Change in demand for health-related undergraduate studies in Spain during 2015-2021: a temporal series study.

Introduction: The expansion of higher education is a worldwide phenomenon. To our knowledge, there are no studies analyzing the trends in demands of enrollment in health-related studies in Spain. Therefore, the objective was to analyze the change in demand (the number of requests for enrollment divided by the number of offered places) for undergraduate health-related studies in Spain during the period 2015-2021 as well as compare the change by region in the pre (2015-2019) and pandemic (2020-2021) period. Methods: This is an observational (ecological type) study with temporal series analyses using data from public (non-for-profit) higher education institutions from the Integrated University Information System. For the analysis by region, we calculated the demand of all twelve undergraduate health-related degrees and the percentages of change between both periods using the Wilcoxon test. The Joinpoint Regression program was used to analyze the trends in demand for each degree during the 7-year period. Results: Significant (p < 0.001) increases in demand during the pandemic period were observed in all regions. During the pandemic, medicine, biomedicine, nursing, odontology and pharmacy presented a higher demand in comparison with data collected before the pandemic started. In contrast, this pattern was not confirmed in the following cases: physiotherapy, occupational therapy, podiatry, psychology, social work, human nutrition and dietetics. By regions, Navarra, Asturias, and La Rioja presented the most drastic changes. In regions with the biggest number of universities, such as Catalonia, Andalusia and Madrid, the change observed was smaller.

Factors influencing student choice of a degree in physiotherapy: a population-based study in Catalonia (Spain).

BACKGROUND: In other healthcare professions, there has been extensive research into students' motivation, but studies aiming to determine what leads individuals to choose a degree in physiotherapy are scarce. This research study had three main objectives: to obtain a sociodemographic profile of first-year physiotherapy students in Catalonia; to determine the factors that lead individuals to choose a degree in physiotherapy; and to determine potential differences, according to gender and country of origin. METHODS: This is an observational, cross-sectional, multicentre study. Data were collected by means of a self-administered, ad-hoc questionnaire, consisting of 15 Likert scale questions, options ranging from "not influencing at all -1-" to "extremely influencing -5-". Ten out of the twelve universities in Catalonia (Spain) that offer a degree in physiotherapy participated in this study. The sample consisted of 941 first-year physiotherapy students (55.2% men; mean age 20.1, SD: 3.4). RESULTS: The most determinant factors leading individuals to pursue a degree in physiotherapy were: helping others (95.6%); the relationship between physiotherapy and sports (79%); physiotherapy involving manual work (76.4%); and it being perceived as providing multiple job opportunities (75.9%). Male and French students were attracted due to its relation to sports (MD = 0.369, p < 0.001 and MD = 0.130, p < 0.027), perception of it being an easy degree (MD = 0.148, p < 0.001 and MD = 0.091, p < 0.037), admiration for a known physiotherapist (MD = 0.223, p = 0.006 and MD = 0.265, p = 0.001), employability (MD = 0.297, p < 0.001 and MD = 0.706, p < 0.001), good income (MD = 0.190, p = 0.002 and MD = 0.609, p < 0.001) and social recognition (MD = 0.164, p = 0.011 and MD = 0.286, p < 0.001). Helping others (MD = -0.149, p < 0.001) and interest in the sciences (MD = -0.164, p = 0.030) were more determinant for female students. Male students were more guided by recommendation (MD = 0.234, p = 0.001) and to complement previous studies (MD = 0.237, p = 0.016). French students tended to present more interest in the selection of physiotherapy as a wish since childhood (MD = 0.595, p < 0.001), due to its multiple job opportunities (MD = 0.427, p < 0.001) and because of manual work, and did not choose it to complement previous studies (MD = -1.122, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The desire to help and care for others, the relation to sports, and involving manual work are the predominant factors that lead students to pursue a degree in physiotherapy. Female students favour helping others and science, whereas male students favour its relation to sports, complementing studies, social factors (admiration, recommendation, friendship) and socioeconomic determinants such as employability, good income or social recognition. When compared to Spanish students, French students were more motivated by its connection to sports, social and socioeconomic factors and some vocational determinants such as being a wish since childhood and interest in a manual profession.

Regional differences in the profile of disabled community-dwelling older adults: A European population-based cross-sectional study.

The main objective of this work was to estimate the prevalence of disability in European community-dwelling older adults, as well as to investigate differences in the profile of disabled older adults between European regions (Northern, Central, Eastern and Southern). A cross-sectional study based on wave 6 (2015) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) was conducted. Community-dwelling participants aged 65-84 were selected (n = 33,369). Disability was defined as presenting at least one functional limitation in basic activities of daily living (BADL). Sociodemographic, health services, lifestyle and health-related variables were analyzed. Statistical analysis was carried out through the Chi-square and ANOVA tests for bivariate analysis, and Poisson regression for multivariate analysis. Overall prevalence of disability was 13.8%: 9.4% in the Northern region, 13.1% in the Southern region, 13.6% in the Central region, and 16.6% in the Eastern region. Portugal, Poland, Estonia and Belgium showed the highest prevalence of BADL limitations, while Sweden, Denmark, Greece and Switzerland showed the lowest prevalence. Besides, disabled older adults from East Europe presented the most disadvantaged health profile, followed by the Southern region. On the other hand, disabled older adults living in the Northern region showed the most advantaged characteristics of most variables, except for smoking and polypharmacy.

Tendencia de la incidencia del cáncer de laringe en un área sanitaria, entre los años 2007 y 2013 / Trends in laryngeal cancer incidence in a health area between 2007 and 2013

Objetivo: Estudiar la tendencia de la incidencia entre 2007 y 2013 del cáncer de laringe de un área sanitaria de 300.000 habitantes. Material y método: Con los datos del registro de cáncer del hospital de referencia del área sanitaria, se ha calculado la incidencia y posteriormente se ha hecho una regresión utilizando el programa informático joinpoint. Resultados: Se aprecia una tendencia descendente estadísticamente significativa con un porcentaje anual de cambio de -10,83 (IC 95%: -16,85, -4,40), entre 2007 y 2013. Conclusiones: Se observa una disminución de la tendencia de la incidencia, fundamentalmente en hombres donde los datos son estadísticamente significativos. Estos resultados nos deben alentar a continuar con las campañas para la prevención del consumo de tabaco y alcohol (AU)

Objective: Our aim was to study the trend between 2007 and 2013 in the incidence of larynx cancer in a health district of 300,000 inhabitants.Material and method With information from the hospital cancer registry for the reference health area, we calculated the incidence and subsequently performed a joinpoint regression using specific software. Results: We found a statistically-significant downward trend with an annual percentage change of -10.83 LC 95% (-16.85, -4.40) between 2007 and 2013. Conclusions: We found that the tendency of incidence in larynx cancer decreased, mainly in males, where the results were statistically significant. These results should encourage continuing prevention of smoking and alcohol consumption (AU)

Trends in laryngeal cancer incidence in a health area between 2007 and 2013.

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to study the trend between 2007 and 2013 in the incidence of larynx cancer in a health district of 300,000 inhabitants. MATERIAL AND METHOD: With information from the hospital cancer registry for the reference health area, we calculated the incidence and subsequently performed a joinpoint regression using specific software. RESULTS: We found a statistically-significant downward trend with an annual percentage change of -10.83 LC 95% (-16.85, -4.40) between 2007 and 2013. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the tendency of incidence in larynx cancer decreased, mainly in males, where the results were statistically significant. These results should encourage continuing prevention of smoking and alcohol consumption.