MyMedR

Displaying publications 321 - 340 of 1340 in total

Abstract:

Sort:

Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Resource-Limited Settings

Beam M, Abdull Wahab SF, Ramos M

Med Clin North Am, 2025 Jan;109(1):313-324.
PMID: 39567101 DOI: 10.1016/j.mcna.2024.06.005

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) bridges diagnostic gaps across the continuum of care worldwide and is a particularly potent tool in resource-limited settings (RLS). To capture the scope of its current impact in RLS, this narrative review of POCUS use in public health, primary care, outpatient specialty, pre-hospital, and palliative care settings discusses its use in reducing diagnostic health care inequities. Disease-specific protocols, longitudinal training, quality assurance, and task shifting are key to robust expansion of POCUS in RLS.

Matched MeSH terms: Developing Countries
Fulltext Suitability of Parkinson's patients for surgery in the north East coast of peninsular malaysia: a prospective analysis

Abdullah J, Abdullah MR

Malays J Med Sci, 2003 Jan;10(1):74-7.
PMID: 23365504 MyJurnal

There is no report in the English literature on the criteria for neuroablation or neuroaugmentation for the treatment of Parkinson's disease in a developing country like Malaysia. A prospective study of patients with Parkinson's disease from the north-eastern peninsular Malaysia was done to assess their suitability of surgery. Age, race, duration of illness and dementia were considered important factors towards the success of such surgical procedures. A mathematical model is suggested for future cases deemed to be suitable for neuroaugmentative or ablative surgery.

Matched MeSH terms: Developing Countries
Awareness About and E-Cigarette Use Among Adults in 15 Low- and Middle-Income Countries, 2014-2018 Estimates From Global Adult Tobacco Surveys

Sreeramareddy CT, Manoharan A

Nicotine Tob Res, 2022 Jun 15;24(7):1095-1103.
PMID: 35596725 DOI: 10.1093/ntr/ntab269

INTRODUCTION: E-cigarette (EC) use is seldom reported from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We report the prevalence of "awareness" about EC, its use, and distribution of EC use by sociodemographic factors and cigarette smoking (CS) status.
AIMS AND METHODS: We analyzed Global Adult Tobacco Survey data in Bangladesh, China, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, India, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Ukraine, Turkey, Uruguay, and Viet Nam during 2014-2018. The weighted prevalence of "awareness" (heard about), "ever" (even once), and "current" (daily/nondaily) EC use among never, current, and former cigarette smokers and quit ratios (past smokers/ever smokers) was estimated. Association of EC use with sociodemographic, and CS, was explored by multilevel regression.
RESULTS: Overall, prevalence of "awareness," "ever," and "current" ECs use was 19.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 27.4, 31.1), 2.6% (95% CI 2.4, 2.8), and 0.7% (95% CI 0.6, 0.8), respectively. In most countries, "ever use" <10%, and "current use" was about 1% except Romania (4.4%) and Russia (3.5%). "Current use" was 0.1%, 2.9%, and 3.1% among never, current, and former smokers, respectively. "Current" and "ever" EC use was higher among current and former than never smokers (2.8% and 3.1% vs. 0.1%; 9.9% and 10.9% vs. 0.7%), respectively. Current EC use was associated with male sex, urban residence and younger age, higher education, and wealth. "Quit attempts" (aOR 1.3, 95% CI 1.2, 1.5) and cigarettes smoked per day (aOR 1.6, 95% CI 1.4, 1.9) were associated with "ever use."
CONCLUSIONS: EC use was low in most countries. "Dual use" was common among current smokers and the quit ratio was higher among ECs users.
IMPLICATIONS: EC use is increasing in high-income countries (HICs) where regulations on ECs are usually permissive. Evidence on the individual- or population-level impact of ECs on CS cessation is inconclusive. Little is known about the prevalence of EC use in LMICs where regulations are nonexistent or less restrictive. Studying the distribution of EC use rates by population subgroups, CS status, and quit ratios for CS among EC users will assist the formulation of EC regulatory policies. We provide comparable nationally representative prevalence estimates of "awareness" about and, use of ECs to serve as a benchmark for future monitoring. EC use was associated with the attempt to quit CS and smoking >10 cigarettes per day. However, "dual use" was common, and the quit ratio for CS was higher among EC users. EC use was very low relative to HICs. Nevertheless, comprehensive EC regulatory policies should be implemented to prevent the escalation of EC use by targeting population subgroups such as young adults, educated and wealthier individuals.

Matched MeSH terms: Developing Countries
Fulltext Magnitude and risk factors for postpartum symptoms: a literature review

Norhayati MN, Hazlina NH, Asrenee AR, Emilin WM

J Affect Disord, 2015 Apr 1;175:34-52.
PMID: 25590764 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2014.12.041

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of postpartum depression worldwide varies from 0.5% to 60.8% in the first 12 months postpartum using self-reported questionnaire. This review aims to update the current magnitude of postpartum depression based on self-reported questionnaire and clinical interview and explore its associated factors in developed and developing countries.
METHODS: A literature search conducted between 2005 and 2014 identified 203 studies, of which 191 used self-reported questionnaire in 42 countries and 21 used structured clinical interview in 15 countries. Nine studies used a combination of self-reported questionnaire and clinical interview.
RESULT: The prevalence of postpartum depression varies from 1.9% to 82.1% in developing countries and from 5.2% to 74.0% in developed countries using self-reported questionnaire. Structured clinical interview shows a much lower prevalence range from 0.1% in Finland to 26.3% in India. Antenatal depression and anxiety, previous psychiatric illness, poor marital relationship, stressful life events, negative attitude towards pregnancy, and lack of social support are significant contributors to postpartum depression.
LIMITATION: All studies are included irrespective of the methodological quality, such as small sample size and their inclusion could affect the generalizability of the results.
CONCLUSION: The current prevalence of postpartum depression is much higher than that previously reported, and similar risk factors are documented. A culturally sensitive cut-off score with adequate psychometric properties of the screening instruments should be available. In future studies, examining the physical, biological, and cultural factors in qualitative studies and in those with adequate methodological qualities is recommended.
KEYWORDS:Epidemiology; Postpartum depression; Prevalence; Risk factors

Matched MeSH terms: Developing Countries/statistics & numerical data*
Neurology in Asia

Tan CT

Neurology, 2015 Feb 10;84(6):623-5.
PMID: 25666629 DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000001224

Asia is important as it accounts for more than half of the world population. The majority of Asian countries fall into the middle income category. As for cultural traditions, Asia is highly varied, with many languages spoken. The pattern of neurologic diseases in Asia is largely similar to the West, with some disease features being specific to Asia. Whereas Asia constitutes 60% of the world's population, it contains only 20% of the world's neurologists. This disparity is particularly evident in South and South East Asia. As for neurologic care, it is highly variable depending on whether it is an urban or rural setting, the level of economic development, and the system of health care financing. To help remedy the shortage of neurologists, most counties with larger populations have established training programs in neurology. These programs are diverse, with many areas of concern. There are regional organizations serving as a vehicle for networking in neurology and various subspecialties, as well as an official journal (Neurology Asia). The Asian Epilepsy Academy, with its emphasis on workshops in various locations, EEG certification examination, and fellowships, may provide a template of effective regional networking for improving neurology care in the region.

Matched MeSH terms: Developing Countries/statistics & numerical data
Environmental management for dredging sediments - the requirement of developing nations

Manap N, Voulvoulis N

J Environ Manage, 2015 Jan 1;147:338-48.
PMID: 25304520 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.09.024

Scientific research has characterized the effects of dredging, an underwater excavation process for navigational purposes or material extraction, and has shown its association with a number of chemical, physical and biological impacts. Due to this, much environmental management has been applied in the dredging industry in order to manage its detrimental effects. However, developing nations may have different approaches towards their dredging environmental management to compare to their companions with higher economic strength. Moreover, scientific evidence to make an informed decision is often lacking, hence affecting the number of research executed at these nations, limiting their efforts to preserve the environment. This paper reviews the dredging environmental impacts and its two important factors, dredging technology and sediment characteristic, that determine the magnitude of impacts through literature review, and discusses the need for a more integrated dredging environmental management to be developed for developing nations.

Matched MeSH terms: Developing Countries*
Fulltext The rural bite in population pyramids: what are the implications for responsiveness of health systems in middle income countries?

Jahan N, Allotey P, Arunachalam D, Yasin S, Soyiri IN, Davey TM, et al.

BMC Public Health, 2014;14 Suppl 2:S8.
PMID: 25081203 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-S2-S8

Health services can only be responsive if they are designed to service the needs of the population at hand. In many low and middle income countries, the rate of urbanisation can leave the profile of the rural population quite different from the urban population. As a consequence, the kinds of services required for an urban population may be quite different from that required for a rural population. This is examined using data from the South East Asia Community Observatory in rural Malaysia and contrasting it with the national Malaysia population profile.

Matched MeSH terms: Developing Countries*
Survival of lung cancer patients in a resource-limited country

How SH, Ng TH, Kuan YC, Jamalludin AR, Fauzi AR

Asia Pac J Clin Oncol, 2015 Sep;11(3):221-7.
PMID: 24575820 DOI: 10.1111/ajco.12179

Data on lung cancer survival are lacking in developing countries. Our objectives were to describe the survival of our lung cancer patients and to determine independent prognostic factors affecting survival.

Matched MeSH terms: Developing Countries/statistics & numerical data*
A comparative analysis of avoidable causes of childhood blindness in Malaysia with low income, middle income and high income countries

Koay CL, Patel DK, Tajunisah I, Subrayan V, Lansingh VC

Int Ophthalmol, 2015 Apr;35(2):201-7.
PMID: 24652461 DOI: 10.1007/s10792-014-9932-x

To determine the avoidable causes of childhood blindness in Malaysia and to compare this to other middle income countries, low income countries and high income countries. Data were obtained from a school of the blind study by Patel et al. and analysed for avoidable causes of childhood blindness. Six other studies with previously published data on childhood blindness in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Indonesia, China and the United Kingdom were reviewed for avoidable causes. Comparisons of data and limitations of the studies are described. Prevalence of avoidable causes of childhood blindness in Malaysia is 50.5 % of all the cases of childhood blindness, whilst in the poor income countries such as Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Indonesia, the prevalence was in excess of 60 %. China had a low prevalence, but this is largely due to the fact that most schools were urban, and thus did not represent the situation of the country. High income countries had the lowest prevalence of avoidable childhood blindness. In middle income countries, such as Malaysia, cataract and retinopathy of prematurity are the main causes of avoidable childhood blindness. Low income countries continue to struggle with infections such as measles and nutritional deficiencies, such as vitamin A, both of which are the main contributors to childhood blindness. In high income countries, such as the United Kingdom, these problems are almost non-existent.

Matched MeSH terms: Developing Countries*
Fulltext Salinity tolerance turfgrass: history and prospects

Uddin MK, Juraimi AS

ScientificWorldJournal, 2013;2013:409413.
PMID: 24222734 DOI: 10.1155/2013/409413

Land and water resources are becoming scarce and are insufficient to sustain the burgeoning population. Salinity is one of the most important abiotic stresses affecting agricultural productions across the world. Cultivation of salt-tolerant turfgrass species may be promising option under such conditions where poor quality water can also be used for these crops. Coastal lands in developing countries can be used to grow such crops, and seawater can be used for irrigation of purposes. These plants can be grown using land and water unsuitable for conventional crops and can provide food, fuel, fodder, fibber, resin, essential oils, and pharmaceutical products and can be used for landscape reintegration. There are a number of potential turfgrass species that may be appropriate at various salinity levels of seawater. The goal of this review is to create greater awareness of salt-tolerant turfgrasses, their current and potential uses, and their potential use in developing countries. The future for irrigating turf may rely on the use of moderate- to high-salinity water and, in order to ensure that the turf system is sustainable, will rely on the use of salt-tolerant grasses and an improved knowledge of the effects of salinity on turfgrasses.

Matched MeSH terms: Developing Countries/economics
Relative importance of demographic, socioeconomic and health factors on life expectancy in low- and lower-middle-income countries

Mondal MN, Shitan M

J Epidemiol, 2014;24(2):117-24.
PMID: 24390415

BACKGROUND: We attempted to identify the pathways by which demographic changes, socioeconomic inequalities, and availability of health factors influence life expectancy in low- and lower-middle-income countries.
METHODS: Data for 91 countries were obtained from United Nations agencies. The response variable was life expectancy, and the determinant factors were demographic events (total fertility rate and adolescent fertility rate), socioeconomic status (mean years of schooling and gross national income per capita), and health factors (physician density and human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] prevalence rate). Path analysis was used to determine the direct, indirect, and total effects of these factors on life expectancy.
RESULTS: All determinant factors were significantly correlated with life expectancy. Mean years of schooling, total fertility rate, and HIV prevalence rate had significant direct and indirect effects on life expectancy. The total effect of higher physician density was to increase life expectancy.
CONCLUSIONS: We identified several direct and indirect pathways that predict life expectancy. The findings suggest that policies should concentrate on improving reproductive decisions, increasing education, and reducing HIV transmission. In addition, special attention should be paid to the emerging need to increase life expectancy by increasing physician density.

Matched MeSH terms: Developing Countries/statistics & numerical data*
Research on quality of life in female patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia and issues in developing nations

Zainuddin AA, Grover SR, Shamsuddin K, Mahdy ZA

J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol, 2013 Dec;26(6):296-304.
PMID: 23507003 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpag.2012.08.004

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is the commonest cause of ambiguous genitalia for female newborns and is one of the conditions under the umbrella term of "Disorders of Sex Development" (DSD). Management of these patients require multidisciplinary collaboration and is challenging because there are many aspects of care, such as the most appropriate timing and extent of feminizing surgery required and attention to psychosexual, psychological, and reproductive issues, which still require attention and reconsideration, even in developed nations. In developing nations, however, additional challenges prevail: poverty, lack of education, lack of easily accessible and affordable medical care, traditional beliefs on intersex, religious, and cultural issues, as well as poor community support. There is a paucity of long-term outcome studies on DSD and CAH to inform on best management to achieve optimal outcome. In a survey conducted on 16 patients with CAH and their parents in a Malaysian tertiary center, 31.3% of patients stated poor knowledge of their condition, and 37.5% did not realize that their medications were required for life. This review on the research done on quality of life (QOL) of female patients with CAH aims: to discuss factors affecting QOL of female patients with CAH, especially in the developing population; to summarize the extant literature on the quality of life outcomes of female patients with CAH; and to offer recommendations to improve QOL outcomes in clinical practice and research.

Matched MeSH terms: Developing Countries*
Fulltext Joint association of sitting time and physical activity with metabolic risk factors among middle-aged Malays in a developing country: a cross-sectional study

Chu AH, Moy FM

PLoS One, 2013;8(4):e61723.
PMID: 23613917 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0061723

Prolonged sitting is associated with increased weight and higher risks for abdominal obesity, dyslipidaemia, hyperglycaemia and hypertension among the adult population. This has been well documented in the West, but studies on these associations are lacking in developing countries, including Malaysia.

Matched MeSH terms: Developing Countries*
Fulltext Personal health records: mobile biosensors and smartphones for developing countries

Simon SK, Seldon HL

Stud Health Technol Inform, 2012;182:125-32.
PMID: 23138087

A target of telehealth is to maintain or improve the health of people outside the normal healthcare infrastructure. A modern paradigm in healthcare, and one which fits perfectly with telehealth, is "person self-monitoring", and this fits with the concept of "personal health record" (PHR). One factor in maintaining health is to monitor physiological parameters; this is of course especially important in people with chronic maladies such as diabetes or heart disease. Parameters to be monitored include blood pressure, pulse rate, temperature, weight, blood glucose, oxygen saturation, electrocardiogram (ECG), etc. So one task within telehealth would be to help monitor an individual's physiological parameters outside of healthcare institutions and store the results in a PHR in a way which is available, comprehensible and beneficial to the individual concerned and to healthcare providers. To date many approaches to this problem have been fragmented - emphasizing only part of the problem - or proprietary and not freely verifiable. We describe a framework to approach this task; it emphasizes the implementation of standards for data acquisition, storage and transmission in order to maximize the compatibility among disparate components, e.g. various PHR systems. Data from mobile biosensors is collected on a smartphone using the IEEE 11073 standard where possible; the data can be stored in a PHR on the phone (using standard formats) or can be converted in real-time into more useful information in the PHR, which is based on the International Classification for Primary Care (ICPC2e). The phone PHR data or information can be uploaded to a central online PHR using either the Wi-Fi or GSM transmission protocol together with the Continuity of Care Record message format (CCR, ASTM E2369).

Matched MeSH terms: Developing Countries*
Development of health biotechnology in developing countries: can private-sector players be the prime movers?

Abuduxike G, Aljunid SM

Biotechnol Adv, 2012 Nov-Dec;30(6):1589-601.
PMID: 22617902 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2012.05.002

Health biotechnology has rapidly become vital in helping healthcare systems meet the needs of the poor in developing countries. This key industry also generates revenue and creates employment opportunities in these countries. To successfully develop biotechnology industries in developing nations, it is critical to understand and improve the system of health innovation, as well as the role of each innovative sector and the linkages between the sectors. Countries' science and technology capacities can be strengthened only if there are non-linear linkages and strong interrelations among players throughout the innovation process; these relationships generate and transfer knowledge related to commercialization of the innovative health products. The private sector is one of the main actors in healthcare innovation, contributing significantly to the development of health biotechnology via knowledge, expertise, resources and relationships to translate basic research and development into new commercial products and innovative processes. The role of the private sector has been increasingly recognized and emphasized by governments, agencies and international organizations. Many partnerships between the public and private sector have been established to leverage the potential of the private sector to produce more affordable healthcare products. Several developing countries that have been actively involved in health biotechnology are becoming the main players in this industry. The aim of this paper is to discuss the role of the private sector in health biotechnology development and to study its impact on health and economic growth through case studies in South Korea, India and Brazil. The paper also discussed the approaches by which the private sector can improve the health and economic status of the poor.

Matched MeSH terms: Developing Countries/economics*
Fulltext Dysfunctional problem-based learning curricula: resolving the problem

Lim WK

BMC Med Educ, 2012;12:89.
PMID: 23009729 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6920-12-89

Problem-based learning (PBL) has become the most significant innovation in medical education of the past 40 years. In contrast to exam-centered, lecture-based conventional curricula, PBL is a comprehensive curricular strategy that fosters student-centred learning and the skills desired in physicians. The rapid spread of PBL has produced many variants. One of the most common is 'hybrid PBL' where conventional teaching methods are implemented alongside PBL. This paper contends that the mixing of these two opposing educational philosophies can undermine PBL and nullify its positive benefits. Schools using hybrid PBL and lacking medical education expertise may end up with a dysfunctional curriculum worse off than the traditional approach.

Matched MeSH terms: Developing Countries*
Factors affecting life expectancy: evidence from 1980-2009 data in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand

Chan MF, Devi MK

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2015 Mar;27(2):136-46.
PMID: 22865722 DOI: 10.1177/1010539512454163

The authors aim to examine the impact of demographic changes, socioeconomic inequality, and the availability of health care resources on life expectancy in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. This is a cross-country study collecting annual data from 3 Southeast Asian countries from 1980 to 2008. Life expectancy is the dependent variable with demographics, socioeconomic status, and health care resources as the 3 main determinants. A structural equation model is used, and results show that the availability of more health care resources and higher levels of socioeconomic advantages are more likely to increase life expectancy. In contrast, demographic changes are more likely to increase life expectancy by way of health care resources. The authors suggest that more effort should be taken to expand and improve the coverage of health care programs to alleviate regional differences in health care use and improve the overall health status of people in these 3 Southeast Asian countries.

Matched MeSH terms: Developing Countries/statistics & numerical data*
Sex differences in educational encouragement and academic achievement

Khan A

Psychol Rep, 2012 Aug;111(1):149-55.
PMID: 23045856

Sex differences in educational encouragement and their predictiveness of academic achievement were examined among 442 secondary school students (M age = 13.2 yr., SD = 1.9). Education-related encouragement received from mothers, fathers, friends, and teachers was assessed. Academic achievement was based on student self-reports and grades. Female adolescents reported receiving statistically significantly more educational encouragement from their mothers, fathers, friends, and teachers than did male adolescents. In regression, sex and educational encouragement from parents, friends, and teachers were found to be significant predictors of academic achievement.

Matched MeSH terms: Developing Countries*
Initiation of social pharmacy research in Nepal: our experiences

Palaian S, Poudel A, Alam K, Mohamed Ibrahim MI, Mishra P

Int J Clin Pharm, 2011 Aug;33(4):591-6.
PMID: 21562802 DOI: 10.1007/s11096-011-9512-3

Nepal experiences several medicine-use problems like any other developing country. In the recent years, there have been initiatives to introduce the concept of social pharmacy in Nepal, and there has been only a limited research in this area. The staff members at the Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara have shown keen interest in initiating several social pharmacy-related researches in the country. The members of this institute have been collaborating with two international universities, namely Universiti Sains Malaysia located in Malaysia and Chulalongkorn University located in Thailand, to get academic and technical supports. In this manuscript, the authors share their experiences in initiating social pharmacy research in the country. Authors have also mentioned the priority areas of social pharmacy research in Nepal and the importance of initiating this concept in the country.

Matched MeSH terms: Developing Countries*
Human papillomavirus vaccination in the resourced and resource-constrained world

Woo YL, Omar SZ

Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol, 2011 Oct;25(5):597-603.
PMID: 21684811 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2011.05.004

Human papillomavirus has been established as the causal agent for cervical cancer. The identification of a clear cause presents an unparalleled opportunity for cancer control. As such, the development of prophylactic human papillomavirus vaccines has been rightly hailed as one of the significant scientific triumphs of the past 20 years. This story of scientific triumph over disease, however, is not yet complete. The fruit of scientific labour must be delivered to the people in order to fulfil the underlying intent of the research (i.e. to prevent cancer and save lives). The success of a vaccination programme, however, does not depend on the biological efficacy of the vaccine alone. Various other local factors, such as poverty, gender inequality, cultural traditions, or religious beliefs, can significantly constrain the success of any vaccination programme. In this chapter, we provide an overview of how the human papillomavirus vaccine works and its global uptake, as well as, how variations in local contexts can affect the successful implementation of a vaccination programme. Other factors besides vaccine costs also need serious attention. With better understanding of such factors, policy makers and medical health professionals will be better equipped to make informed decisions to maximise the potential benefits of the human papillomavirus vaccines for the most number of people in individual countries.

Matched MeSH terms: Developing Countries*

Filters

Please provide feedback to Administrator ([email protected])

External Links