Current state of knowledge and information sharing among home healthcare professionals involved in heart failure management.

BACKGROUND: The current state of knowledge related to disease management of heart failure (HF) and information coordination practices provided by non-physician healthcare professionals such as nurses and therapists working at home-visit nursing stations in Japan are not well known. METHODS: A questionnaire survey of healthcare professionals working at home-visit nursing stations was conducted in Kochi Prefecture. Data collected from 151 nurses and therapists were analyzed. RESULTS: Regarding the basic characteristics of the respondents, the majority were in their 30s and 40s, and approximately 75 % were nurses. In terms of HF knowledge, 53.7 % of respondents said that they "knew" about the New York Heart Association classification. A total of 40.0 % of respondents said that they were "aware of the existence of the HF handbook", and only 29.3 % of respondents said that they "knew" the classification of HF stages. When they were asked about their level of satisfaction related to all medical information provided by the hospital and hospital wards, no one was "very satisfied", and the most common response (66.2 %) was "not very satisfied". In the essential medical information that respondents wanted to obtain from hospitals and hospitals wards for managing HF patients at home, "medication at discharge", "current medical history", "fluid intake and restrictions", "symptoms, signs, and response to exacerbation", and "ideal body weight" were the top five contents. CONCLUSION: In the cross-sectional study targeted healthcare professionals working at home-visit nursing stations in Kochi Prefecture, the current state of knowledge related to HF and information coordination practices among healthcare professionals were not fully satisfactory in HF management. It is necessary to increase educational opportunities regarding HF for them and further promote information sharing.

Knowledge, attitude, perception, and factors associated with the risk perception of COVID-19 among nursing college students in Japanese universities: A cross-sectional study.

Background and Aim: The spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the world has brought different attitudes and perceptions among social strata. Nursing students being future first-line healthcare workers are more at risk of being infected and exposed to various stressors from shared information. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and perception of COVID-19 among nursing students and to estimate predictors of their risk perception. Methods: We conducted an online survey among undergraduate nursing students at three selected Japanese Universities. Data on knowledge, attitude, and perception toward COVID-19 were collected using a structured questionnaire. We performed multiple logistic regression analyses to identify factors associated with the risk perception toward COVID-19 infection. Results: Of the 414 nursing students who participated in the study, 368 (90.4%) reported that the media including radio, television, internet, and/or social media were the main source of knowledge. Fever (96.1%) and dry cough (89.6%) were reported as the main symptoms. Regarding the attitude toward the treatment and preventive measures, almost 92.8% of participants recommended the use of vaccines. Being female appeared to be three times associated with the fear of getting infected (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]:3.03; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.21-7.58). Students who took part in extracurricular activities reported that they feared being infected with COVID-19 (aOR:2.62; 95% CI:1.33-5.16). Other factors did not show an association. Conclusion: Knowledge and attitude of nursing students toward COVID-19 were accurate for the majority of them, with the main source of information being the media. Practicing extracurricular activities and being female were associated with the fear of the disease. Efficient and controlled communication is needed during widespread disease outbreaks.

Comparative evaluation of anthropometric measurements and prevalence of hypertension: community based cross-sectional study in rural male and female Cambodians.

INTRODUCTION: Hypertension is a major and preventable risk factor that can lead to cardiovascular disease. The extent that obesity impacts hypertension differs when using body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) or waist to height ratio (WHtR). This study aimed to determine the prevalence of hypertension and to compare several anthropometric measurements in the prediction of hypertension between males and females from Chet Borey district of Kratie province, in Cambodia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 276 healthy adults aged 18 years or older, including 94 males and 182 females who visited the local health post of Kaoh chraeng in Kratie province from November 21 to 27, 2015. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were measured. Anthropometric measures: Body mass index (BMI), as well as waist circumference (WC) and waist to height ratio (WHtR) were assessed to analyze adiposity indices. Multivariate analysis was performed to evaluate the association between anthropometric measures and hypertension among males and females after adjustment for confounders. RESULTS: Hypertension was more prevalent in males (38.3%) compared to females (26.4%). When considering adiposity indices, WC was higher in females than males (35.7% vs 10.6% females vs males), the same for WHtR (55.0% vs 30.9% females vs males). In the multivariate analysis, for males, in addition to high BMI [aOR 4.37 (1.01-18.81)], high WC [aOR 7.55 (1.42-39.99)] was associated with the risk of developing hypertension. Whereas for females, only WC [aOR 3.24 (1.54-6.83)] was associated with the concerned risk. CONCLUSION: Prediction of hypertension using anthropometric measurements differs by sex and by the index used. In our population, BMI and WC appeared more appropriate for men while only WC was applicable to women. These results afford alternatives to hypertensive screening that may be useful tools for the majority of rural Cambodians since accessibility to health facilities is limited.