Related factors to human toxocariasis in a rural community of Argentina

The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between toxocariasis frequency and demographic, environmental, sanitary variables, eosinophylia, and other intestinal parasites in a rural population of Argentina. Serological examination of 100 individuals was carried out by using ELISA technique for the detection of anti-toxocara antibodies. Eosinophiles in peripheral blood, presence of intestinal parasites, and demographic, environmental, and socio-cultural data were evaluated. Eighty-one feces samples of dogs belonging to the studied people were analyzed to detect eggs of Toxocara canis. Thirty of them were from 30 dogs and 51 were pools from dog feces. Samples of dirt from around the homes (n: 47) and from public park (n: 4) were taken. To determine the associations, the c² and Fisher tests were used. The seroprevalence was 23%. Eosinophilia in peripheral blood was detected in 86.95% seropositive individuals and in 37.66% seronegative individuals (p < 0.001, OR = 11.03). Of the 23 people with positive serology, 69.56% had at least one intestinal parasite. All individuals with positive serology had dogs in their homes. Among the dog owners there was a significant association between the presence of anti-toxocara antibodies and home flooding. Eggs of T. canis were detected in the feces of 5/81 dogs and three of these dogs belonged to individuals with positive serology. Eggs of Toxocara spp. were found in 41.17% of the dirt samples, eight of which came from the area surrounding the homes of individuals with positive serology (p = 0.032; OR = 4.36). Taking into account all the variables influencing the frequency of toxocariasis in this population, the implementation of Public Health programs specifically focused on anti-parasitic treatment of dogs is recommended.

Substance Misuse Among People Over 55 - Perspectives from the Community and Voluntary sector in Belfast

The Belfast Health Development Unit (BHDU) was established as a Ministerial priority in March 2010, co-locating staff from The Public Health Agency (PHA), Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (BHSCT) and Belfast City Council (BCC). One of the strategic priorities for the BHDU is: an integrated approach to planning and delivery of services for older people in the city.The PHA and the BHDU had identified a need to examine the extent of substance misuse issues within the older population of the city of Belfast and to explore early intervention programmes targeting this population. It is envisioned that this piece of work will inform and support the Belfast Healthy Ageing Strategic Partnership on older people and its multi-sectoral action plan and will influence the work and priorities of the Belfast Strategic Partnership and its constituent stakeholders in taking drug and alcohol work forward in Belfast.The aim of this research was to review knowledge, awareness and evidence of the impact of substance misuse on the older population (aged 55+) and to review good practice in reducing substance related harm within this population which has been done by undertaking a review of available research, data and information sources. However, the main focus of the research involved consulting with a broad range of community and voluntary sector organisations working in the Belfast area to assess their views and perceptions of the prevalence and extent of substance misuse within the older population and the services currently in place to address this issue.�

Care pathway and model for community forensic teams in Northern Ireland

Care pathway and model for community forensic teams in Northern Ireland, October, 2011.

Community Development Strategy May 2012

The Community Development Strategy for Health and Wellbeing has been developed jointly by the Health and Social Care Board and the Public Health Agency.�The main purpose of the strategy is to recognise and support the important and pivotal role that community development plays in improving health and wellbeing.�The HSCB and PHA want to see strong, resilient communities where everyone has good health and wellbeing - places where people look out for each other and have community pride in where they live.�We seek to narrow the gap in health inequalities and improve the health and wellbeing of the population.�This means working to address the determinants of ill health and reducing risk factors, including those associated with poverty and social exclusion, and this can only be achieved in partnership with the community.The strategy was influenced by a widespread consultation in 2011 - details available here - during which over 300 individuals and organisations attended workshops and 60 written responses were received.�The following documents are attached below:Community Development Strategy - Consultation ResponsesCommunity Development Strategy - Executive SummaryCommunity Development Action PlanCommunity Development Strategy Community Development Strategy - Performance Management Framework

Médecine d'urgence [Emergency medicine: update 2009].

Emergency medicine is a cross-discipline characterized by its ability to identify critical threats, as well as its ability to prioritize investigations and identify appropriate treatments. Recent publications have been published on upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage, elbow fracture or brain haemorrhage, to optimize and standardize the investigations. In parallel, conditions such as cardiopulmonary arrest, spontaneous pneumothorax or stroke, benefit from recent therapeutic advances. However, emergency physicians and primary care physicians must remain critical of the numerous medical publications, as evidenced by the contradictory results concerning the interaction between proton pump inhibitors and clopidogrel.

The impact of two education methods on knowledge of schistosomiasis transmission and prevention among schoolchildren in a rural community in northern Minas Gerais, Brazil

The objective of this study was to analyse the effect of using two health education approaches on knowledge of transmission and prevention of schistosomiasis of school children living in a rural endemic area in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The 87 children participating in the study were divided into three groups based on gender, age and presence or absence of Schistosoma mansoni infection. In the first group the social representation model and illness experience was used. In the second group, we used the cognitive model based on the transmission of information. The third group, the control group, did not receive any information related to schistosomiasis. Ten meetings were held with all three groups that received a pre-test prior to the beginning of the educational intervention and a post-test after the completion of the program. The results showed that knowledge levels in Group 1 increased significantly during the program in regard to transmission (p = 0.038) and prevention (p = 0.001) of schistosomiasis. Groups 2 and 3 did not show significant increase in knowledge between the two tests. These results indicate that health education models need to consider social representation and illness experience besides scientific knowledge in order to increase knowledge of schistosomiasis transmission and prevention.

Clean your hands: hand hygiene in the community - guidance

This�leaflet is part of an extension of the cleanyourhands campaign, aimed at preventing the spread of healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) in community healthcare settings including primary care and dental services, residential and nursing homes (including independent sector homes), hospices and independent clinics/hospitals. It describes the campaign and outlines the campaign resources.

Genitourinary Medicine (GUM)/Sexual Health Clinics in Northern Ireland

This is a map of Genitourinary Medicine (GUM)/Sexual Health services across the five health trust areas. It gives contact details for the GUM/sexual health clinics and opening times.

Typing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains isolated in Community Health Centers of Rio de Janeiro City, Brazil

Fingerprinting of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains from tuberculosis (TB) patients attended in Community Health Centers (CHCs) of Rio de Janeiro was performed to verify possible risk factors for TB transmission. A prospective community-based study was performed during the period of July 1996 to December 1996 by collecting sputum samples of 489 patients in 11 different CHCs in four different planning areas (APs) of the city. Bacteriological, clinical, and epidemiological information was collected and M. tuberculosis genotypes defined after restriction fragment length polymorphism (IS6110-RFLP) and double repetitive element (DRE) fingerprinting of RFLP-clustered cases. Risk factors for TB transmission were looked for using three levels of cluster stringency. Among 349 (71%) positive cultures obtained, IS6110-RFLP typing could be performed on strains from 153 different patients. When using identity of RFLP patterns as cluster definition, 49 (32%) of the strains belonged to a cluster and none of the clinical or epidemiologic characteristics was associated with higher clustering levels. However, higher clustering level was observed in the AP including the central region of the city when compared to others. This strongly suggests that more recent transmission occurs in that area and this may be related with higher incidence of TB and HIV in this region.

Trends in the main diseases in an internal medicine ward, 2003-2011

Introduction : Population aging leads to a considerable increase in the prevalence of specific diseases. We aimed to assess if those changes were already reflected in an Internal Medicine ward. Methods : Anonymous data was obtained from the administrative database of the department of internal medicine of the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV). All hospitalizations of adult (>=18 years) patients occurring between 2003 and 2011 were included. Infections, cancers and diseases according to body system (heart, lung...) were defined by the first letter of the ICD-10 code for the main cause of hospitalization. Specific diseases (myocardial infarction, heart failure...) were defined by the first three letters of the ICD-10 codes for the main cause of hospitalization. Results : Data from 32,741 hospitalizations occurring between 2003 and 2011 was analyzed. Cardiovascular (ICD-10 code I) and respiratory (ICD-10 code J) diseases ranked first and second, respectively, and their ranks did not change during the study period (figure). Digestive and endocrine diseases decreased while psychiatric diseases increased from rank 9 in 2003 to rank 6 in 2011 (figure). Among specific diseases, pneumonia (organism unspecified, code J18) ranked first in 2003 and second in 2011. Acute myocardial infarction (code I21) ranked second in 2003 and third in 2011. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with acute lower respiratory infection (code J44) ranked third in 2003 and decreased to rank 8 in 2011. Conversely, heart failure (code I50) increased from rank 8 in 2003 to rank 1 in 2011 and delirium (not induced by alcohol and other psychoactive substances, code F05) increased from below rank 20 in 2003 to rank 4 in 2011. For more details, see table. Conclusion : In less than 10 years, considerable changes occurred in the presentation of patients attending an Internal Medicine ward. The changes in diseases call for adaptations in hospital staff and logistics.