Current status and development trends of morbidity and mortality in gastric cancer patients in Xining, 2009-2016.

OBJECTIVE: The incidence of gastric cancer is declining in parts of Asia including China. This study was designed to investigate the incidence and mortality trend of gastric cancer in different regions and ethnic groups in Xining of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. METHODS: Data of gastric cancer from January 2009 to December 2016 were collected from Disease Control Center in Xining for repeated cross-sectional study. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Gastric cancer. PARTICIPANTS: Xining resident population with pathological diagnosis of gastric cancer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Age, gender composition ratio, morbidity, mortality and trends. RESULTS: There were 4822 new cases of gastric cancer from 2009 to 2016, including 3583 males and 1239 females; 2290 cases were in villages and 2532 in towns. Male incidence rate (38.37/100,000) was higher than female (13.35/100,000). The incidence in rural areas (39.29/100,000) was higher than in urban areas (20.59/100,000). During 2009-2016, there were 2109 gastric cancer deaths in Xining, 1543 in males and 566 in females. There were 1185 cases in villages and 924 in cities. Male mortality (16.64/100,000) was higher than female (6.42/100,000). The mortality rate in rural areas (20.40/100,000) was higher than in urban areas (7.62/100,000). CONCLUSION: Overall morbidity and mortality rates of gastric cancer are on the rise in Xining. Male morbidity and mortality rates are higher than female ones, and rural areas are higher than urban areas.

Transmission center and driving factors of hand, foot, and mouth disease in China: A combined analysis.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) has become a major public health issue in China. The disease incidence varies substantially over time and across space. To understand the heterogeneity of HFMD transmission, we compare the spatiotemporal dynamics of HFMD in Qinghai and Shanghai by conducting combined analysis of epidemiological, wavelet time series, and mathematical methods to county-level data from 2009 to 2016. We observe hierarchical epidemic waves in Qinghai, emanating from Huangzhong and in Shanghai from Fengxian. Besides population, we also find that the traveling waves are significantly associated with socio-economic and geographical factors. The population mobility also varies between the two regions: long-distance movement in Qinghai and between-neighbor commuting in Shanghai. Our findings provide important evidence for characterizing the heterogeneity of HFMD transmission and for the design and implementation of interventions, such as deploying optimal vaccine and changing local driving factors in the transmission center, to prevent or limit disease spread in these areas.

An Exploratory Study of Influenza Vaccination Coverage in Healthcare Workers in a Western Chinese City, 2018-2019: Improving Target Population Coverage Based on Policy Interventions.

Objectives: To evaluate a policy-based intervention to increase seasonal-influenza-vaccination coverage in healthcare workers in Xining, a city in Western China. Methods: From October 2018 to March 2019, we implemented a free vaccination policy in healthcare workers in Xining. A face-to-face interview with the head of the infection control department and an online survey for medical staff in four tertiary medical facilities was conducted to understand both the implementation of the free policy and influenza vaccination coverage. Possible factors for influenza vaccination among healthcare workers (physician, nurses working on the front-line, HCWs) were investigated by multivariate-logistic regression. Results: Coverage in two hospitals that implemented the free vaccination policy was 30.5% and 25.9%, respectively, which was statistically different to hospitals that did not implement the free policy (7.2% and 8.7%, respectively) (χ2 = 332.56, p < 0.0001). Among vaccinated healthcare workers, 65.5% and 48.6% reported their main reasons for vaccination were a convenient vaccination service and awareness of the free vaccination policy. The reasons for not being vaccinated among the 3389 unvaccinated healthcare workers included: the inconvenient vaccination service (33.8%), believing vaccination was unnecessary (29.7%), concerns about adverse reactions to the vaccine (28.8%), and having to pay for the vaccine (25.6%). Conclusions: Implementing the free vaccination policy, combined with improving the accessibility of the vaccination service, increased seasonal-influenza vaccination-coverage in healthcare workers in Xining.