‐19 and improve patient outcomes. Future efforts should prioritize tailored interventions and supportive care for these high‐risk populations.

Sheikh Omar Bittaye

Abubacarr Jagne

Abdul-Karim Iddrisu

Ramou Njie

Lamin ES Jaiteh

Ousman Nyan

Ya Fatou BM Jobe

Sidat Joof

Sohna Joof

Morrikebba Danso

Ebrima Bah

Musa Cham

Charles Roberts

Mustapha Bittaye

Clinical Characteristics and Prognostic Factors of COVID‐19 Patients Admitted to the National Treatment Center in The Gambia

冈比亚国家治疗中心收治的COVID-19患者的临床特征及预后因素

Background: Patient caregivers are highly likely to be contaminated with antimicrobial‐resistant microorganisms in the hospital wards. Many of these microorganisms can cause food‐borne infections, affecting admitted patients. Food quality, safety, and contributing factors in Ethiopian health institutions where food is served to in‐patients are poorly understood. Nevertheless, contamination and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) levels could vary from place to place. Infections by these antimicrobial‐resistant pathogens cause prolonged hospital stays, high rates of mortality, and affect individual and country economies in greater amounts. Objective: Identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of bacteria isolated from family caregivers and food serving utensils in Jimma University specialized hospital. Methods: This study used a cross‐sectional study design to determine the bacteriological contamination of family caregivers (caregivers) and food serving utensils (utensils) and their antimicrobial susceptibility from February to April 2020 at in‐patient pediatric wards of Jimma University Medical Center (JUMC). The study took swab samples from 60 of the caregivers’ hands and utensils who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The laboratory study was supported by survey data taken through questionnaires and managed using EPi data software version 3.1 and SPSS version 21. The data was analyzed using descriptive analysis and presented according to frequency distribution. Results: The findings show that 33.3% and 23.3% of caregivers were contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ) and Escherichia coli ( E. coli ), respectively. Similarly, the study identified E. coli (30%), Klebsiella pneumonia ( K. pneumoniae ; 26.6%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ( P. aeruginosa ; 23.3%) from the utensils. Antibacterial sensitivity test results showed that over 75% of the identified E.coli from caregivers’ and utensils were resistant to ampicillin, ceftriaxone, cefixime, co‐trimoxazole, and cefotaxime. Similarly, over 65% of the identified S. aureus from the caregivers and utensils were resistant to erythromycin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, and penicillin. All Salmonella group A identified from utensils were also resistant to Augmentin and cefotaxime. Conclusion: As shown in the result, many isolated bacteria were resistant to the standard antibiotics commonly used to treat most diseases. Hence, admitted patients, particularly children, are at risk of infection with these antimicrobial‐resistant bacteria. Due attention must be given to hygienic practices of the hospital environment and individuals to reduce the risks of contamination and transmission.

Temima Jemal

Tizita Teshome Eshetu

Dessalegn Dadi Olani

Mulunesh Deti

Zeleke Mekonnen

Gudina Terefe Tucho

Assessing the Risk of Antimicrobial Resistance Through Bacterial Contamination in Caregiving Environments at Jimma University Specialized Hospital

评估吉马大学专科医院护理环境中细菌污染导致的抗菌药物耐药性风险

Background: In recent years, the importance of health literacy in public health has attracted global interest as it affects people’s ability to make health decisions and is associated with health outcomes. Reproductive health literacy (RHL), in particular, affects adolescent’s ability to make sound sexual and reproductive health (SRH) decisions and is shown as a strong predictor of adolescent’s RH outcomes. This study aimed to determine the RHL status and associated factors among high school adolescents in Eastern Ethiopia. Methods: Institutional‐based cross‐sectional study was conducted among 403 randomly selected secondary school adolescents in Boke District, Eastern Ethiopia, from January 1–5, 2021. Data were collected through pretested, structured, and self‐administered questionnaires, entered into Epidata version 3.1, and analyzed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. A comprehensive questionnaires were designed to measure adolescents’ RHL in four functional dimensions (access, understand, appraise, and apply information). A participant’s RHL was categorized as limited or adequate, based on a transformed scale of measurements from 0 to 50. The predictors of the outcome variable were assessed using a logistic regression model and reported using adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). A statistical significance was declared at a p value of &lt;0.05. Results: The overall prevalence of limited RHL among adolescents was 81.6% with a 95% CI (77.5%−85.2%). In‐school male adolescents were 52% less likely to score in limited RHL status than their female counterparts (AOR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.26, 0.88). Adolescents who reported attending reproductive health (RH)–related topics in class were 56% less likely to score in limited RHL status than their counterparts (AOR = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.23, 0.84). Furthermore, adolescents who reported using at least one RH service component were 60% times less likely to score in limited RHL status compared to their counterparts (AOR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.23, 0.70). Conclusion: A high proportion of school adolescents have limited RHL, suggesting school adolescents are at higher risk of RHL–related problems. Improving adolescent RHL with due attention to school, SRH education is warranted.

Getachew Bejiga Batu

Lemessa Oljira

Mekonnen Sisay

Jemal Yusuf Kebira

Reproductive Health Literacy and Associated Factors Among High School Adolescents in Boke District, Eastern Ethiopia

埃塞俄比亚东部博克地区高中青少年生殖健康素养及其相关因素

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic had a major effect on economics, cultures, and world health. Effective prevention, management, and control of the virus depend on an understanding of its origins and early conditions. This study examines pharmacists’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) on COVID‐19 prevention and control in Kuwait using the KAPs approach. Methods: From August 15 to August 30, 2022, a cross‐sectional survey design was used in the study. A convenience sample of 400 participants was obtained. Data were collected via an online survey that consisted of demographic questions and a KAPs survey about COVID‐19. The survey had been piloted before and was deemed to have a respectable level of dependability. Based on predetermined scoring levels, participants’ anonymous replies were divided into categories such as adequate/inadequate knowledge, positive/negative attitudes, and appropriate/inappropriate practices. Results: Half of the participants were married, and most of the participants were female. They were mostly in the age range of 31–40 years. The most common highest level of education attained was a master’s degree. There were noticeable differences in the demographics. Overall, 83.5% of participants showed adequate knowledge, 94% had a good attitude, and 52.5% had appropriate practice. Males had a greater understanding of transmission but lesser knowledge of clinical presentation. The group with the highest rates of proper behavior and adequate Knowledge was those aged 31–40 years. Being married was associated with higher knowledge. The educational level had a substantial impact on results, with master’s degree holders having greater rates of adequate knowledge. Although knowledge and attitude ratings showed a good correlation, attitude by itself could not significantly predict actual preventative measures, highlighting the necessity for behavior‐change‐focused treatments. Conclusion: This study highlights the significance of educating pharmacists about evidence‐based practices to improve their involvement in COVID‐19 prevention and control. The importance of disseminating clear information via a variety of communication methods is underscored by the positive association found between knowledge and practice. The study focuses on pharmacists in Kuwait in particular since it acknowledges the need to bolster their optimistic outlooks and aggressive involvement in tackling health issues. In conclusion, these results highlight how important focused interventions and education are to successful pandemic management.

Abrar Ghaith

Islam Alghreiz

Tayseer Afifi

Exploring the Pharmacists’ Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice During COVID‐19: A KAP Model Approach

探索药剂师在COVID‐19期间的知信行：基于KAP模型的研究

Background. Social support is an important determinant of the psychological health of women. Aim. To examine social support and its association with psychological distress among women in Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods. Data were gathered between February and July 2023, using a cross-sectional, anonymous, online survey of women in Saudi Arabia above the age of 18 (n = 414). The multidimensional scale of perceived social support was utilized to gauge social support. The brief symptom rating scale, a 5-item measure, was used to measure psychological distress. Associations between social support and psychological distress were determined using linear regression considering potential covariates. Results. Results show high levels of psychological distress, with 38.1% of respondents scoring moderate to severe levels of psychological distress. The most commonly reported symptoms of distress were “feeling tense or high-strung” and “feeling easily annoyed or irritated,” with 39.4% and 34.5%, respectively, of respondents experiencing these symptoms moderately to extremely. Moderately high levels of social support were reported, with 77.1% of participants agreeing or strongly agreeing with the “my family really tries to help me” statement. Family/interpersonal relationships, however, were simultaneously the most commonly reported stressor over the past 3 years (59.4%). Unadjusted and adjusted analyses show social support was negatively correlated with psychological distress (β = −0.284, <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"><a:mi>p</a:mi><a:mtext> </a:mtext><a:mo>&lt;</a:mo><a:mn>0.001</a:mn></a:math> ; adjusted β = −0.145, p = 0.042), indicating higher levels of social support were correlated with reduced psychological distress. Conclusions. Findings indicate moderate-to-high levels of psychological distress as well as social support and an inverse association between them. This information can be used to inform intervention development. To better understand these domains as they relate to psychological distress, future research is warranted.

Khulud K. Alharbi

Tassnym H. Sinky

Muath Aldomini

Mohamed O. Nour

Social Support and Psychological Distress of Women in Saudi Arabia: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study

沙特阿拉伯女性社会支持与心理困扰：一项全国横断面研究

Background . The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing around 8 million people a year. The tobacco control program has been one of the priority programs in Nepal but still satisfactory results have not been achieved yet. The main objective of this study was to assess the tobacco smoke-free law compliance in public places of the provincial headquarters of Nepal. Materials and Methods . A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in 2019 in 560 public places of seven provincial headquarters of Nepal. Convinent samples were collected from at least three different clusters (wards) of each city. Indoor and outdoor locations of public places were observed. Observation tool was adopted from the Guide for Conducting Compliance Studies (John Hopkins School of Public Health). Data were entered in Epi Datav3.1, and analysis was done using IBM SPSS 26. Results . This study showed less use of no-tobacco signage which was 32% in the indoor areas and 13% in the outdoor areas in public places but they were placed in visible areas. Tobacco use in public places is still prevalent and it was higher (40%) in outdoor of public places. Three-fourths (76%) of public places was observed for buying and selling tobacco products within their 100 m premises. Tourist hotels, public toilets, and bus stops/ticket counters had low tobacco law compliance both in indoor and outdoor areas. Though public vehicles and cinema halls had high tobacco law compliance in indoor areas, law compliance in outdoor areas was low. Province-wise comparison showed that there was a similar pattern of tobacco law compliance in the indoor areas but outdoor law compliance was low in Madesh, Bagmati, and Karnali province. Conclusion . It is evident that while progress has been made in certain aspects of tobacco law compliance, there remains a compelling need for comprehensive and targeted interventions to ensure adherence to laws in public places across the country.

Aditya Shakya

Bhakta Bahadur KC

Rasmita Shrestha

Compliance Status of Smoke-Free Public Places Law in Nepal

尼泊尔无烟公共场所法律的遵守情况

Background. The cost of health financing is an age-long social challenge in resource-constrained settings. Out-of-pocket (OOP) health spending adversely affects maternal healthcare provisions and use, making health insurance one of the most effective social interventions. Objective. The purpose of this research was to study the effect of OOP health expenditure on socioeconomic factors and health insurance coverage among Ghanaian women. Materials and Methods. Secondary statistical data pulled out from Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS)—2014 was investigated. A sample of 9,396 women whose ages ranged from 15 to 49 years was studied. We used marginal predictive model to examine the interaction effect between socioeconomic factors and health insurance coverage on OOP health expenditure. The significance level was determined at 5%. Results. Overall, about 41.9% (95% CI: 39.4%−44.4%) of Ghanaian women reported OOP health expenditure for drugs and services. Amongst those covered by health insurance, this was 37.9% (95% CI: 35.3%−44.4%). The marginal interaction effects of OOP health expenditure were higher for women in the lowest neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage group (42.6%) than those in the highest neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage group (26.0%) who were covered by health insurance. In addition, the marginal interaction effects of OOP health expenditure were found to be greater among women who had higher education (43.8%) compared with those who had no formal education (34.0%) who were covered by health insurance. Furthermore, the marginal interaction effects of OOP health expenditure were higher for rural (39.0%), than their urban counterpart (36.6.0%) who were under the covering of health insurance. Conclusion. There is a gap in health insurance coverage, which leads to increased OOP health expenditure. The OOP health expenditure effect was more concentrated among high socioeconomic women with health insurance. The healthcare system’s stakeholders should implement policies aimed at eliminating OOP health expenditure for maternal health services.

Michael Ekholuenetale

Chimezie Igwegbe Nzoputam

Charity Ehimwenma Joshua

Amadou Barrow

Impact of Socioeconomic Factors and Health Insurance Coverage on Out-of-Pocket Health Expenditure among Ghanaian Women: Implications for Health Financing Policy

加纳妇女自付医疗费用的社会经济因素和医疗保险覆盖率的影响：对卫生融资政策的启示

Background. The global strategy on infant and child feeding recommends the best pattern of feeding for infants and young child feeding (IYCF) from birth to 24 months. Practices of proper feeding of children up to 2 years of age contribute to a child’s survival, growth, and development because they can prevent micronutrient deficiencies, morbidity, and obesity in later life. This study aims to determine the risk factors for the failure of IYCF practice in urban and rural Indonesia. Materials and Methods. The study used Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey (IDHS) 2017 data with a cross-sectional research design. The sampling technique used systematic probability proportional to size sampling. The number of samples was 4,869 children consisting of 2,424 children in urban and 2,445 children in rural. Bivariate analysis using chi-square test. Multivariate analysis using multivariate logistic regression. Results. The study found that most of the children in urban (79.3%) and rural (97.2%) did not practice IYCF under the recommendations. There is a difference in the proportion of IYCF practices between urban and rural areas ( <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"><a:mi>p</a:mi><a:mtext> </a:mtext><a:mo>&lt;</a:mo><a:mn>0.001</a:mn></a:math> ). The risk factors for the failure of IYCF practice in urban areas are socioeconomic, maternal age, and age at first marriage. The poorest socioeconomic is at risk of 2.4 times, maternal age &gt; 35 years are at risk of 1.5 times, age at first marriage is less than 21 years at risk of 2.1 times carrying out IYCF practices not according to recommendations compared to the comparison group. The risk factors for the failure of IYCF practice in rural are socioeconomic, maternal education, quantity, and quality of antenatal care (ANC). The poorest socioeconomic is at risk of 2.1 times, mothers with primary education are at 1.5 times, the quantity of ANC is not good at risk at 1.9 times, the quality of ANC is not good risk at 1.5 times practicing IYCF is not according to the recommendations compared to the comparison group. Conclusion. The practice of IYCF in Indonesia starting from giving early breastfeeding initiation, exclusive breastfeeding, and complementary feeding according to recommendations is still low. The priority of IYCF intervention through education and assistance to pregnant women needs to be a sustainable program.

Demsa Simbolon

Desri Suryani

Heidy Dayanti

Agustina Setia

Tobianus Hasan

Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) Practices in Rural and Urban Regions of Indonesia

印度尼西亚农村和城市地区的婴幼儿喂养（IYCF）实践

Background. Thailand tends to have more access to online media. In 2020, the northeastern region had the highest usage rate. Especially school-age children have the highest usage rate. If misused for a long time, the consequences can adversely affect health in many aspects. Their parents should closely supervise and monitor them for this health problem. However, parents have limitations in caring because they have to work a lot. The aim was to study factors that influence working-age parents in holistic health care (HHC) of school-age children using online media in northeast Thailand. Materials and Methods. This research was a descriptive study, with a sample of parent amount 222. The questionnaire performed an item-objective congruence (IOC) = 0.60–1.00, the content validity index (CVI) = 0.90, and the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.93. The data collected then include the characteristics, use of online media, health problems, and health care. Finally, data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, frequency, percentage, standard deviation, and multiple regressions. Result. The results of the study are factors that influenced HHC with statistical significance ( <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"><a:mi>p</a:mi><a:mo>≤</a:mo><a:mn>.001</a:mn></a:math> ) including the child’s gender, the child’s age, the child’s class, the type of internet, activities, the device, and the device owner. In addition, it was holistic health problems of school-age children such as physical, emotional, social, and intellectual. Importantly, these could explain the variation for HHC of 21.2% (adjusted R2 = 0.212), and the standard error in the model estimation was 25.06 (SEE = 25.06). Conclusion. Factors that influence school-age children’s health care are beneficial to preventing and solving health problems by using online media. Parents or health care professionals can use it as a guide to develop more effective health care strategies and policies. Ultimately, it will help to promote better health for children in an ever-changing digital world.

Atchariya Wonginchan

Juraporn Tangpukdee

Suphasak Wonginchan

Sureeporn Kearttiwongkru

Sujitra Konggungong

Influencing Factor on School-Age Children’s Holistic Health Care Who Using Online Media by Working-Age Parents in Northeast Thailand

工作年龄父母在泰国东北部使用在线媒体对学龄儿童整体健康护理的影响因素

Abbreviation
Journal Impact	1.65
Quartiles(Global)	PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH(Q3)

ISSN	2314-7784, 2356-6868
h-index	14

Publication Information	Publisher: Hindawi Limited，Publishing cycle: ，Journal Type: journal，Open Access Journals: Yes
Basic data	Year of publication: 2019，Proportion of original research papers: 100.00%，Self Citation Rate:0.00%， Gold OA Rate: 97.50%
Journal Fees	$950Details
Average review cycle	网友分享经验：18 Weeks

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