The need for digital health education among next-generation health workers in China: a cross-sectional survey on digital health education.

BACKGROUND: Digital health is important for sustainable health systems and universal health coverage. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, many countries, including China, have promoted the introduction of digital health in their medical services. Developing the next generation of physicians with digital health knowledge and skills is a prerequisite for maximizing the potential of digital health. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to understand the perception of digital health among Chinese medical students, the current implementation of digital health education in China, and the urgent need of medical students. METHODS: Our cross-sectional survey was conducted online and anonymously among current medical students in China. We used descriptive statistical analysis to examine participant demographic characteristics and the demand for digital health education. Additional analysis was conducted by grouping responses by current participation in a digital health course. RESULTS: A total of 2122 valid responses were received from 467 medical schools. Most medical students had positive expectations that digital health will change the future of medicine. Compared with wearable devices (85.53%), telemedicine (84.16%), and medical big data (86.38%), fewer respondents believed in the benefits of clinical decision support systems (CDSS) (63.81%). Most respondents said they urgently needed digital health knowledge and skills, and the teaching method of practical training and internship (78.02%) was more popular than the traditional lecture (10.54%). However, only 41.45% wanted to learn about the ethical and legal issues surrounding digital health. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that the current needs of Chinese medical students for digital health education remain unmet. A national initiative on digital health education, is necessary and attention should be paid to digital health equity and education globally, focusing on CDSS and artificial intelligence. Ethics knowledge must also be included in medical curriculum. Students as Partners (SAP) is a promising approach for designing digital health courses.

Healthcare workers perceptions of patient safety culture in selected Ghanaian regional hospitals: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Patient safety culture is an integral part of healthcare delivery both in Ghana and globally. Therefore, understanding how frontline health workers perceive patient safety culture and the factors that influence it is very important. This qualitative study examined the health workers' perceptions of patient safety culture in selected regional hospitals in Ghana. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to provide a voice concerning how frontline health workers perceive patient safety culture and explain the major barriers in ensuring it. METHOD: In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 42 health professionals in two regional government hospitals in Ghana from March to June 2022. Participants were purposively selected and included medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists, administrators, and clinical service staff members. The inclusion criteria were one or more years of clinical experience. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes. RESULT: The health professionals interviewed were 38% male and 62% female, of whom 54% were nurses, 4% were midwives, 28% were medical doctors; lab technicians, pharmacists, and human resources workers represented 2% each; and 4% were critical health nurses. Among them, 64% held a diploma and 36% held a degree or above. This study identified four main areas: general knowledge of patient safety culture, guidelines and procedures, attitudes of frontline health workers, and upgrading patient safety culture. CONCLUSIONS: This qualitative study presents a few areas for improvement in patient safety culture. Despite their positive attitudes and knowledge of patient safety, healthcare workers expressed concerns about the implementation of patient safety policies outlined by hospitals. Healthcare professionals perceived that curriculum training on patient safety during school education and the availability of dedicated officers for patient safety at their facilities may help improve patient safety.

MDMX is a prognostic factor for non-small cell lung cancer and regulates its sensitivity to cisplatin.

PURPOSE: Chemoradiotherapy is the standard treatment modality for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, drug and radiation resistance remain major factors influencing its clinical outcome. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether MDMX can affect the chemosensitivity and clinical outcome of NSCLC. METHODS: Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to assess MDMX mRNA expression levels in 105 primary NSCLC tissues, its corresponding non-cancerous tissues and two NSCLC-derived cell lines (A549 and SK-MES-1). In addition, immunohistochemistry was carried out to detect MDMX protein expression in the primary NSCLC tissues. The MDMX expression levels were correlated with clinicopathological and survival features. The effects of MDMX expression knockdown on NSCLC cell proliferation and chemosensitivity were evaluated using MTT, flow cytometry and soft agar colony assays. RESULTS: We found that the mRNA expression level of MDMX in NSCLC tissues was significantly higher than that in its corresponding non-tumorous tissues. High MDMX expression was found to be related to poor tumor cell differentiation, advanced TNM stages and the occurrence of lymph node metastases. Patients with a high MDMX expression level exhibited a lower overall survival rate than those with a low expression level. Multivariate analysis showed that a high MDMX protein expression level may serve as an independent prognostic factor for NSCLC patients. In addition, we found that MDMX expression knockdown combined with cisplatin treatment in vitro significantly increased apoptosis and decreased soft agar colony formation in NSCLC-derived cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that MDMX expression may serve as an independent unfavorable prognostic factor for NSCLC patient outcome, which in turn may at least partly be due to the ability of the MDMX protein to regulate the proliferative capacity and chemosensitivity of NSCLC cells.